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Five key elements:
-Self-awareness
-Self-regulation
-Motivation
-Empathy
-Social skills

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The Global Emotional Intelligence Test uses 40 questions which are derived from, the Global instrument, which contains 158 items. These are based on Goleman's four quadrant Emotional Intelligence Competency Model (2002). Click EI Capability Assessment here for more details. Short EI quizzes such as this are meant to be fun, and to give you a guide to which EI areas you are doing well in and those which perhaps you need to focus on for development.

This Test, is a forced-choice psychological test which requires you to choose Instructions for the FREE EI Test one statement in each pair of statements that describes you best. For each pair of statements, select the statement that best applies to you. Do not over-analyse the questions, or try to think of "exceptions to the rule." Be spontaneous and choose the statement that comes closest to the way you are.

Occasionally there will be questions that ask you to make a close call between two choices. This is because the Test is trying to distinguish between specific areas. If a question is very close and you can't decide which statement applies to you best, you can come back to it after you have completed the other questions.

The Test usually takes about 10 minutes to complete. At the end of the test, click on the Score Test button, and wait for the computer to generate an EI profile of your scores. If you have answered honestly and accurately, your scores will reflect your capability level within each of the EI quadrants.

We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the results of this Test - only that it can help you begin your journey of self-development!

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Emotional Intelligence Test - Global Leadership Foundation

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Free emotional intelligence test developed by Global Leadership Foundation

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The more that you, as a leader, manage each of these areas, the higher your emotional intelligence. So, let's look at each element in more detail and examine how you can grow as a leader.

Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

1. Self-awareness

If you're self-aware, you always know how you feel, and you know how your emotions and your actions can affect the people around you. Being self-aware when you're in a leadership position also means having a clear picture of your strengths and weaknesses, and it means behaving with humility.

So, what can you do to improve your self-awareness?

Keep a journal. Journals help you improve your self-awareness. If you spend just a few minutes each day writing down your thoughts, this can move you to a higher degree of self-awareness.

2. Self-regulation

Leaders who regulate themselves effectively rarely verbally attack others, make rushed or emotional decisions, stereotype people, or compromise their values. Self-regulation is all about staying in control.

This element of emotional intelligence, according to Goleman, also covers a leader's flexibility and commitment to personal accountability.

So, how can you improve your ability to self-regulate?

Hold yourself accountable. If you tend to blame others when something goes wrong, stop. Make a commitment to admit to your mistakes and to face the consequences, whatever they are. You'll probably sleep better at night, and you'll quickly earn the respect of those around you.

Practice being calm. The next time you're in a challenging situation, be very aware of how you act. Do you relieve your stress by shouting at someone else? Practice deep-breathing exercises to calm yourself. Also, try to write down all of the negative things you want to say, and then rip it up and throw it away. Expressing these emotions on paper (and not showing them to anyone!) is better than speaking them aloud to your team. What's more, this helps you challenge your reactions to ensure that they're fair!

3. Motivation

Self-motivated leaders work consistently toward their goals, and they have extremely high standards for the quality of their work.

How can you improve your motivation?

Re-examine why you're doing your job. It's easy to forget what you really love about your career. So, take some time to remember why you wanted this job. If you're unhappy in your role and you're struggling to remember why you wanted it, try the Five Whys technique to find the root of the problem. Starting at the root often helps you look at your situation in a new way. And make sure that your goal statements are fresh and energizing. For more on this, see our article on Goal Setting.

4. Empathy

For leaders, having empathy is critical to managing a successful team or organization. Leaders with empathy have the ability to put themselves in someone else's situation. They help develop the people on their team, challenge others who are acting unfairly, give constructive feedback, and listen to those who need it.

If you want to earn the respect and loyalty of your team, then show them you care by being empathic.

How can you improve your empathy?

Respond to feelings. You ask your assistant to work late - again. And although he agrees, you can hear the disappointment in his voice. So, respond by addressing his feelings. Tell him you appreciate how willing he is to work extra hours, and that you're just as frustrated about working late. If possible, figure out a way for future late nights to be less of an issue (for example, give him Monday mornings off).

5. Social Skills

Leaders who do well in the social skills element of emotional intelligence are great communicators. They're just as open to hearing bad news as good news, and they're experts at getting their team to support them and be excited about a new mission or project.

