Mazuca 1

Philosophy of Leadership Statement Christina M. Mazuca Michigan State University

Mazuca 2 Introduction Throughout my experience in the workforce I have had numerous opportunities to be influenced by leadership figures in different organizations. As many probably can relate, I have worked with people that have demonstrated exceptional leadership skills as well as with those that have not exemplified good leadership skills. A good or effective leader can have a dramatic impact on their followers. They can also have a profound effect on their organization or institution. Similarly, a bad leader can have an equally negative effect on their followers and their organization. Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal (Northouse, 2007). Effective leadership is crucial for encouraging staff to work hard, complete tasks in a timely fashion, do a good job, and work as a team to achieve the ultimate goal. It is from my past experiences that I have been able to build a framework for the style of leadership that I have put into practice. I will briefly describe examples of leadership experiences that have informed my thinking and my position on leadership, as well as provide an overview and details of the leadership philosophy that I strive to practice. While I am still fairly young in career, I will also discuss goals and areas in my leadership style where I could improve. Key Leadership Experiences Last year (2008-2009) I was given the opportunity to participate in the Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP). The program is sponsored by the Institute for Educational Leadership which is a national organization whose overall mission is to improve education and the lives of children and their families through positive and visionary change (Barnes, 2010). Participation in the program meant that once a month I met with other professionals from across the state of Michigan who in some way or another are involved in education, education

Mazuca 3 policy, and educational improvement. There were a wide range of participants, from a principal of a Grand Rapids area high school to a person from the Michigan Department of Education, whose job it was to oversee the free and reduced lunch program. Each month different speakers from around the state came and shared their leadership stories and there were many discussions about different educational leadership and policy topics. Additionally, we were required to attend two national conferences with members from other chapters around the country. One was held in Phoenix, Arizona and the other in Washington, DC. We had the pleasure of listening to many influential speakers who served as leaders in education in many different capacities. It was truly inspiring! It was hard not to walk away from both conferences feeling like I wanted to do something to improve education in the United States and to change our educational system and how it currently functions. In a strange way I also felt empowered, as though I could actually make a difference. One thing I noticed about each of the speakers was that they all seemed to have the traits and skill sets that we have talked about in class, including a love and passion for what they do, like Dennis Swan and Sam Singh. Some were natural-born leaders that command attention whenever they are in a crowded room; some had worked to become very eloquent and highly effective leaders. I noticed that most of them possessed common qualities, including charisma, a strong work ethic, dedication, a very strong sense of morals and ethics, and all of them had pursued higher education degrees. These are all qualities that we as a class have discussed and put forth as common values in effective leadership. One of my favorite speakers was President Cassandra Manuelito-Kerkvliet, Ph.D. She is the current president at Antioch University Seattle. Prior to becoming the president at Antioch she was the first woman president of Din College, the first tribally controlled community

Mazuca 4 college, located in Tsaile, Arizona (Antioch University Seattle, 2010). She spoke of her tribal culture and how she carries much of her tribal spirituality into her leadership style. It is with a strong sense of ethics and respect for others that she has gotten where she is today. She really had an impact on me. She told a story about how she makes her bed everyday so that she can start her day off positively. She feels that if you leave your bed unmade, it calls you back to it and you are not productive. As silly as that may seem to others, I have made my bed everyday since hearing that story. The story of her path to leadership and the decisions and obstacles she faced to be in the position of leadership was amazing. While it seems that she has worked very hard to get where she is I also felt that she had those innate qualities and was truly born to do great things. How a person becomes a leader or is already inherently gifted as a leader has been an important component of my thinking regarding leadership. These experiences have informed my personal leadership philosophy. I believe that leadership is positional to some extent. It can be much more complicated or difficult to be a leader if you are not already in that role. However, I believe if you are truly meant to lead or perhaps even what some have called a born leader (Sashkin & Sashkin, 2003) then perhaps it happens naturally and you find ways to step out of the non-leadership role into the spotlight, so to speak. I also believe that like Dr. Manuelito-Kerkvliet, you can work hard and even if the odds are against you, you can become a leader. Leadership and Personal Beliefs One of my core beliefs with relation to leadership and to career in general is that there is a level of moral responsibility in the actions one takes in their career, and that it is not acceptable or commendable to pursue a strategy of winning at all costs. This overall belief is informed by several specific values: treating others as I want to be treated, being fair, working hard, and

Mazuca 5 communicating fairly and honestly. I would never try to force my beliefs onto others but when it comes to morals, I will not compromise. I recently read the book Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior written by Phil Jackson (Jackson & Delehanty, 1995); in it Jackson represents a core philosophy that I greatly admire and seek to emulate. Jackson was able to lead his team to multiple championships in a respectful and team-oriented manner. He gave respect to get respect and I think that is critically important. He also possessed a calmness (probably obtained from his meditation and Zen-like personality) and led with his head and not emotion. He leads with a value-based style similar to that of James OToole that enlists the hearts and minds of the followers through inclusion and participation. Listening carefully to the followers out of deep respect for them as individuals and together developing a vision that they will embrace because it is based on their highest aspirations (pp. 153-154). Sharing Your Vision as a Leader Once positioned in a leadership role it is important for individuals to share their vision as a leader with ones followers early on. In order to work effectively with a group, priorities and goals need to be communicated so that there is a shared common vision. This ensures that the right people are involved in the appropriate projects as well as allows for the team to decide if they share in the common goals and want to work collaboratively in order to attain them. If not, actions should be taken on both sides to assure the proper fit for everyone involved with the project. This could mean that adjustments need to be made. It is possible that some of the team members will want to seek other opportunities. This will leave the rest of the staff or team members feeling better aligned with the organizations leadership vision. Taking Risks and Decision-Making as a Leader

