ORGL 3311 Organizational Leadership

March 7, 2015
Philosophy of Leadership

ORGL 03/07/2015
Felix Zamarripa

Philosophy of Leadership
My personal theory of leadership is that a leader is a transformative person who accepts
and acts on a set of ethical and moral values that empowers others in order to achieve a common
goal. Through a leadership assessment it was determined that my style of leading is well
balanced between being production-oriented behavior and employee-oriented behavior.
A leader has to be aware of his behavior style as it will be the basis for how he takes
action when leading. The effective leader will be able to toggle between these two behaviororientations when leading. A leadership assessment highlighted that in order to be an effective
leader there is a genuine need to know when and how motivate since not all employees need
motivation as explained by the Leader Subordinate Model. My strength was that I am both
employee-oriented but I also know that I am task-oriented. Another leadership assessment
highlighted my behavior for handling conflict rated high on collaborating and compromising. A
transformative leader has to know what their style for handling conflict is because it will
determine his/her tendencies.
The guiding values to my personal theory are integrity, personal development, and selfrespect. I believe that as leaders and followers we must have the basic characteristics in order to
be effective. I believe that in order to be effective in leading employees they must feel that the
leader is authentic. My definition of authentic is that a person consistently demonstrates their
values through their actions. I am a leader that has integrity and I show genuine support and
most important my teams feel that I supportive them. For example many times I found myself
working alongside my teams to meet a customer demand; my team knew that I was bringing
something to the table. Personal development is a value that is instilled in me as I am always

ORGL 03/07/2015
Felix Zamarripa

taking action to improve myself and my team. Self-respect is another value that is detrimental to
being a successful leader and is the framework that holds everything together. I behave in a
manner where I hold myself to the highest standards and I have the same expectations of those
around me.
I believe that it is important that leaders demonstrate strong ethical capacity; a leader
influences and inspires people to follow. If a leader is not ethical in the way they make decisions
then followers will lose trust in the leader and will stop following (McKee, A). I believe it is the
individuals responsibility to be an ethical leader. Everyone has to be a leader at some point even
if there is no official title. It is important that people realize that it is their responsibility to lead
and make decisions ethically. I think that most leaders do their best while leading and making
decisions and that it is everyones responsibility to review the ethical standards when they are
not.
I am an effective leader that possesses important abilities and traits such as the ability to
empower others, obtain trust/credibility, and have empathy. Effective leaders in organizations
must have the trait to empower employees by having them involved in decision making and
process improvement. As industry becomes more globalized and competitive employee
empowerment is important. Effective leaders must be trustworthy and credible if they expect the
same behavior from their employees (McKee, A). Work can be completed more efficiently when
there is a trustworthy relationship. Effective leaders must also have empathy if they expect to
understand how employees feel and think during different situations/crisis.
My leadership vision for the future is to have my own business and actively participate in
developing myself and those around me. May of this year I expect to be certified as a FESTO
Master Trainer in four different automation disciplines. By this year October 2015 I will

ORGL 03/07/2015
Felix Zamarripa

complete the BSA-ORGL and get my state licensing to open up my business. Within the next 1-2
years I will either start an MBA with A&M Kingsville or Finish My BA in Mechanical
Engineering from the UT Rio Grande Valley. In the next five years I expect to have my company
operating and doing very well in an industry that has a great future because I utilized the skills
which I have acquired.
Implementation will consist of staying true my leadership philosophy in my work,
business, and personal life. In my work and business I will create an environment of
empowerment where everyone shows help and support for each other. I will help create
environment where people can trust each other. I will also be empathetic towards employees and
constituents. I will also create an environment where people are ethical and have a sense for
social responsibility. In my personal life I will instill my personal values and be a role model for
my family.
I know that in order to be a transformative leader I must lead by example and possess
values such as integrity, personal development and self-respect, which promote an environment
of support for each other and trustworthy relationships. I am a leader that is always developing
myself and I expect the same from my employees and peers. I am an effective leader that
possesses important abilities and traits such as the ability to empower others, obtain
trust/credibility, and have empathy. I am a transformative leader that possess and acts upon
ethical and moral values that empowers others.

ORGL 03/07/2015
Felix Zamarripa

References
McKee, A. (2014). Management: A Focus on Leaders (2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson