Ethan's Leadership Philosophy

To successfully lead people in a group, class or team, one must implement their leadership philosophy. Throughout this semester I have learned the necessary skills of leading a group and how every aspect of a group must be addressed for it to run smoothly. The philosophy that I have become accustomed to using requires positivity, listening, planning, team building, and self-knowledge.

1. Positive Enforcement

During my freshman year, I was on the volleyball team. There was an A and B team and the coaching styles between the two coaches had an enormous difference. My coach had a calm attitude and was patient while we adapted to new forms and positions. The other coach had an incredibly reactive attitude, and instead of having a fear of losing, the players developed a fear of messing up and facing the coach's wrath. GBN lost a match after winning the first game because they completely fell apart. The coach's anger was expressed by breaking a clipboard and screaming at all of the players. My team played directly after the loss and we rolled to an easy victory because our coach continued to encourage us throughout the game. My coach had a proactive attitude: he corrected our mistakes instead of yelling at us, supported us when we were losing, and had fun coaching. I have adopted this aspect of leadership from my coach and continued to hone it in my Management and Leadership class. I learned that negativity does not help the outcome. Through positive reinforcement, the people will want to perform as best they can. This style of leadership works even as a follower, and I have vowed never to lose my temper when my group members are not performing to a certain standard.

2. Listen thoroughly

Being a good listener is crucial to becoming a good leader. Without proper listening, relationships can never be established and people will have a low desire to work for a certain leader. This semester we did a bird house building activity. I observed this process and watched the results unfold in front of me. Initially the leader did not pay much attention or listen to what the workers were doing and they went off on their own course. Once the leader began to pay attention, they were upset that the bird house had been built in a way that they did not approve of. When good listening skills are used, many problems can be avoided. I have learned to always communicate with my group members. When I have listened well and can keep all of the members on the same page, operations run much smoother and all of the problems in this sector are eliminated.

3. Create a team

Have a common goal in mind so everyone is motivated to complete the task. When we went to the team challenge course and had to complete the obstacle course, we failed quickly. People acted as individuals and left the rest of the group to suffer alone. When the group crossed the bridge, it was imperative that the group worked together so no one fell off. Also, when we planned ahead we were able to complete the course in a lesser amount of time.

4. Understand leadership

Sean Covey, the writer of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, explains how leadership style can affect the group outcome. In business, if members are not happy with the rules that the leader puts in place, the company can suffer. People often act negatively in these situations by not performing up to their best ability. This lowers the production of a company and everyone suffers. When people are happy with their leader they are more inclined to work hard. Thus, production will increase and the company will benefit. Also, never overstep your bounds as a leader; followers deserve a level of autonomy to keep them happy. Allow people to provided for the cause. An example of this is a participative leader, they make the big decisions but give their followers a voice and a certain amount of freedom. A leader must understand how to lead and who they are leading in order to effectively lead.

All of these skills are crucial for a leader to run a successful group. Leaders must be open to criticisms to improve their skills and have an open mind to adapt to the needs of the followers. No leader can be perfect, but gaining new values will create success in any situation.

Jason's Leadership Philosophy

The act of leadership revolves around three P’s: Passion, Purpose, People. Over the past semester in Management and Leadership and throughout my high school career, I have learned that this is what sets apart “leaders” from “managers” and other people in supervising positions. To be a powerful and effective leader one must posses passion for something, have a purpose in mind, and inspire people to follow and acquire the same passion and purpose that the leader has.

Passion is what motivates people to wake up earlier, work harder, and love what they do each day. Whether a person is passionate for personal, social, political, or economic reasons, it is what drives them to persevere through difficulties and strive to achieve their own definition of success. Without passion, a person has no reason to lead and there is no reason for anyone to be inspired. But when a leader demonstrates a strong passion and commitment to something, then people can become inspired and when people are inspired they will usually work harder to achieve the goals set out by the leader. This passion that the leader demonstrates will then lead to a purpose.

