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Top 4 Types of Leadership Styles in Education

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In an educational setting, there are four major styles of leadership that work. Each of these have their own advantages. Also keep in mind that not one leadership style can work in isolation, and one style cannot be applied to all situations.

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Leadership is one of the most crucial factors in determining whether a school is effective or not, but of the five types of school leaders, only one truly succeeds.

Researchers have identified five distinct types of school principal, based on their approach to leadership and how they behave in post.

But while school leaders are feted for their achievements, it is the ones who are least rewarded who get the best results.
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Experts at the Centre for High Performance, a collaboration between academics at Oxford and Kingston universities in the U.K., analyzed the performance of more than 400 principals to discover why some succeed where others fail.

Through a combination of performance and management data and in-depth interviews, they pinpointed what changes the leaders had implemented and what had happened to the school's results.

After collecting their data, published in the Harvard Business Review, the researchers realized that school principals could be grouped into five distinct types, according to their most significant actions when in post. They also looked at public recognition for each groups, to determine which were the most likely to receive accolades, honors and higher salaries.

First, there are the Surgeons. They are incisive and direct resources to tackle the most pressing problems. They remove poor performing students and focus on making the rest work harder. They put the best teachers in exam classes, cut out non-essential activities and reduce class sizes.

The effect is a dramatic improvement in test results. However, once the Surgeon leaves, having gained a reputation for turning around the school, results fall back as a result of under-investment in younger students. The Surgeon's reputation is undiminished as their successor takes the blame.

Then there are the Soldiers. They focus on the bottom line and cut costs in the belief that wasting money is at the root of a school's problems and getting rid of extraneous staff will make those who remain work harder.

The result is that financial performance quickly improves, although test results flatline. As soon as the Soldier departs, costs begin to creep up as the school starts to breathe again.

The third category is the Accountants. They believe in strength through investment and look to increase revenue, perhaps through hiring out the school's facilities or expanding to absorb other schools, so they can put more resources into education.

Revenue increases significantly during their tenure, although a lack of focus on academic performance means test results remain broadly the same. Their investment means financial performance keeps on improving after they leave, but results barely change.

Next are the Philosophers. They have a passion for education and believe the route to success is through improving teaching methods. Teachers are encouraged to observe others and share ideas.

Teacher morale gets an instant boost, but there are no significant improvements in financial and test performance during their tenure, and even when they leave results stay the same or decline.

Finally there are the Architects. They believe it takes time to improve a school and set about redesigning it to suit the community's needs. Rather than focus on one area, they take a holistic view, aiming to improve behavior, revenue and teaching and leadership. They also form links with outside organizations to bring students' attention to the opportunities around them and arrange trips to open their students' eyes to other cultures.

Performance is slow to improve, but by the third year test scores start to go up and continue improving, even after the architects have left the school.

It is clear that it is only the architects who have a positive long-term impact on a school, but when the researchers looked at public recognition for school leaders they found they were the least rewarded.

Philosophers were both the most frequently appointed and the most recognized in public honors, while Surgeons were the best paid, at an average salary of $188,000. In contrast, architects were the least likely to be given public honors and received an average annual salary of $105,000.

The researchers speculate that this may be because improvements cannot be seen until late in their tenure, or that they are often outsiders who approach things differently.

Although their focus was on school leadership, their findings also have relevance outside of education, according to Alex Hill, co-director of the Centre for High Performance and co-author of the study.

The same types of leaders have been identified in business, but what makes education fascinating is the ability to compare leadership styles and outcomes.

"The challenge in business is that there is frequently no-one who is doing exactly the same thing,"Hill said. "Apple promoted Jony Ive and that seems to be significant, but we don't have a version of Apple that didn't promote Jony Ive.

"The ideas translate into other sectors, but what is unusual for the study is that we have such a large number of organizations that are basically doing the same thing."

Finally, one of the more intriguing - even though tangential - findings of their research is the close correlation between the different types of school leader and the subject they taught.

Surgeons overwhelmingly taught religious studies or physical education, soldiers were almost always chemistry or information technology teachers, three quarters of accountants were maths teachers, nine in 10 philosophers - the largest single type - taught English or languages, while architects are typically history or economics specialists.

In other words, if you want your child to do well at school, try to find one run by a history or economics graduate.

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Of The Five Types Of School Leader, Only One Truly Succeeds

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Leadership is one of the most crucial factors in determining whether a school is effective or not, but of the five types of school leaders, only one truly succeeds. Researchers have identified five distinct types of school principal, based on their approach to leadership and how they behave in post.

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A great leader is one who is self aware, understands the importance of communicating with community members and works towards building community, collaborative in nature, is open to new ways, leads by example and also be believes in setting new examples and harness the power of teaching and learning.

Great leader may have few common characteristics but their leadership styles differ and at times they even switch to other styles according to the need of the hour and this ability is what makes them great - ability of ADAPTING & CHANGING.

Different educational leadership styles are what make every leader unique. Read below to know about the various styles that are being followed by leaders.

1. Authoritative

This is best suited when changes require a new vision or when a clear direction is needed. Leaders practicing this mobilize people towards a vision. Here the leader works as a change catalyst that is self confident and empathetic. S/he usually fills up the team with confidence and drives them towards the goals that need to be achieved. The "come with me" style can be notices. The strongest leading style where the leader leads the team towards one direction. The drawback is that employees may feel less connected as leader is the only decision maker and the employees have to follow the orders given by the leader.

2. Affiliative

This works best during stressful circumstances, to heal rifts in a team or motivate them to keep working. The main qualities of this leader are that he is more inclined towards building relationships & is empathetic. The style is that of "people come first". These leaders create harmony and builds emotional bonds. This type of leader will also build teams that make sure that their followers feel connected to each other. Typically the followers will receive much praise from this style of leader, however poor performance tends to go unchecked.

3. Democratic

Here the leaders make the final decisions, but they include other team members in the decision-making process. They encourage creativity, and people are often highly engaged in projects and decisions. As a result, team members tend to have high job satisfaction and high productivity. In this style teachers run the school with support of the leader. A very collaborative nature can be observed in organizations that are run under this style of leadership. "What do you think?" kind of attitude can be seen in the leader. Though the drawback is that this may not work at the time of making a quick decision.

4. Coaching

I think to fit in and excel in the 21 st century; this is the best style of leadership that can do well in education sector. The leader helps people develop for the future. The leader pushes the teachers and other employees try new things and help them develop and grow. Coaching is an appropriate style for schools because it models learning by encouraging staff to establish long-term development goals and to find ways of attaining them. Coaching leaders give plenty of instruction and feedback. They also excel at delegation. It is a time-consuming approach; however, when successfully applied, it has a positive effect on climate and performance. This approach works best when employees are already aware of their weaknesses and want to improve, but fails when leaders are inept coaches or staff is resistant to learning.

5. Visionary Leadership

A mixed approach of first three styles. Visionary leader is clear about what s/he believes and knows is best for learning. The leader's individual beliefs have developed in collaboration with other stakeholders and articulated into some kind of vision or mission statement. You'll hear elements of a vision in the way s/he talks about his work. Also important element is that the experiences of students and outcomes are at the center of this vision. You'll know if you hear a vision if it makes you feel something good: inspired, motivated, excited, and so on. A visionary leader talks and walks the school's vision.

Apart from these there are other less adopted styles like empowering that allows employees to have direct decision making responsibilities, empathetic that sets a tone to make employees feel engaged, humble servitude that focuses on listening and moral/ethical leadership whose only mantra is insistence on ethical behavior by all.

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Educational Leadership Styles for School Leaders to Know

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A great leader is one who is self aware, understands the importance of communicating with community members and works towards building community, collaborative in nature, is open to new ways, leads by example and also be believes in setting new examples and harness the power of teaching and learning.

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In researching various leadership theories, I've found that not only do many of the theories overlap, but the theorists' work does as well. This is to be expected, as no one leadership style or theory can work in isolation, and no leader can align with one style to utilize in all situations. Therefore, it is essential that today's leaders recognize and incorporate elements from various leadership styles to apply to unique situations in leadership positions.

What is Servant Leadership?

Servant leadership has become a common term among educational and business leaders over the past decade. The term, however, was first created in Robert K. Greenleaf's essay, " The Servant as Leader " in 1970. In his essay, he states:

The servant-leader is servant first... It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions...The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.

Servant leadership focuses on the responsibility of the leader not only to ensure the success of the organization, but also a responsibility to his/her followers and stakeholders. This includes:

acting in an ethical manner,

putting others first, and

showing sensitivity to others' concerns.

The servant leader will also assist subordinates in professional growth and empowerment, as well as building a supportive community environment.

This philosophy speaks to leaders who consider the needs of their followers first-especially in education. It inspires us to balance the needs of followers with the desire to lead, and encourages us to treat others with respect, altruism, fairness, and honesty. In addition, it requires a leader to build community and lead in an ethical manner.

2 Other Leadership Styles in Education

In addition to servant leadership, there are a few current leadership theories that have either evolved from or are closely aligned with servant leadership.
Authentic Leadership
Closely aligned with servant leadership is authentic leadership. Northouse stated in his book Leadership Theory and Practice that authentic leadership encompasses both the intrapersonal domain, which focuses on the leader and his or her self-concept and self-knowledge, and the interpersonal domain, which is more relational and created by leaders and followers together (Northouse, 2013, pp. 205-225).

An advantage of authentic leadership is that it is developmental and can be nurtured in any leader. It has a definite moral dimension. However, critics of the process feel that it is still in the formative stages of development and that it is not clear how authentic leadership affects production or positive outcomes for the organization.
Ethical Leadership
Often used interchangeably with servant leadership, ethical leadership focuses on that which is fair and just to others. Particularly, ethical leadership focuses on acting with integrity, fairness, and ethical practices. Ethical leadership also entails knowledge of policy and social justice, as well as district culture.

In addition, a leader must be aware of all moral and legal consequences of decision-making and strive to practice inclusive leadership with an emphasis on cultural diversity. Scholars through the years have supported the role of reflective practice by educational leaders, and this is encouraged in this domain of leadership as leaders strive to become more self-aware and serve as role models of ethical leadership.
Why Servant Leadership is Effective in Schools
While often used in business models, servant leadership specific to school administration can contribute to the success of the school district. It is well known that one responsibility of the school superintendent is to nurture the vision, mission, and culture of the district. Further, research has supported the idea that greater involvement from a wide variety of stakeholders increases the buy-in and ultimately the success of the mission and vision of the district. A superintendent who practices servant leadership maintains priority on the needs of his/her stakeholders and is committed to the success of the corporation.

Another benefit of servant leadership it that it is designed to create leadership opportunities among the disadvantaged. Greenleaf states that it is his hope that the disadvantaged, following education in service leadership, will "return to their roots and become leaders of the disadvantaged". He further discusses the merits of leaders rising from the ranks of the disadvantaged to lead their people on a path to an improved life. This is applicable to school leadership, as no school district is immune from poverty among its children. Instilling servant traits in our children is a responsibility that not only benefits our schools, but our communities as a whole.

Greenleaf's research on servant leadership encourages us to focus on the needs of those in our organization rather than attempting to motivate them to produce greater results.

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Types of Effective Leadership Styles in Schools - Standard for Success

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In researching various leadership theories, I've found that not only do many of the theories overlap, but the theorists' work does as well. This is to be expected, as no one leadership style or theory can work in isolation, and no leader can align with one style to utilize in all situations.

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5 Leadership Styles that Can Transform Education As We Know It

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Spread the loveWhen considering school reform, it's often easy to think of factors such as who is responsible (teachers, parents, school systems, the government?), or of funding issues such as the fact that 23 states spend less on poor schools than on more affluent schools. Of course all the obvious factors are important.

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Spread the loveThere are four major styles of leadership which apply well in the educational setting. While each of these styles has its good points, there is a wide berth of variation, and in fact, transformational leadership is truly an amalgamation of the best attributes of the other three.

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Leadership doesn't come easily to first-timers. I should know: I was one.

When you think about leading a company, a lot of people tend to think about the glamorous parts of the job. They often imagine leaders shaking hands at fancy conference tables, giving passionate keynote speeches, and hanging out with the frontline employees (because they're so down to earth). While victories and fun times can certainly be part of the deal, leadership also has another side - and that's where the real leaders shine.

Leaders are responsible for everything that happens under their watch, good and bad. That includes the reputation of their brands, their office cultures, their turnover rates, and more. The best leaders take accountability as often as they can, while questionable leaders look for someone else to blame when things go wrong.

As you guide your company through its ups and downs, remember these three truths about leadership:
1. You are responsible for the well-being of your employees.
Company leaders are responsible for more than financial decisions and business growth: They are also in charge of employee morale, performance, and job security. The stress of that responsibility can feel overwhelming, but leading a team successfully is one of the most rewarding parts of the job.

You want to lead the company well because all the people who work there depend on the organization for their livelihood. You aren't just growing for profit's sake - you're working to help keep families housed and bills paid. Plus, you don't want your workplace to feel like "just a place to work." Employees deserve to feel like the time they dedicate to your organization is worthwhile, not just because of the money they make but because of the satisfaction they feel.

The people working for you and driving your company forward deserve all the respect you can give them. Great leaders remember that they are not the monarchs of their companies but the principal servants who are there to help everyone as best they can.
2. You must actively build and manage your brand.
In the age of content, personal brands are more important than ever. Company leaders cannot hide quietly and expect to make a trustworthy name for themselves: They must use content to build their thought leadership, establish themselves as industry experts, and lend credibility to the companies they run.

That doesn't mean CEOs of tech companies need to be the best programmers in the office. I lead a content company, but I'm far from the best writer or editor on the staff. Building a brand simply means that leaders must make their voices public.

Industry trends, new technologies, and public policies shift the directions of companies every day. If business leaders do not participate in those conversations, people will begin to think that their companies might not be as impactful as they claim to be.

Create and share content under your own name, not just your company's, to help people connect to your brand. It sounds counterintuitive, but the more people can relate to you as a person, the more likely they are to think positively of your organization. That positive sentiment can lead to better recruitment, boosts to marketing and sales, personal speaking opportunities, new partnerships - the list goes on.
3. Your example matters.
Being a leader of a company is kind of like being a celebrity hounded by paparazzi. Your team is always watching, and if you don't embody the values and mission you set for your employees, people won't take you seriously.

When you treat others carelessly, employees notice. On the other hand, when you offer "unlimited" vacation days but never take a day off yourself, people neglect to use their benefits for fear of appearing unmotivated. You want your employees to be balanced, productive, happy people - and to help them achieve that, you have to set the example and embody those qualities yourself.

For example, my second daughter was born right around the time my company set a new paternity leave policy. While it was hard for me to take so much time off, I knew that if I didn't, I'd be sending the wrong message and making it harder for others to feel supported in taking their own paternity leave. As a leader, you have to set the right example for the rest of the team.

Leadership in real life doesn't look like it does on Instagram. It's less about the #hustle and #grind than it is about people, respect, and commitment to developing a better brand. Hopefully, these tips will help you avoid some of the mistakes most leaders get to learn from on the job.

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3 Lessons That Will Transform Your Leadership Philosophy

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Leadership doesn't come easily to first-timers. I should know: I was one. When you think about leading a company, a lot of people tend to think about the glamorous parts of the job. They often imagine leaders shaking hands at fancy conference tables, giving passionate keynote speeches, and hanging out with the frontline employees (because they're so down to earth).

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"Stand upright, speak thy thoughts, declare | The truth thou hast, that all may share. | Be bold. Proclaim it everywhere. | They only live who dare." - Voltaire

Artwork by Renee Calvert, People First Productivity Solutions

It was a great opportunity, double the salary I'd been earning and THE company everyone wanted to work for in 2006. I said "no" to the offer and started my own business instead.

The offer, incredible as it was, didn't fit the commitments I'd made in my personal life. Raising a special needs child, I'd determined that I needed flexibility in my schedule. I had promised myself, in writing, that flexibility - above all else - would determine my next career move.

There was pressure to take that job. I was tempted to reconsider, and I started rationalizing how much that money could help us as a family. But I knew, in my heart of hearts, that it wouldn't be right to make this move. I was committed to the course I'd set.

What I hadn't done yet is communicate my values and committed course to others. That's why they couldn't understand my decision and challenged me to do something I did not feel good about doing.

Eleven years later, I can say this is the best thing I've ever done in my professional life. My son's needs were met, my company was born and is thriving, and the financial rewards far surpass what I'd been offered. Best of all, I still worked for that company. I became a consultant to them and made more than I would have as their employee. Having a Personal Leadership Philosophy and staying true to it has served me very well.
How a Personal Leadership Philosophy Can Propel Your Career Upwards:
When you're aiming for the top, you need to set your bar high. Your performance as a leader must inspire, motivate, and bring out the best in your team.

To be effective and inspiring as a leader, you must "Stand upright, speak thy thoughts... Be bold."

Developing a Personal Leadership Philosophy (PLP) empowers you to declare YOUR truth and stand tall within it, to operate from a position of strength that ennobles you.

Before sharing and modeling your own PLP, you'll first need to consider and craft a meaningful and genuine philosophy. This article will walk you through the steps needed.

First, a definition of leadership philosophy. Philosophy is defined as:

Your personal foundation or belief in human nature.

A particular system of thought.

A system of principles for guidance.

An activity people undertake when they seek to understand fundamental truths about themselves, the world in which they live, and their relationships to the world and to each other.

From these definitions, you can extract some important ideas about your PLP:

Philosophy is personal. There is no right or wrong.

Philosophy is something you choose. You can make a choice that is deliberate, intentional, based on reflection and determinations. Or, if you don't do that, you can have an accidental philosophy... one that is vague and unclear to others (and maybe even to you.)

Philosophy is meant as a foundation. A solid core means you have clarity to guide decisions and sort out all the competing inputs you get in a day.

Here's one description of what it means to have a PLP:
"Successful Leaders They have taken the time to They This is accomplished by a Personal Leadership Philosophy, which states the core values you live by, what you expect of your people, what they can expect of you, and how you will evaluate performance. " Determine. Write. Know. Set. Communicate. their course and have STEP 1: DETERMINE ...They have taken the time to determine who they are, their values and priorities...

What do you truly believe?

Which values do you refuse to compromise?

How comfortable are you with who you are?

What causes you to have these core values?

What is the single most important thing to you?

STEP 2: WRITE ...This is accomplished by ...

Putting it in writing provides clarity, objectivity, self-reflection.

Putting it in writing tells others "I am serious."

Putting it in writing keeps it consistent.

Putting it in writing makes you accountable.

Putting it in writing makes it easier to share.

the core values you live by, what you expect of your people, what they can expect of you, and how you will evaluate performance. their internal compass, which gives them greater self-knowledge, greater self-confidence, and improved effectiveness as a leader. STEP 3: KNOW Successful Leaders know their Personal Leadership Philosophy (PLP)... They know their course... who they are, their values and priorities. their Personal Leadership Philosophy (PLP) and communicate STEP 4: SET ...have set their internal compass, which gives them greater self-knowledge, greater self-confidence, and improved effectiveness as a leader... it by living it passionately every day in all they say and do.
- Ed Ruggerio, The Leader's Compass: A Personal Leadership Philosophy Is Your Key to Success

You're going to follow these bolded action words to craft your philosophy and communicate your personal leadership values.

Discernment (to uncover what you already know).

Clarity that points toward your truth.

Assurance that you won't get lost at crossroads.

Clear direction - an abiding ability to find your way.

Persistent confidence.

Inspiring effectiveness that others will want to follow.

Don't jump ahead. It takes time to build absolute resolve about your own values and priorities. Without resolve, you cannot develop a meaningful PLP.
STEP 5: COMMUNICATE ...communicate it by living it passionately every day in all they say and do...
This is the most important step in your process. Take your time in reflecting on these questions:

No cutting corners on this step either. These are the benefits of putting your PLP in writing:

These benefits are primarily for you. It's you initially who needs clarity, consistency, and accountability. Also, the process of putting something in writing forces you to take a step back and evaluate it more objectively.

However, while you want objective thought and analysis in your process, your PLP needs to be emotionally driven as well. Writing it down will help you balance your logos and pathos.

Isn't this interesting? After all this reflection and writing, there is a wholly separate step related now to KNOWING your own personal leadership philosophy. Don't gloss over this!

The word choice here is deliberate. To know means "to have established or fixed in the mind or memory." That's an elevated commitment, beyond thinking about it and writing it down. You must be intimately acquainted with your own philosophy, to be able to distinguish it and all its nuances from any sound-alike or look-alike substitutions.
About the Author: Deb Calvert has worked as a Corporate Director in a Fortune 500 company and as a consultant, coach and trainer to nearly 400 businesses of all sizes. Deb is a certified executive coach, and a Top 50 Sales Influencer. She is Certified Master with The Leadership Challenge conducting workshops and coaching to help liberate the leader in everyone.
These are the outcomes of knowing, in your bones, what you believe in and what you stand for:

When you truly know your leadership philosophy, you'll know your course of action in any situation. You'll make more confident, more efficient decisions and choices.