Leaders who have good social skills are also good at managing change and resolving conflicts diplomatically. They're rarely satisfied with leaving things as they are, but they don't sit back and make everyone else do the work: they set an example with their own behavior.

So, how can you build social skills?

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Emotional Intelligence in Leadership - Learning How to Be More Aware

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Relating to others is vital in today's workplace. Learn how to build your emotional intelligence (EI) with this article.

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For decades, leadership theories have been the source of numerous studies. In reality as well as in practice, many have tried to define what allows authentic leaders to stand apart from the mass! Hence, there as many theories on leadership as there are philosophers, researchers and professors that have studied and ultimately published their leadership theory. A great article to read before diving into the theories is the The Philosophical Foundations of Leadership

Theories are commonly categorized by which aspect is believed to define the leader the most. The most widespread one's are: Great Man Theory, Trait Theory, Behavioural Theories, Contingency Theories, Transactional Theories and Transformational Theories.

The Great Man theory evolved around the mid 19th century. Even though no one was able to identify with any scientific certainty, which human characteristic or combination of, were responsible for identifying great leaders. Everyone recognized that just as the name suggests; only a man could have the characteristic (s) of a great leader.

The Great Man theory assumes that the traits of leadership are intrinsic. That simply means that great leaders are born...

they are not made. This theory sees great leaders as those who are destined by birth to become a leader. Furthermore, the belief was that great leaders will rise when confronted with the appropriate situation. The theory was popularized by Thomas Carlyle, a writer and teacher. Just like him, the Great Man theory was inspired by the study of influential heroes. In his book "On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History", he compared a wide array of heroes.

In 1860, Herbert Spencer, an English philosopher disputed the great man theory by affirming that these heroes are simply the product of their times and their actions the results of social conditions.

The trait leadership theory believes that people are either born or are made with certain qualities that will make them excel in leadership roles. That is, certain qualities such as intelligence, sense of responsibility, creativity and other values puts anyone in the shoes of a good leader. In fact, Gordon Allport, an American psychologist,"...identified almost 18,000 English personality-relevant terms" (Matthews, Deary & Whiteman, 2003, p. 3).

The trait theory of leadership focused on analyzing mental, physical and social characteristic in order to gain more understanding of what is the characteristic or the combination of characteristics that are common among leaders.

There were many shortfalls with the trait leadership theory. However, from a psychology of personalities approach, Gordon Allport's studies are among the first ones and have brought, for the study of leadership, the behavioural approach.

In the 1930s the field of Psychometrics was in its early years.

Personality traits measurement weren't reliable across studies.

Study samples were of low level managers

Explanations weren't offered as to the relation between each characteristic and its impact on leadership.

The context of the leader wasn't considered.

Many studies have analyzed the traits among existing leaders in the hope of uncovering those responsible for ones leadership abilities! In vain, the only characteristics that were identified among these individuals were those that were slightly taller and slightly more intelligent!

In reaction to the trait leadership theory, the behavioural theories are offering a new perspective, one that focuses on the behaviours of the leaders as opposed to their mental, physical or social characteristics. Thus, with the evolutions in psychometrics, notably the factor analysis, researchers were able to measure the cause an effects relationship of specific human behaviours from leaders. From this point forward anyone with the right conditioning could have access to the once before elite club of naturally gifted leaders. In other words, leaders are made not born.

The behavioural theories first divided leaders in two categories. Those that were concerned with the tasks and those concerned with the people. Throughout the literature these are referred to as different names, but the essence are identical.

Associated Theories

The Contingency Leadership theory argues that there is no single way of leading and that every leadership style should be based on certain situations, which signifies that there are certain people who perform at the maximum level in certain places; but at minimal performance when taken out of their element.

To a certain extent contingency leadership theories are an extension of the trait theory, in the sense that human traits are related to the situation in which the leaders exercise their leadership. It is generally accepted within the contingency theories that leader are more likely to express their leadership when they feel that their followers will be responsive.

Associated Theories

Transactional theories, also known as exchange theories of leadership, are characterized by a transaction made between the leader and the followers. In fact, the theory values a positive and mutually beneficial relationship.