Purpose is what guides a leader, it is the reason why the leader is doing something. A big aspect of leadership that I learned this semester is that it is always important to ask yourself “why” you are doing something before you know “how” or maybe even “what” you are doing. Without knowing that “why”, or the purpose, of what you are doing, you have no backbone or guidance to fall back on along the journey of achieving your set goals; you can easily get lost in what you are doing and not be able to succeed because you don’t know why you are doing something. This is why having a purpose is important to being a successful leader. Also, having a purpose will bring together people that share the same reasons or values as you for doing something. A good example is Apple; in a TED talk, Simon Sinek explains how Apple is different from other companies because in their commercials they tell you why they are doing something which then inspires people to follow that same passion and wait in line for 24 hours to buy a new iPhone. In doing so, apple is able to inspire change based on their purpose for doing what they do. But nothing would be achieved by the leader if it wasn't for the people that follow.

People that share the passion, purpose, and vision of the leader are just as important as the leader. No leader can successfully be recognized as a leader if it wasn’t for the support and action of the people following. The job of the leader, though, is to inspire the people to share the same vision, purpose, and goals in order to achieve their desired success. A manager will tell a group of employees what to do and scold them when they are doing it wrong but a leader will inspire the employees to want to take action and work to achieve success. Aculture should be created by the leader and embraced by the people which makes the leader effective and successful.

A leader must trusts his passions which shape a purpose that brings people together in order to achieve great things. A leader without the three P’s is simply a follower so take the risk, pursue your passions, and inspire change by being a successful leader.

Emily's Leadership Philosophy

What is a leader? Before taking this class I didn't have background information to help me answer this question. 6 months ago I probably would have said that a leader was somebody who could lead a group of people to success. But now I understand that leaders are all different types of people and exist in every environment. Being on the GBN Varsity Swim Team, the leaders on our team are the captains. The captains on my team have such a big impact on everyone and are involved in every aspect of what a team is. Planning team bonding activities, choosing team suits, helping teammates through hard times, making rosters, being mediators, and communicating needs between the team and coach plus many more are all things that captains do. Captains are such good leaders because they do all of this without anybody really even noticing that all of this is going on. I believe in order to be a good leader on a team you need to be able to be proactive and understand that becoming a captain you are putting the team before yourself now. This can be hard for some people making it very hard to find a good enough leader to take on the role of a captain of a team.

Captains need to be proactive because nobody is ever 100% sure how things are going to end. During the fall, I had 21 girls on my team and it felt that somebody was always going through something whether it be bad grades or family problems. Captains have to be able to communicate with our coach to tell him what is going on and what needs to happen in order to make the best out of a situation. Because they know that anything can happen, they must prepare for future problems. Captains are great leaders because they need to synergize with each other and our coach to do something that will be the best for the majority of the team. This can be very hard to do because captains are typically seniors and they are still pretty young and end up making big decisions that will affect everyone. Effective leaders provide the vision and motivation to the team so everybody can work together toward the same goals.

To be a good leader you need to have self awareness and work with your other captains which can be hard for some people. It is critical for the captains to be on the same page because they are leading everyone. Captains have to be good at understanding their weaknesses and trying to improve them. For example one captain may be better at communicating with the team while the other captain may be better at communicating with our coach. These captains need to have self awareness to understand what they are good at individually to then work together to create a strong communication team.

The captains need to carry the vision out of the team. Everybody has different goals and different meets they would be swimming at for their final meet of the season like JV conference, Varsity conference, Sectionals, and State. Although it is very important for the entire team to have a great final meet regardless what meet it is, the most important meet is State. The captains have a hard job of creating an atmosphere to show to everyone that they are important and their final meet is also but, they also have to put the message out there about State and how GBN should be represented. This is a reason why it is important to have a captain that will be going to State so they understand what is also best for the most elite group of people on the team because ultimately they are who people see at State. This can be hard when a captain is not going to state because then they have to make decisions that is putting other people in front of yourself. Since many people who are captains do not go to state it is very important for these people to have the ability to put other people in front of themselves without it affecting them too much.

Lastly the captains are kind of like the middle men of the team between our coach and the rest of us they have more power than just a regular member of the team but they don’t have as much power as our coach. To be a good captain they need to know the difference between power and authority. Many times our coach gives the captain's power to make decisions and speak for him but the captains cannot abuse this and turn it into authority. Power is coming from the person who has authority and is respected from that and a captain needs to know the difference between these and to not cross the line and become to authoritative. A captain at most has a 4 year age gap between the youngest person on the team and if a captain became more of an authority, it would defeat the purpose of having a coach and captain separate.

To be a captain you have to be good at so many things and have very few weaknesses. Captains cannot be shy and are going to have to put the team before themselves. Many people are not capable to be a captain because of the dedication the role takes. It is very hard to find a good captain that is good for the entire team and enjoys doing what they do. I believe that captains need to be dedicated, willing to put the team in front of themselves and be able to communicate extremely well to be a good leader.

John's Leadership Philosophy

Leadership is something more complicated than it seems, and it comes in different forms. It's not just telling other people to do what you want; leadership is more of a complex trait that requires multiple parts to work at once. There are many leadership styles and philosophy, but my philosophy is that there is always room for improvement. Maybe it's from the way I was taught growing up, but I think there's always something to tweak for a better result in the future. This means that some things must be constant, but at the same time things must be innovated as well.

1. Lead yourself before you can lead others

http://compumatrice.com/leaders-inspire/

One of the things that leaders must evaluate is themselves. They need to know if they are capable of leading other people. Sean Covey, the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens said, "We must fix ourselves before we can fix others." If the leader is going to be the one that brings changes, they should change themselves first. There is a sad story about an Anglican bishop who wanted to change the world. However, he realized that the task was difficult because no one wanted to listen to him, even his family. All his life he wanted to change this, but he just couldn't find the way. On his deathbed, he finally realized that if he changed himself, others could have followed him and potentially the world could have changed. No leader ever wants to be that bishop, regretting what he did not do to live his dream.

2. Have a vision in mind

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Tony Robbins, a motivational speaker, once said, "Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible." That is something that leaders should do. A leader must know what he or she is doing; they can't just improvise as they go. Leaders and teams with goals in mind know what they are striving for, and they can reflect on the their performance so they can improve in the future. Without a strong goal and a vision in mind, the team as a whole has no direction to go to. A stuck team that is confused can get frustrated as well, which can potentially jeopardize the team. In the leadership impact project, the Burger Day Group had a vision; we had a set goal in mind and we were working to achieve it. With this goal in our minds, we were able to accomplish our goal.

3. Be Communicative

http://effectivecommunicationadvice.
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Good leaders must have strong communication skills. They must be able to talk to the team so everyone is on board. Leaders should not be hesitant with what they are going to say. The team must know what is on the leader's mind. Otherwise, if the leader won't share, then the team won't know what to do. The followers must also know what their role is so they can be an effective team as an unit. Employees who are comfortable in the environment tend to be more productive. Another skill the leaders should have is that they must also be good listeners. They can't be a brick wall and block everything when fellow employees or fellow leaders are talking to them. Likewise, they can't be a tube and let the noise enter in one ear and leave the other. They should instead be like a sponge; soak in what they are listening to and think of how they can improve, which could be feedbacks or suggestions. In class, the class conducted interviews to applicants, and this forced everyone to use their communication skills effectively, including the use of body language and listening carefully.

4. Be proactive

http://perryloop.com/2014/
07/11/you-want-more/

Everyone knows nothing is perfect; there is always something that can be improved. Leaders should be aware of this, and should constantly improve. With this in mind, they should still be happy with what they have. If a leader is constantly unhappy with the current production, the team morale is going to plummet. In order to keep the morale high, leaders should congratulate and reflect on the current success, but should always strive for more. This parallels my overall philosophy. This also comes from the lesson of being proactive. Leaders should not be reactive and wait for things to happen; they need to go out and make decisions. Leaders who are more proactive and more aggressive gets better results.

5. Be passionate

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Good leaders love what they do, and they use this passion to motivate the team. He alone cannot be a productive team, and, likewise, a group cannot be a productive team if they are not motivated. A leader with a driving passion brings energy to the team, and this energy can increase productivity or performance.  This goes with the positive/negative motivation lesson that we learned in class. I think positive motivation, like energetic leaders and rewards, are more effective than negative motivation, like threats. A team full of highly motivated, energized workers in a happy mood makes the team full of creativity and potential.

Throughout the year, I learned many things about leadership that can be used in the near future. Like I said before, there are many philosophies in leadership. They come in different forms and different point of views. However, no matter how different they may be from each other, leadership separates the leaders from the led.

Sam's Leadership Philosophy

Leadership Philosophy

When I think about the word “leadership” I think about leaders of countries, huge organizations, and successful companies. However, leadership is much more than having a title and maintaining a reputation. A true leader does not necessarily need to have a high paying position; they don’t even have to be well known or famous. Everyone has different views on leadership, and it is true, there are different types of leaders. In this post I will outline what I believe to be the best leadership philosophy, using ideas and morals I have learned from my experiences, as well as classes I have taken, and people I have spoken to.

Openness/Transparency

No matter what type of leader you are, I believe that you must be open and transparent with regard to the people around you. A leader is not truly a leader if they don’t have the ability to stay accessible and listen to ideas or criticisms, whether it be from outside influences or internal voices. This concept is a hard one to actually implement in your job and even in your life. However, the people who learn to stay open in the workplace and in the rest of their lives are the ones who are the most successful. In my Management and Leadership class, we did an interview activity to simulate what a real job interview is like. We got to interview teachers and staff members at our school for the theoretical position of Dean of the Students. What I saw in all four candidates we interviewed was that they strive to be transparent leaders with an open door policy. That really stuck with me, and I will try to always stay open as I lead in my life.

Positivity

Staying positive on a daily basis is a hard task in itself. Staying positive as a leader is even harder. All leaders must be able to remain positive in both the bad times and the good ones. A leader’s job is to lead people, and the people need to be confident in their leader in order for success to happen.

Part of staying positive is always maintaining a Win-Win mentality. As a leader begins to see the positive side of every situation for every person involved, he/she becomes more motivated, and therefore, more successful. One of the people who I learned this idea from is my Dad. He holds a high management position at his company, and he comes home stressed out almost every day. He has to deal with many people on a daily basis, as well as his own problems. The only way he can get be successful is to stay positive at work and at home. People will see your positivity, and emulate it. In my daily life, I strive to stay positive even in the most stressful times. This will help me as I grow into a leader.

Conscientiousness

Another key quality a leader must possess is conscientiousness, or the ability to be aware. This applies to many facets of leadership, whether it be staying aware of the people around you, the environment in which you lead, and even yourself. It is extremely challenging to maintain a good idea of what is going on around you when you have so many things to worry about. A true leader knows and learns how to balance everything in their job and in their life in order to stay conscientious. When I participated in our Leadership Impact Project, I learned that this skill was one I needed to work on and master. The more people you work with, the harder it is to stay focused, while still keeping a general awareness of the situation and environment. The best leaders know what the people below them want and need and how to deal with that day in and day out.

Passion

Lastly, and I think most importantly, is passion. Without passion, what is the motivation to lead? It is my belief that to be successful in anything, you must be passionate in that particular thing. When it comes to leadership, passion is the key. The reason someone becomes a leader is to help other people become just as passionate as they are. From political leaders to business leaders, there is one common denominator: the most successful leaders are passionate in what they do. A great example of someone who has passion is Dr. Paul Pryma, Glenbrook North’s principal. Everyday I see Dr. Pryma with a huge smile on his face, enjoying every aspect of his job. The stereotypical principal is hated by the students, but he is different. The reason he is so beloved is because he demonstrates such a true passion for the GBN community and all that it offers. If there’s anything I have learned in my life, it’s to do what you love and love what you do.

Alec's Leadership Philosophy

Intro: My Dad owns a property management company where he manages thousands of units in the city of Chicago.  One day I want to succeed and take over his business myself.  In order to do so, I need to have certain leadership skills to bring continue the success in his company.  Here are the leadership qualities I believe I will need in order to do so.