Once you determine, write down and get to know your PLP, you can set your internal compass to live by it.

Imagine that you'll never again get lost in the woods. You'll always be able to navigate by a bright north star. Think of the confidence you'll project when you know exactly where you're going and have no doubts about how you're going to get there. Others will notice, be inspired by this and be more willing and eager to follow you. And you will have fewer qualms about leading them.

After all, would you follow someone who doesn't seem to know where they're going?

Using your PLP to set your compass brings:

Once you've done that, the power to confidently advance your life and career is in your hands.

The first four steps helped you to craft your leadership philosophy. They come first so you don't communicate before you're certain what you stand for. It all starts with getting clarity for yourself, so you can later communicate with clarity, conviction and credibility to others.

Return to Step 1 multiple times before you try to communicate your philosophy. Your PLP shouldn't change very often - give it time to take a shape that you can live with for a good long time.

When it comes time to communicate your PLP, do that by living it passionately every day in all you say and do.

If your PLP is to represent who you are and what you stand for, you need to live and breathe it. You need to radiate it in every interaction. You can't just bring out when it suits you... It needs to be a constant expression.

Done correctly, these five steps are a lot of work. They force you to hold very high standards for your interactions. But, as you know, great leaders don't get ahead by setting their bars low.

When you're ready to begin, use these free tools and sample PLPs as a starting point. For more tools and techniques that will strengthen your leadership effectiveness, sign up for this free e-mail training course from People First Productivity Solutions.

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To Lead, You Need a Personal Leadership Philosophy. It's Not Optional Any More.

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"Stand upright, speak thy thoughts, declare | The truth thou hast, that all may share. | Be bold. Proclaim it everywhere. | They only live who dare." - Voltaire It was a great opportunity, double the salary I'd been earning and THE company everyone wanted to work for in 2006.

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Think about the most successful leaders in the world, past and present. If you were to compare them with inefficient leaders, the difference wouldn't necessarily come from their skills. The more important factor would be how the successful leaders would be able to provide you with a clear and defined approach to how they lead other people: their leadership philosophy.

In this guide, we'll define what leadership philosophy is and the benefits of having one. We'll explore the idea of publishing your statement and provide you the four steps required for creating a leadership philosophy to guide your leadership.

WHAT IS A LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY?

The combination of leadership and philosophy might sound rather odd. On the face of it, the terms don't seem to have much in common. So, what does leadership philosophy mean? To understand it, it's a good idea to first examine the two words separately, as it'll allow you to understand how they can fit together to provide you with guidance in leadership.

The definition of philosophy

When you think about philosophy, you'll probably first think about some of the greatest thinkers of our time, such as Voltaire, Plato and Descartes. Furthermore, you probably haven't thought about using philosophy in your everyday life and the concepts and ideas might sound a little bit difficult to comprehend. But as one the oldest disciplines in the world, philosophy has plenty to offer and it's part of our everyday experience whether we consciously think about it.

The word philosophy literally translates to " the love of wisdom". The Oxford Dictionary defines philosophy as, " a theory or attitude that acts as a guiding principle for behavior ". Indeed, the guiding idea of philosophy is to live a good life. It's about striving for expertise and personal as well as collective fulfillment. Philosophy could be seen as the personal foundation or belief in human nature; for working to live your life to the fullest. Through philosophy, you create a system of thought to support your journey and obtain the guiding principles to use for action or non-action.

Watch the intriguing video by the School of Life to understand why philosophy matters to all of us.

The definition of leadership

What about leadership's definition? Just like field of philosophy with its multiple thinkers and theories, leadership has a number of definitions. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the essence of leadership is " the action of leading a group of people or an organisation, or the ability to do this". But as mentioned, the definitions have evolved out of this technical view, with different people viewing the topic through a slightly different viewpoint.

At its core, leadership is about the ability to influence other people and to create a movement towards a specific objective. Having a vision to which the team moves forward to is crucial. Furthermore, the emphasis is on inspiration because leadership is not the same as bossing someone around to do what you want. A leader inspires through his or her vision and motivates by leading by example rather than telling and intimidating a desired action.

The components of a leadership philosophy

The above definitions might already help you understand the connection between leadership and philosophy. When you combine philosophy, the guiding principles, and leadership, which is the model behavior for inspiring others, you create a theory or an attitude, which provides the norms for behavior and action. The definition is brought to life with four key components, which are:

A theory - The way you define leadership and what's it about.

An attitude - Your mindset in regards of approaching leadership.

Guiding principles - The principles and values you hold dear when you are thinking about leading others.

Behavior - The behaviors you showcase in your journey to reach the desired results and outcomes.

You could view leadership philosophy as a compass - it helps define your expectations, your values and provide the roadmap for actions. With a clear leadership philosophy, you create a focused thought system surrounding your leadership, and you define the behaviors and attitudes you want to cultivate in yourself, but also in others. Leadership doesn't just provide focus for you personally, but it can allow the people around you to know what to expect from your leadership.

