My leadership philosophy is that a leader should encourage each team member to be the best version of themself to optimize their potential and improve collective performance towards achieving a shared goal. I take a holistic approach to leadership and believe it requires an understanding of the team’s desires, social needs, thoughts, and behaviours. Transformational leadership is a useful construct to me because it emphasizes individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, and inspirational influence (Gardner et al., 2021). I analyze situations from a humanistic lens; ethical decision-making that values others, sustainability, and justice, guide my choices. Focusing on self-development allows me to be the “architect” of my own leadership philosophy (Ailo, 2018). By knowing who I am, I can more easily aim to be authentic (Alvesson & Einola, 2019). I employ authentic leadership because it improves relationships due to openness about genuine thoughts and feelings. I believe a leader should not only craft strategy and structure but also build a sense of community (Ailo, 2018). Strong team dynamics improves attitudes and commitment (Kovach, 2018). I believe leadership practices should be balanced between task-oriented and people-oriented to encourage engagement, which can be modified depending on the situation. The underpinnings of my leadership model involve philosophies that highlight relational leadership, solution/task-oriented leadership, and participative leadership.
Relational Leadership Philosophy
A key pillar of healthy relationships is communication that is both respectful and honest. In my opinion, it is prudent that a leader conveys clear messages and removes ambiguity about direction. Communication should be bidirectional with concern for clarifying situations and solving dilemmas (Hategan & Hategan, 2021). Being attentive requires active listening; listening to understand has enabled me to become more flexible and use constructive feedback. I am convinced that a leader who is open to input will gain a better understanding of themself; thereby, increasing their ability to be an authentic leader. Remaining authentic makes a leader less likely to feel stressed and have mental depletion (Weiss et al., 2018). In my experience, disguising my thoughts and not expressing my feelings makes me uncomfortable or frustrated. I deplore when others display fakeness through their attitudes and behaviours; therefore, I promote transparency. Relational transparency creates vulnerability that is needed to build trust and is necessary for openness about mistakes (Gardner et al., 2021); this is beneficial to minimize errors and conflicts (Munir et al., 2012). Leadership involves a social exchange to motivate others, part of which is non-verbal such as open body posture and relaxed facial expressions (Ng, 2017; Reh et al., 2017). I orient myself towards the other person, lean in, and make eye contact. I exude confidence and rely on my charisma to inspire loyalty. Throughout history, charisma has been a major factor in transmission mechanisms and has been described as a “magic aura” (Castelnovo et al., 2017; Reh et al., 2017). Across disciplines, leaders that show extraversion and agreeableness have better retention rates (Holmes et al., 2020); this suggests that a leader’s personality traits influence staffs’ devotion and allegiance towards an organization. Overall, a relational leadership philosophical approach fosters healthy dyadic and team relationships.
Solution/Task-Oriented Leadership Philosophy
The main purpose of a solution/task-oriented leadership principle for me is to leverage the unique talents of each member to complete tasks efficiently and effectively. This is in accord with my strategic side that wants to seamlessly implement change. For me, efficacious change management involves encouraging others to gain skills, try new behaviours, and have an
optimistic attitude. In my experience, both professionally and in competitive sports, boosting team morale is necessary to maximize productivity and maintain high standards (Kovach, 2018). A solution-oriented leader prefers innovative teams that creatively generate new ways of getting tasks done (Storr, 2020). It is imperative to challenge the status quo and ensure tasks are achieved while considering political, situational, contextual, and personal factors (Storr, 2020).
To me, leading a team is similar to completing a puzzle (an activity that I love); patience is required and accomplishing small tasks step-by-step is necessary to achieve the end goal. Also, laying out the corner pieces and edges makes it easier to solve a puzzle. Similarly, having boundaries and setting expectations in a professional setting will give the team alignment so they can successfully finish their tasks. Moreover, each team member is like a unique puzzle piece. It is important to harness the skills that make them thrive and understand where they fit into the bigger picture.
Participative Leadership Philosophy
A practical application of the participative leadership principle is to clearly communicate that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect (Eisenbeiss, 2012). Prioritizing empowerment and collaboration are cornerstones of my leadership style. I am committed to nurturing others because people that feel empowered have better chances for career success (Dust et al., 2018). A high level of worker engagement is linked to decreased burnout, decreased staff absenteeism, decreased turnover, and increased work enjoyment (West et al., 2011; Shkoler & Tziner, 2020). In part, I think this can be explained due to the sense of feeling valuable and believing their future is bright within the organization. Participative leadership strengthens beneficial connections and fosters positive work climates so teams can gracefully navigate complex issues. Team decisions should be fair and without discrimination (Eisenbeiss, 2012). In my judgment, this is accomplished through empathic listening of others’ perspectives and appreciating cultural differences. This leadership principle has been particularly valuable to me in the pursuit of equity in healthcare; everyone is worthy of compassionate care as a human right, and this requires healthcare teams to be respectful, responsible, and harmonious (Storr, 2020).
Conclusion
My leadership goals are to improve productivity and team well-being, simultaneously. I recognize that as a leader I need to modify my approach slightly depending on the team member and what that individual requires of me. I choose an approach that complements each person but is rooted in the same core leadership principles. Overall, contingency theories have shown me the importance of being fluid and adaptable to different situations. In particular, a situational leadership approach examines the maturity level or performance readiness of different people to create a safe learning environment that is best suited to them (Walls, 2019). There are a plethora of external contextual factors to consider as well; including institutional support, social culture, technology level, complexity, and dynamism (Samimi et al., 2019). My views closely align with transformational leadership because I see the importance of influencing belief systems, cognitions, and emotions to effectively manage behaviours. A transformational leader is a role model that provides inspiration by articulating a collective and compelling vision (Shkoler & Tziner, 2020; Samimi et al., 2019). I’m passionate about continuing to serve my community by providing high quality health care. I’m currently a leader as a frontline worker and have direct patient care, but I’m hoping to shift into a new leadership role that involves making changes to systems, policies, and institutions to have a big impact on more people. I take pride in being an energetic, charming, and friendly collaborator that injects humour into the conversation when appropriate. These leadership attributes have helped shape my leadership style. Following my leadership principles allows me to keep my promises, distribute responsibility, and promote team cohesiveness.
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