1. First off, I will need to be calm.  In the property management business a lot of things go wrong all the time.  If an issue comes up and I freak out, it may rub off on some of my other workers and they will freak out too.  Overall this will lead to a loss of money which will harm my companies business.  How I plan handling high pressured situations, is by first finding out all the details on the problem.  Then I will brainstorm how I can solve or fix the problem.  Finally, I will execute by doing what needs to be done.

2. Then next important quality I will need to have is communication.  When managing buildings all over the city I will need to have very good communication skills.  I will need to have to communicate from everyone to my workers to the building managers to the tenants of the building.  I plan on being good at communicating by creating an email that is specifically for work, then when emailing I will make sure to be concise and will always explain the situation and what needs to be done, also I will include when it needs to be done by.

3.  Another principle I will value is perfecting myself before I give other advice.  Of course I won't just be appointed the head of the company right away, I will have to work for many years and for other people before I earn the CEO title.  But it is very important to gain expertise in what you are doing before you give others advice, otherwise you might be giving your workers the wrong advice.  In addition, if I give wrong advice my workers might respect me less and won't listen to me.  Overall being an expert at what you do won't only affect you but can positively affect others.

4.  Organization. Organization is huge because you have so much to keep track of.  Whether it is the condition of a building or keeping track of collecting rent, you have to be very organized to be efficient.  If you are very disorganized you can run into a lot of problems and the company will essentially go out of business.  There are so many resources I can use to be organized whether it is assigning certain people to keep track of certain things or using technology like microsoft excel.  Overall, I plan on keeping my company very organized so everything will run a little bit smoother.

5.  Another thing I plan to use to make my company more successful is motivation/inspiration. Going to work can get a little bit repetitive and boring for some, which can lead to someone being unmotivated and can affect their performance.  I plan on motivating my workers by being someone they want to work for and want to do well for by being a very friendly boss.  I don't want to just have friendly small talk with my workers but actually gain relations with them.  Some of my dad's best workers are his best friends and that is something I want if I take over his business or run any business.


Conclusion:  Overall I think all these qualities can help me lead my business to success and I think other leaders should consider focusing on perfecting these qualities too.

Danielle Sokol's Leadership Philosophy

There isn't just one quality that makes a great leader. I think that thinking win-win, having good communication, being democratic, leading by example, being able to listen, and adapting to different situations are some of the many important qualities that make a good leader.

• Think Win-Win: Thinking Win Win means that you are a positive, fair, and cooperative person. This mentality means that if you don’t win, and the other person doesn’t win, then you both win. Winning isn’t the world and if you think Win Win then everyone is happy. This mentality creates a healthy work environment and a healthy leadership where every persons ideas are equally important and accepted.

• Communication: Every good group dynamic begins and ends with communication. If you can communicate with your subordinates what you want accomplished will result in a better flow of the workplace and group dynamic. You have to be able to speak your mind but remember “less is more”. Communication is effective and essential as a leader but if every opinion is shared, people are less likely to listen.

• Democracy: Being an effective leader is believing that there’s more to the task than your commands. Everyone’s voice is important and letting others relate their feelings and concerns lets them know that you’re really listening to them and care about what they have to say. This leads to developing a healthy working environment and trust between you and your co-workers.

• Lead By Example: People that look up to you will continue to do this so long that there is an aspect of trust put in place. In order to develop a strong sense of trust, a good leader must achieve the goals they set for their team to complete. Once these people see that you mean what you say and say what you mean, they’ll do what you ask.

• Listen: Being a good leader isn’t just about telling people what to do but about listening to what they have to say. Communication begins with you telling people what you want from them and ends with listening to their comments and letting them voice their opinions. You’ll never know if something is effective or not if you never give your employees the time of day.

• Adaptability: Adaptability is a quality that all great leaders must obtain. Adapting to situations that are favorable are quite easy to do but adapting to difficult situations is challenging. A versatile leader must be able to handle every task that is presented whether it be simple or difficult. If you are able to adapt to all kinds of situations, you will become an effective leader as well as an educated leader.