For the transactional theories to be effective and as a result have motivational value, the leader must find a means to align to adequately reward (or punish) his follower, for performing leader-assigned task. In other words, transactional leaders are most efficient when they develop a mutual reinforcing environment, for which the individual and the organizational goals are in sync.

The transactional theorists state that humans in general are seeking to maximize pleasurable experiences and to diminish un-pleasurable experiences. Thus, we are more likely to associate ourselves with individuals that add to our strengths.

Associated Theories

The Transformational Leadership theory states that this process is by which a person interacts with others and is able to create a solid relationship that results in a high percentage of trust, that will later result in an increase of motivation, both intrinsic and extrinsic, in both leaders and followers.

The essence of transformational theories is that leaders transform their followers through their inspirational nature and charismatic personalities. Rules and regulations are flexible, guided by group norms. These attributes provide a sense of belonging for the followers as they can easily identify with the leader and its purpose.

Associated Theories

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Leadership Theories - In Chronological Order

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For decades leadership theories have been the source of numerous studies. In reality as well as in practice, many have tried to define what detaches authentic leaders from the mass! Hence, there as many theories on leadership as there are philosophers, researchers and professors that have studied and ultimately publish their leadership theory.

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School Leadership Styles - Which One Are You?

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The leadership styles employed by school leaders play a crux role in the culture and even the basic function of a school. That is why it's crucial for a school leader to understand how each of the school leadership styles impacts the overall effectiveness of his or her school.

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What is transformational leadership? A model for motivating innovation

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The transformational leadership style inspires workers to embrace change by fostering a company culture of accountability, ownership, and workplace autonomy.

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What is Transformational Leadership? How New Ideas Produce Impressive Results

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Transformational leadership inspires people to achieve unexpected or remarkable results. It gives workers autonomy over specific jobs and authority to make decisions.

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While servant leadership is a timeless concept, the phrase "servant leadership" was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay, Greenleaf said:

"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.

"The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people's highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?"

A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. While traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the "top of the pyramid," servant leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.

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What is Servant Leadership? - Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership

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While servant leadership is a timeless concept, the phrase "servant leadership" was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay, Greenleaf said: "The servant-leader is servant first... It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.

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There's no one-size-fits-all definition of leadership. Leaders can succeed with all types of personalities, education, and theories. One popular leadership style is servant leadership, which will become more familiar when you recognize its characteristics.

Think about the terms "socially responsible companies" or "participative management" styles. Organizations and managers who fit these descriptions are the ones who typically fit the mold of servant leadership.

Examples of servant leaders include Stephen Covey, author of "7 Habits of Highly Effective People," and Richard Murphy, a legendary youth development leader in New York City.

Servant leadership is "a philosophy and set of practices that enriches the lives of individuals, builds better organizations and ultimately creates a more just and caring world," according to the Center for Servant Leadership. If that evokes your ideal of socially responsible organizations, you're probably thinking of places where servant leadership is the norm.

Servant leadership is a classic concept, but the term was coined in 1970, when Robert K. Greenleaf published his essay, "The Servant as Leader." Greenleaf maintained, "The servant leader is servant first."

Greenleaf believed that organizations - not just individuals - could also be servant leaders. His second major essay, "The Institution as Servant," unequivocally reinforced that point.

Unlike authoritarian leaders, the servant leader does not depend on accumulating or exercising power within a company. Instead, the servant leader:

Considers the needs of employees first. Servant leaders focus on satisfying the highest-priority needs of others. Servant leaders feel a strong sense of caring and responsibility for their staff.

Commits to helping employees develop expertise and improve performance. Servant leaders prioritize the personal and professional development of others, ensuring they build their knowledge base and professional skills.

Insists that the organization make a positive contribution to society. While not losing their focus on a healthy bottom line, servant leaders make sure an organization improves its community, region, and nation.

Many theories and curricula tend to focus on three classic leadership styles:

Authoritarian. This leader accumulates power and uses it to manage and lead the organization. Employees typically must follow strict rules and procedures with little deviation.

Participative. This leader empowers employees to be creative, offers suggestions and opinions, and encourages subordinates to provide input on senior management decisions.

Laissez-faire. Loosely translated from the French, laissez-faire means "let them do as they will." According to BusinessDictionary.com, these leaders discard authoritarian conventions, give minimal guidance to employees at all levels and leave subordinates alone to do their jobs as they see fit.

Servant leadership most closely resembles participative leadership. While history often cites few examples of any management theories beyond autocratic, or authoritarian, leadership until the 1950s or 1960s, servant leadership is actually an ancient approach. Lao-Tzu referenced servant leadership in the classic Chinese text "Tao Te Ching" as early as 500 BC.

There is no perfect leadership theory or technique. Leading as a servant comes with certain advantages and some downsides. Understanding the pros and cons of any philosophy is crucial to any leadership style you adopt.

Pros

Servant leadership can improve an organization and/or society over the long term.

Caring treatment of employees often encourages similar treatment of the organization's customers and vendors.

Servant leaders attract employee trust, which can improve the credibility of the organization's brand.

Servant leadership typically develops a positive corporate culture and can correct a prevailing negative culture over time.

This leadership style encourages and motivates high performance from employees.

Cons

Servant leadership requires time to achieve positive results.

Critics such as Deborah Eicher-Catt believe this leadership style is vastly overrated and gender discriminatory.

While servant leadership may not be a perfect fit in every situation, the style remains popular and is attracting more fans among organizational leaders. This leadership style is building a track record of success among managers who focus on improving their people and their community.

Sources:

Paul Schmitz, " Richard Murphy: A Powerful Example of Servant Leadership "

" What is Servant Leadership?," Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership

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What is Servant Leadership? - St. Thomas Online

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There's no one-size-fits-all definition of leadership. Leaders can succeed with all types of personalities, education, and theories. One popular leadership style is servant leadership, which will become more familiar when you recognize its characteristics. Think about the terms "socially responsible companies" or "participative management" styles.

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About 10 years ago, it was suggested I read the book, "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable" by Patrick Lencioni. At the time, this was a revolutionary book for me on what could have gone awry when establishing and running a team. It was to me a way to almost reverse engineer some answers on how to fix a broken team. The author uses a fictitious tale about a technology company to lay the background story for him to apply his theories on leadership and how certain dysfunctions can be poisonous to success. All that being said, I believe my ability to apply ways to improve, and potentially prevent some of the dysfunctions mentioned by Lencioni, have been extremely enhanced by applying theories from this course. And as the lesson commentary, Northouse and Lencioni all point out, it's up to the leader of a team to lead their groups around some of these pitfalls and establish by example the clear understandings of what is required of everyone on the team in order for the team to be successful in attaining their goals.

Lencioni defines the five dysfunctions of a team as being the absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and an inattention to results (Lencioni, 2002). In in Lencioni's story, he demonstrates how each of these dysfunctions compounds into the next one. Absence of trust was defined by Lencioni as being team members being unable to demonstrate weakness or vulnerability in front of their teammates (Lencioni, 2002). Similarly, the fear of conflict we touted to be created in an environment where trust was lacking, and prevented members of the team from openly expressing their opinions and as such could lead to teams making poor decisions. Both of these first two dysfunctions can both be mapped to the lack of cohesive team that functions in a collaborative environment. A high functioning team must exist in a collaborative environment that enables trust ensuring that all team members are able to work together and rely on one another (PSWC, 2017). Lencioni used his story to illustrate how this was true by showing team members and executives who didn't trust one another, or trust that an a differing opinion was a valid one to express, and in tune his fictitious company struggled to grow or progress.

Strong teams also show a unified commitment to their goals and can be achieved by involving team members in all aspects of the decision making process (PSWC, 2002). Lencioni's view point supported this approach by looking at a lack of commitment and how it could disable a team's ability to be successful. Lencioni discussed how a team who's not comfortable having a debate or a conflict in opinion can create an environment where those same team members are unable to commit to the overall process and goal (Lencioni, 2002). This lack of commitment, is not only devastating to keeping a team doing the things it needs to do to be successful, it's also the stepping stone to creating a culture lacking in accountability.