Mazuca 6 Taking risks as a leader is something that I think comes easiest to those that are natural born leaders. Having the ability to know when to take risks is important. I am not a risk-taker by nature. I tend to over think things and even second guess myself at times. The important thing to consider is the level of risk involved in a particular decision. As a leader it is necessary to decide what the appropriate amount of risk is for any given situation. If taking a risk means that people could lose their jobs, I dont think that is a risk that I would be willing to take. Even in the best of times, educational leaders have difficult moral dilemmas each day (Shapiro & Gross, 2008). Working in an office that conducts educational research, I have learned the importance of making decisions based on data and evidence. Also, when conducting research with human subjects, it is necessary to be thoughtful and careful about the risks that you take. It is my belief that the best decisions are made using the best and most reliable data/evidence that you have. However, there are times, all things being equal, when you have to use your intuition. Again, this is something that those natural born leaders can do and usually do quite well. One element of gathering data and evidence can include the opinions of your staff. There are going to be times (circumstances) when you might make a decision based on comments and feedback from your staff or team. There will also be times when you have to make an individual decision. In my opinion, it is best to try to include your staff in as much of the decision-making process as possible. As part of gathering all possible data, having input from your team can be helpful. Typically, I am not a very decisive person. It is a long-term goal of mine to become a more confident and decisive person. Confidence is an important quality to be sure of your decisions. I believe that your followers can sense when their leader is not confident and then they become less confident in your abilities. It is also an important element in building the collective capacity of an organization to focus on involving staff at all levels in decision-making when

Mazuca 7 appropriate, as this increases investment and buy-in from staff, as well as trains and prepares them to make decisions themselves and offer leadership where appropriate. In this way, the organization grows stronger through the strength of the sum of its parts. Challenges in Leadership In any leadership role there are going to be people and even issues that are a challenge. I believe that you handle challenges on a case-by-case basis. Depending on what the challenge is, there are different ways to handle these things. In most cases it would seem that communication is the key. I would like to think that if I were met with a challenge I would try to have a conversation with the person or organization that was challenging me and try to figure out ways that we could either compromise or listen to one another so that we come to some form of agreement. Perhaps in listening to someone who is challenging my beliefs, I would be persuaded to see things differently. I think that part of being a good leader is to allow people to challenge you and do so in a way that is beneficial to the situation. Maybe a challenge would bring up new issues and thoughts that I hadnt previously considered. Some of the most effective leaders enable others to act (Sashkin & Sashkin, 2003). I do realize that conflict and challenges in leadership are rarely resolved in a neat and tidy fashion. In fact, its been my experience that things are almost never that easy. There will be times when tough decisions have to be made and you really do have to use your best judgment. Perhaps best said by Phil Jackson in Sacred Hoops, when considering taking a risk above all trust your gut. Conclusion There are many different styles and ways to be an effective leader, and it seems unlikely that there is one set formula for effective leadership. I know that in my leadership

Mazuca 8 opportunities I have tried to use my past experiences as a guide for both positive and negative examples, and to avoid the negative situations by not repeating or behaving in ways that have lead to negative outcomes. I try my best to learn and to put into practice the more positive influences to which I have been exposed. I think that treating people with fairness and allowing the decision-making process to be a shared experience is the most effective way to demonstrate true leadership. Communicating with and trusting in your team to put forth their best efforts for the shared vision of the organization is extremely important. Giving praise when praise is due and sharing in not only the success but also failure makes everyone feel that they are as valuable an asset to the team as the leader (Sashkin & Sashkin, 2003). While I clearly have many ideas about what it means to be an effective leader I feel that I am evolving my leadership philosophy as I grow as a professional through my experiences in the workplace. Just in the past two years I feel I have come a long way in my leadership philosophy, largely because of my participation in the EPFP and because of my role as project coordinator. I dont think that traditionally I have thought of myself as a "leader" which is also why I wrestle with the natural born/taught leader concept. However, I think I am finding out that I am more of a leader than maybe I had originally conceptualized. This semester has really given me the opportunity to reflect on myself as a leader and to see that I am actually given many opportunities to shine as a leader and to put into practice my leadership philosophy.

Mazuca 9

References Antioch University Seattle. (2010). Administration: President and team. Retrieved from http://www.antiochseattle.edu/about/administration-president.html Barnes, R. E. (2010). About IEL. Retrieved from http://www.iel.org/about/index.html Jackson, P., & Delehanty, H. (2006). Sacred hoops: Spiritual lessons of a hardwood warrior. New York: Harper Collins. Northouse, P. G. (2007). Leadership: Theory and practice (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Sashkin, M., & Sashkin, M. G. (2003). Leadership that matters: The critical factors for making a difference in people's lives and organizations' success. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Shapiro, J. P., & Gross, J. G. (2008). Ethical educational leadership in turbulent times: (Re) Solving moral dilemmas. New York: Taylor and Francis.