Examples of leadership philosophies

Just as there are differences in what philosophers think and divergence in how leadership is defined, leadership philosophies also come in a number of different flavors and styles. Since the framework is based on personal values, leaders can approach it from different angles. There are plenty of options to choose from, but we've selected three unique frameworks to provide you an idea of the divergence.

Leader believes followers should have the power to make decisions.

Leader believes in empowering followers through increased responsibilities.

The framework is effective when followers are knowledgeable.

Leader believes that everyone should have equal say within the team.

Leader values participation, consultation and consideration.

Leader emphasizes co-operation and support.

Leader believes results are best achieved in a controlled system.

Leader has clear vision, including how and when things should be done.

Leader is accountable for the decision-making.

You can use these generalized models as guidance for defining your own leadership philosophy. Nonetheless, you shouldn't try to copy a specific leadership philosophy. While learning about other philosophies can be a solid way to identify useful qualities, you need to adopt an approach that comes from your heart. Later on in the guide, we'll provide you with a systematic guide to drawing your unique leadership philosophy.

WHY SHOULD YOU HAVE A LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY?

Leadership philosophy has a foundational element to it. The different components included create a strong basis on which to build on and take your leadership forward. You are better-equipped to lead and to succeed in your leadership with a leadership philosophy due to three core benefits: character, consistency and collaboration.

Character

Drafting a leadership philosophy will provide clarity and focus in your character. Character matters because it influences your everyday decision-making and communication with other people. Without a proper understanding of your character and the traits you truly value, you are more likely to fall into bad habits and to let emotions control you.

By making a conscious decision with the help of a leadership philosophy, you outline the characteristics you want to strive for and which you value in other people as well. In a way, you become better at controlling your behavior and you strengthen the qualities required of a successful leader.

Consistency

The above benefit directly relates to the second advantage of creating a leadership philosophy: consistency. The most important aspect of the philosophy is setting out and defining your values and objectives.

Once you define these, you immediately create more consistency to your behavior and actions. You have guidelines, which help you make decisions and take action. You'll always use the same defining values at the heart of your decision-making. Let's assume your leadership philosophy is defined by sustainability.

Whenever you are faced with a decision, you will evaluate the options based on how they relate to the value of sustainability - Will it hinder or enhance it? This assures your actions and behaviours are consistent. You don't flip-flop from one value to another, but you stick to your principles.

Collaboration

Leadership always requires a level of collaboration. Since you need followers to voluntarily to follow you, you can't expect to achieve much without an understanding and focus on teamwork. Getting along with people will become much easier if you have a clear leadership philosophy to follow.

Among the things you need to define with your philosophy is your approach to collaboration. The framework requires careful consideration of engagement, communication and accountability. Defining these, you create more consistency and improve your chances of more meaningful collaboration.

People will know what your values are, they understand your approach to teamwork and thus they feel more comfortable because you follow these well-defined patterns of behavior. Essentially, people can trust you because they don't need to constantly be on their toes.

Overall, leadership philosophy will provide clarity to your leadership. Business strategist and author John Spence has written a good blog post on the topic and in it, he gave a powerful example of the benefits of a leadership philosophy. He used the famous quote by Walt Disney to make a point about why successful leaders need to define the framework for action.

The quote says, " When values are clear decisions are easy." Spence flipped it around stating, " When values are not clear decisions are difficult." By defining your leadership philosophy, you clarify your decision-making by enhancing your focus on the values and actions that truly matter.

PUBLISHING YOUR LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY

My Philosophy of Leadership is to surround myself with good people, who have ability, judgment and knowledge, but above all, a passion for service. - Sonny Perdue (American Politician)

We will outline the four steps to developing a leadership philosophy in the next section, with one of the steps involving writing down your ideas. Before providing you with the format for your written philosophy, we are going to explain why having a published leadership philosophy matters.

As you'll see in the next section a written leadership philosophy statement can be useful in getting to the heart of your true values and ideas. By having a written statement, you are sure to have a reminder of the ideals you want to be pushing towards. But it can be more beneficial to have the leadership philosophy published or at least shared with a few people because it increases your accountability.

If you are the only one aware of your leadership principles, you don't need to worry about others calling you out on doing something against your values since no one has knowledge of them. On the other hand, if you are loosing your sense of direction, a person who has seen your leadership philosophy statement can nudge you back in the right direction. The objectives you want to deliver and the values you want to keep at the heart of your leadership will be known. Even the knowledge that people have access to your statement or your closest friends or mentors know it can be enough to keep you focused on following your path.

Aside from accountability, publishing your leadership philosophy will provide another major benefit: the ability to reflect. While the philosophy must naturally be built around your actual values and objectives you want to achieve, bouncing these ideas with another person can provide an invaluable angle to your thinking. The ability to reflect on your ideas and to go them through with another person can add ideas to your thinking you hadn't thought about before. The way you see yourself will always differ slightly from the experience of others and you can learn a great deal about your characteristics by asking questions from others.

If you share your leadership philosophy, you'll be able to reflect on your ideas from a completely different perspective. The feedback can be useful in ensuring your philosophy is the best roadmap for you to move forward. Don't worry about the feedback being negative; a well-constructed leadership philosophy is sure to inspire others. Overall, the idea behind publishing or sharing your leadership philosophy is all about feedback. If you are criticized consider the words carefully and think whether there is some truth to them.