Our lesson commentary speaks to two distinct areas that are part of an accountable organization, and that's the results-driven structure and standards of excellence that were components of effective team leadership (PSWC, 2017). In a results driven structure, teams are structured to accomplish goals and everyone in the structure is accountable to their part of achieving those goals (PSWC, 2017). Those teams are also acutely aware of the levels that are required for them to perform up to the team standard. If all members are held to a high level of excellence, then the pressure to perform will create an environment where the best possible result will be achieved because of this accountability. Whereas Lencioini approaches this from the opposite side and discusses out a company whose culture has been lacking commitment, will now be lacking in accountability to be successful through all individuals achieving the highest level of production possible (Lencioni, 2002). This lack of accountability creates the potential for missed deadlines, faulty work and an overall inattention to details. Or as Lencioni puts it, a culture devoid in accountability creates a workplace where the overall focus on an individual's performance becomes greatly more important to those individuals then the overall company goals. Lencioni's defines this as his fifth dysfunction formally referred to as the inattention to results.

In this last dysfunction, the sum of the previous failures through the dysfunctions are realized. The results that are attained are subpar as none of the team members are as attentive to the overall teams goals as they should be. And it's here that the lesson is reinforced that an effective team leader must help a team navigate an effective team culture at the earliest of stages. As the five dysfunctions cascading into each other demonstrate, one deviance from a commitment to the core components of leadership in a team and the team can lose its effectiveness. Now as a leader, I need to remind myself to survey all the various components of a successful team and make sure I'm leading from the front and working to show my team the path to success. Lencioni sums it up in his book with the following quote:

" Successful teamwork is not about mastering subtle, sophisticated theories, but rather about combining common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence. Ironically, teams succeed because they are exceedingly human. By acknowledging the imperfections of their humanity, members of functional teams overcome the natural tendencies that make teamwork so elusive (Leoncini, 2002)."

References

Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice (7th ed.). Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

Lencioni, P (2002). The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Jossey-Bass.

Penn State World Campus. (2017). Lesson 9: Team Leadership. Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/canvas/sp17/21711-17327/content/07_lesson/printlesson.html (Links to an external site.)

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Leadership Theory and the overcoming Team Dysfunctions

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About 10 years ago, it was suggested I read the book, "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable" by Patrick Lencioni. At the time, this was a revolutionary book for me on what could have gone awry when establishing and running a team.

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School counselors have become an indispensable part of today's school environment. They assume a that are essential in helping students manage their mental health and perform at the highest caliber in order to prepare them for an increasingly competitive job market. variety of roles

A focus on student success and higher education is becoming increasingly important. As technology advances, a growing number of low-skill jobs are being mechanized or outsourced, meaning that the remaining jobs will require new competencies that are learned at college and trade school. ¹

Clearly, the demands of life beyond high school are in flux. As such, educational leaders are needed to rise to the challenge in order to help lead systemic change in schools.

According to The Education Trust, school counselors are uniquely positioned to lead during this transitional time in ways that teachers and administrators cannot. ¹

"Teachers are responsible for teaching subject matter to the students assigned to them. Principals and assistant principals are responsible for managing the budget, assuring a safe learning environment, making the buses run on time, and supporting the instructional and co-curricular programs," researchers Peggy Laturno Hines and Richard W. Lemons write. "Given the design and demands of their jobs, neither teachers nor school administrators are in a position to easily spot, much less change, the alarming mismatch between the demands of the outside world and the trajectories of individual students." ¹

School counselors pick up where administrators and teachers can not. Not only are school counselors responsible for each student in the schools they work for, but they also have the unique opportunity to shape each individual's educational trajectory.

In most schools, counselors manage course assignments for students, ensuring that students earn the required number of credits to graduate from high school. They are also privy to information such as test scores, enrollment patterns, and attendance rates. With this knowledge they can best determine which students are on a solid path to success, and which need additional resources in order to be successful.

Using this data, good counselors can also see how their institutions contribute to the success and/or failure of certain individuals or demographics, and work to improve policies in order to help each student reach their full potential. ¹

Counselors can also lead their schools in creating a "college-going culture" where all students are required to take college and career-readiness courses regardless of their plans after graduation.

"We promote a college-going culture and help students create a roadmap toward graduation filled with rigorous courses," notes Caron Cox, a counselor at one such school who has adopted a college-going culture. "All of our students are in college and career-readiness courses. Even if the students are struggling, we know they'll be more successful in college because they will have been exposed to the material and be better prepared when they leave Elmont." ¹

Other school counselors have made a difference in college readiness by changing their school standards to be more rigorous than in years previous.

Counselors in Bryant High School of the Mobile County Public School system in Alabama recently did just that after noticing that their students didn't seem to be graduating with the mathematics skills necessary to succeed in a college environment.

According to researchers Laturno Hines and Lemons, "They tracked [the problem] back to the school's policy of giving credit for Algebra IA and IB as well as Geometry A and B, which allowed students to complete the four-credit math graduation requirement by the end of their sophomore year." In essence, students who didn't wish to take math as juniors and seniors weren't required to. Sensing a problem, counselors in that school district advocated to change the graduation requirements for future students, ensuring they would have a proper education in mathematics before enrolling in college. The results have been wildly successful.

"Mobile is the only large district in Alabama to make AYP this year and one of the big reasons is what school counselors did," Deputy Superintendent Martha Peek said. "There has been this tendency to put students in low-level courses and just herd them through. You know we can't do that anymore. We've got to ramp up to the Common Core national standards. School counselors, you are the best to spread the word." ¹

These success stories show the kind of potential school counselors have to be agents of change and ensure student success. Through advocacy, thorough use of data, and rapport with administration and students, counselors can easily define pain points and work on new policies to help students become college ready.

In many school districts throughout the United States, this isn't the case, however. In fact, many counselors face a number challenges that can prevent them from advocating and leading in ways that are the best for their students.

Counseling Programs May Not Train Counselors to Properly Lead Change

In years previous, counselors have been trained to be practitioners of mental health and advocates for their students, and as such, not necessarily viewed as traditional leaders in the school environment.

Before, counselors were educated in a model that primarily focused on mental health training, but that has significantly changed. Over the course of the past two to three decades, many counseling programs have adapted their curriculum to better help their students as they become leaders and advocates for systemic change in the school system. ²

Today, counseling programs function on a model that defines the role of the school counselor as "A profession that focuses on. . .reducing the effect of environmental and institutional barriers that impede student academic success. The profession fosters conditions that ensure educational equity, access, and academic success for all students K-12." ²

This shift in focus allows counselors to be better prepared to face some of the most complex challenges facing today's student populations.

Principals and Administration May Not See the Need for School Counselors

In most school settings, counselors report directly to principals or administration, meaning that principals have a lot of say when it comes to a counselor's day-to-day activities. While principals have mastered the administrative capacities of their position, many are still unsure of the best practices for hiring, developing, and evaluating school counselors.. In an ideal school environment, school counselors and administrators work closely together in order to achieve student success.

As a result, many principals don't recognize the essential value that counselors offer to the educational experience for their students. Counselors are often spread thin performing non-counseling duties, from standardized-test coordination, to student discipline, and even substitute teaching. These barriers can prevent counselors from properly taking over leadership roles in the schools that they work for.

In order for counselors to become leaders in the education sphere, principals must understand the critical link between school counselors and college and career-readiness

A recent North Carolina State University study evaluated the relationships between principals and school counselors at high schools that won or were runners up in the College Board's Inspiration Awards. These schools, which were highly diverse, and in areas of high-poverty, had substantially increased student achievement, AP and honors class participation, test scores, and college acceptance and enrollment.

What did these schools have in common?

Their administrators and school counselors shared a core belief that all students could attend college, worked together and maintained responsibility for providing an environment where college-readiness was possible, and collaborated so that the entire school community, working together, reached its goals. is a stepping stone into a career path that helps students achieve their full potential. ³

Now more than ever, educators are in agreement about the goals of K-12 education, which is to prepare all students for college and career. In fact, 46 states have implemented a common curriculum which prioritizes "college-and-career-ready" standards. But the presence of these new standards won't ensure that students will thrive in higher education or in the workforce.

As key members of the educational team, counselors will have to develop the necessary leadership skills in order to help transform today's secondary schools. By providing counselors with the time, resources, and training necessary, students will reap the benefits of an educational system that was designed for their individual success.

For those interested in leading and making a difference in today's secondary schools, Wake Forest University Online

¹ http://edtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Poised_To_Lead_0.pdf
² http://jsc.montana.edu/articles/v5n19.pdf

³ http://www.academia.edu/5151304/Increasing_college_placement_rates_of_low_income_students

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Student success has become a major focus in today's schools. Counselors perform a necessary role in ensuring a bright future for today's students

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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.