How to publish your leadership philosophy? There are different ways to go about it. You could naturally share with a few close friends or colleagues and ask their opinions. If you have a leadership mentor or a coach, then it's a good idea to talk about the statement with them. But you could go further than that and have your leadership philosophy on your personal website. This could potentially be a good idea even in terms of career progression, as future employers might get a better understanding of what your leadership looks like.

Finally, don't use publishing the statement just for feedback, ensure you have someone to keep a check on you to ensure you are following your values and objectives.

THE STEPS TO DEVELOPING A LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY

Hopefully, the above would have convinced you about the importance of having a leadership philosophy. We've talked about the characteristics of the framework, but how do you develop it? Here are the four steps you need to take in order to draft a proper leadership philosophy, which will guarantee you succeed as a leader.

Step 1: Define your values and priorities

The first, and perhaps the most important part of the process is defining your values and priorities. You need to look deep inside you to discover the values you want to highlight and which you think make leaders great. You need to be able to answer the following questions as part of this step:

What are the values I think are the most important in life and business?

What are my personal strengths and weaknesses when it comes to values and behaviors?

What do I feel are the priorities of a leader?

But how do you define the core values and priorities? It's easy to create a list of things you think are important, but you need to dig deeper when it comes to a leadership philosophy. First, you need to actually understand why you think a specific value has value. Second, you can't have a list of 20 values as this doesn't truly clarify your position, but instead, you must focus on just a few core priorities. Entrepreneur and author Kevin Daum has written a great post on Inc. on how to define your values. Daum suggests taking the following steps:

Identifying the following moments from your life and describing them in detail:

Three greatest accomplishments

Three greatest moments of efficiency

Three greatest failures

Three greatest moments of inefficiency

Consider the above moments and examine the possible common themes between them.

Using these common themes, identify the advice/tips you would give yourself. For example, if you find yourself avoiding conflict situations, your advice might be "Don't walk away from difficult situations."

Refine your advice into a value. For instance, the above advice could become "Confront difficulties"

Furthermore, once you have these core values and themed outlines, it's auspicious to take a moment to define them properly. Let's say you realized ' authenticity ' is a value you cherish. Define what you mean by it by writing down a few sentences. You can use the formula:
"Authenticity to me means..."
You can do this with all of your values, whether the value is ' communication', ' family', or ' competitiveness '. It is definitely worthwhile doing this all on paper because it will help you better communicate your ideas to yourself.

When you've selected your values, you need to prioritize them further. If you have around 3-7 values selected, you should consider which ones resonate the most with you or which you think are the most essential in terms of leadership. An effective way to prioritize your values is by comparing them with each other. You can do it by simply taking two values, such as ' authenticity' and ' respect ', and make the following statements with your chosen values:

Authenticity but NO respect

Respect but NO authenticity

Would you pick the first or the second sentence? The value you choose is the one you rank as more important. You can do this prioritization with all of your values by comparing them against each other. You should eventually have a value on top that beat all the others in comparison.

Step 2: Define the desirable outcomes you want to achieve

As well as defining your values, you also need to examine the outcomes you wish to achieve as a leader. In order to do this, you need to study the outcomes you want to achieve in the light of your chosen values. First, you should identify the goals for your leadership and the possible operational goals your organization is looking to achieve.

What are the actions you want to or should achieve as a leader? An auspicious way to set goals is by using the SMART method, described in the image below:

Furthermore, once you've identified the objectives, you need to outline and write down the actions required to achieve these goals. The actions can range from finding tools to motivate your team to enhance innovation.

When you have the goals defined, you must reflect on the ways your values relate to and impact these objectives. You can do this by answering the following questions:

How do my values support the key goals of leadership? Remember leadership was about influencing others to follow your vision. You need to pick each value and examine how it would help inspire others and move you closer to your vision. If you value 'honesty', then you want to consider how it is demonstrated in influential leadership.

How do my values support the operational goals? You should consider the same in terms of the specific organizational objectives you've identified.

How can my values strengthen the actions required to achieve the objectives? Look at each action and consider the different ways your values would have a positive impact on it. 'Honesty' could be seen as a way to strengthen trust, which in turn would boost motivation, for example.

How do my values show in the way I communicate with my teams? Think about the above and the positive or negative impact your values, actions and objectives will have on the team. You want to identify the routes that uphold your values, but create a meaningful partnership with your followers.

What are the behaviors and actions I expect from my followers? Your followers don't necessarily have to subscribe to the exact same values as you do or prioritize the values the same way. Nonetheless, you need to consider the behaviors and actions, which are in conflict with the objectives you want to achieve as a leader and as an organization, and the behaviors, which are not sustainable in terms of your own values.

The above helps you to clarify what your leadership philosophy should look like in action. It makes the values turn into concrete examples in terms of behaviors and actions.

Step 3: Write down your leadership philosophy

With the above steps concluded, you can start putting your leadership philosophy on paper. We briefly mentioned the importance of having a written statement in the previous section. Writing down your philosophy helps clarify your ideas and makes it all just a bit more concrete. It can improve your focus and help you keep yourself more accountable, since you can always go back and read what you've created.

To help you write down your leadership format, we propose using the format below, although you can always just write a document in your own style. The format is based on the four core elements of leadership philosophy: theory, attitude, principles and behavior.