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A business is only as good as those who lead it. And while you might think that your boss is the sole leader at your workplace, leaders are found at every level of every organization. Whether you work in a department of 1,000 or two, you're a leader yourself. Even if you're a one-woman show as a sole proprietor, you can be a leader in your industry or business community.

So, what is your personal leadership philosophy? Do you have one? Do you know exactly what it is? Do you think of it as just another workplace buzzword or can it actually benefit a woman's career? Let's take a look.

What is good leadership?

Before defining your own leadership philosophy, you need to know what good leadership is.

Good leaders do more than manage teams, departments, and companies. And remember, good leaders don't even have to be the boss. They can be colleagues who inspire and influence everyone around them to do better. They are consistent and lead by example; you can see a leader's philosophy in action by their behaviors and attitudes.

Discovering your leadership philosophy

Your leadership philosophy is very personal. The way you lead is ultimately based on your character and beliefs; how you respond to colleagues and work situations actively demonstrates your philosophy.

The best leaders are teachers. They know which behaviors will lead to desired outcomes, and they don't stop at simply stating their requirements. Instead, they consistently demonstrate the behaviors and actions that lead to those outcomes.

Sometimes visual thinking can help define your personal philosophy on leadership. Eric McNulty, associate director of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative and co-author of You're It: Crisis, Change, and How to Lead When It Matters Most, recommends sketching a stick figure representation of yourself as leader in order to reveal your leadership style.

For instance, a female CEO of a global tech firm drew herself at the center of a network. This indicates she sees herself as a connector rather than a leader giving orders from the top down. In contrast, McNulty's academic colleague whose style of leadership includes a lot of guidance, sketched two figures, the shorter one looking up at the taller, in the manner of receiving advice.

McNulty says the exercise is useful because your brain is stimulated in ways that are different than when you're writing or speaking. Using the creative side of your brain to define your leadership style leads to a deeper understanding.

If you're still having trouble defining your own leadership philosophy, try completing sentence prompts. For example, how would you finish the statement beginning with "I respect team members by..."? If you can think of ways you show respect to your colleagues (by actively listening to, developing and implementing new ideas, for instance), you'll be better able to articulate and form your own, authentic statement of belief.
Read more: 9 Mantras of Successful Working Women We Can All Live By
Benefits of leadership philosophy to women's careers

Good leadership is of course crucial to any company's bottom line. And while fear-based leaders can force employee motivation and compliance in the short term, it's inspirational leadership that will get true worker buy-in, leading to long-term employee engagement. A company with thoughtful leadership will benefit from increased productivity, better customer service, and decreased turnover.

Women are uniquely positioned to create safe and respectful workplaces. And according to Pew Research, women (more than men) are also seen to value people from different backgrounds, mentor young employees, and consider the societal impact of business decisions.

These natural leadership abilities will become increasingly advantageous to women's careers as we enter the Fourth Industrial Revolution. With automation and artificial intelligence radically changing the workplace, the value of skill sets is also being redefined. Those on the way out, according to the World Economic Forum, include manual dexterity and tech installation, while leadership and emotional intelligence are increasing in value.
Source: World Economic Forum
Developing a personal leadership philosophy isn't a one-time event; it's a process that evolves and matures over time. Looking to women in leadership who inspire can help you adapt your own approach, crystallizing your goals and philosophy.

Stacy Brown-Philpot, CEO of TaskRabbit, is one woman leader who serves as a great example. When asked how her sense of values manifest in her leadership style, she said:

"I think that many of my lessons have been around being authentic as a leader, being fully who I am as a person and allowing that authenticity to shape my leadership style. I was a different leader when I worked in India with Google. Earlier I joined companies that shared my values and now I get to shape a company that reflects my values. I've learned to connect the individual to the collective we are trying to create. I value honesty and integrity, and character means everything to me."

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Why a Personal Leadership Philosophy Is Important (Even if You're Not the Boss)

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A business is only as good as those who lead it. And while you might think that your boss is the sole leader at your workplace, leaders are found at every level of every organization. Whether you work in a department of 1,000 or two, you're a leader yourself.