Write the specific elements of leadership you believe are at the heart of being a good leader; the values you prioritize. An example sentence could be: I believe in confronting issues head-on is the key to better communication.
Attitude: My thoughts will ___________ and my words will ______________. Principles: I will lead by/with ____________. Behavior: I expect to ___________ and ____________ in situations.
These sentences refer to the attitudes you want to foster in the workplace; the example you want to set with your own attitude. The aim is to focus on the attitude you think will boost your success as a leader and help to achieve the objectives you've set out. You might say, " My thoughts will focus on finding solutions and my words will be based on honesty and integrity. "

The focus is on writing down the guiding principles you will use as part of your leadership. These are the top priorities to you as a leader; the principles you won't negotiate on and which you'll consider each time you make decisions. You'll most likely end up writing a few of these and an example sentence might be: I will lead by understanding and embracing change and how situations and people can change over time.

Finally, you need to write down how you will behave and react in the workplace, no matter what the situation is. The behaviors should reflect your leadership philosophy and highlight the core ideas in action. The identification of your past successes and failures during Step 1 will help with the last point. You could state, "I expect to consider the different options and listen to feedback in challenging situations."

When it comes to drafting the document, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, keep it concise; you don't want the document to be more than one page. You should be able to state the essence of your leadership philosophy in a few sentences. The other crucial point is to aim for clarity and this is why you also want someone else to have a look at your philosophy.

You need to define the philosophy in a manner that will help others to understand it without the need to ask multiple questions. Even if you decide not to publish it, you want at least one person to view it. Aiming for clarity will guarantee you truly understand what you are looking for with your philosophy and this will guarantee you are focused on your intentions.

Step 4: Evaluate your leadership philosophy

Finally, it's not enough to write your leadership philosophy and continue with your daily activities; you need to actively evaluate how well you are holding on to your ideals. You must regularly reflect on how well your actions and behaviors follow your statements. Essentially, you need to hold yourself accountable.

Take time to review your leadership philosophy and go back to your previous actions. Are you practicing what you preach? What are the things you excel in and which behaviors and actions do you struggle to follow? You could look at these questions each week or every month. Write a list of the major actions you took that week; for example, consider the three successes for the weak and the three possible failures for the week.

Reflect on which principles you held on to and which actions or behaviors went against what you believe in. As you identify the actions and behaviors where you didn't follow your leadership philosophy, consider what were the reasons leading to this situation. Why didn't you remember your philosophy at that moment or why did you reject it? This will help you understand what are the areas where you need to work harder on or even identify the values and priorities that might be unattainable for you.

Furthermore, you should occasionally have a chat with people who know you or who work with you. Finding out what they think your guiding principles are can reveal a great deal to you about how they view you and whether your philosophy shows in action. If your followers identify values that are counter to everything you've written in your statement, then you are properly doing something wrong as a leader. On the other hand, if people relate values to you, which are at the heart of your philosophy, you get confirmation you are on the right path and achieving success as a leader.

As eluded to earlier, evaluating your leadership philosophy will help you realize whether your philosophy is working or not. If it's not, you need to carefully think about the reasons behind the failure. It might be that you are simply failing in staying true and you need more time to instill these values deeper into your actions. Just continue to be more mindful of your philosophy and think more about the ways you can stick to your principles. But your failures might not be due to lack of motivation.

It could well be the actions and behaviors you chose are not truly you and do not fit into your leadership strategy. Therefore, you might have to re-evaluate each value and principle, adding in new ones and removing the ones that don't reflect your philosophy. Successful leadership is a fluid strategy and the philosophy shouldn't be too rigid either. As you gain more experience, both in business and in life, you will develop and grow as a person. This personal development might well change the way you approach leadership and therefore, you should be willing to make small changes to your philosophy if you feel like it.

The video clip below on self-reflection is a valuable watch because it highlights the importance of being more aware of the impact of your decisions. It's an important lesson to keep in mind when evaluating your leadership philosophy.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Leadership philosophy is a crucial element, as it acts as the foundation for your leadership. It helps you determine the guiding principles, behaviours and actions you want to put at the heart of your leadership. By carefully considering your values, priorities and objectives, you can create a framework for effective and focused leadership.

Having a leadership philosophy creates clarity to your decision-making and your actions, which help you to inspire and to motivate the followers to support your vision. You will be a leader with a clear mission and way of operating, which makes it easier for people to respect and trust you because they will always know where you are coming from.

When it comes to drafting a leadership philosophy the key is to spend time analyzing yourself and writing down the things you believe in and value. Creating a document will ensure you are not only accountable, but can easily remind yourself to focus on the essentials. It ensures you aren't just thinking about specific actions and behaviors, but to actually implement these in your leadership.

Leadership philosophy is often based on intuition, but also a careful examination of what your strengths and weaknesses are. It's about finding the voice that truly speaks for you rather than pretending to subscribe to things you don't believe in or can't achieve.

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How to Develop a Leadership Philosophy that Inspires | Cleverism

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Think about the most successful leaders in the world, past and present. If you were to compare them with inefficient leaders, the difference wouldn't necessarily come from their skills. The more important factor would be how the successful leaders would be able to provide you with a clear and defined approach to how they lead other people: their leadership philosophy.