Sala Fitisemanu

My personal leadership philosophy, in a statement, essentially affirms: Leadership is not

about YOU. You have a duty to uphold with respect to those you lead, those who lead alongside

you as well as those who lead you. Thus, in an effort of active, continuous improvement,

strengthen yourself, that you may better see to the needs and strengthen others around you.

Through the great influences of my cultural values and identity, my own experiences and my

individual strengths, this philosophy has truly become the evident source of passion, purpose and

initiative in my life.

My cultural values and identity have always been the foundation of my purpose and

desire to be a strong leader. The strong sense of responsibility along with self-improvement as

expressed in my philosophy is rooted in such rich Polynesian culture. Being raised Polynesian, I

was taught of the value, power and duty of the individual, especially regarding their contribution

to the whole, usually referring to the family, but in some contexts, the village, or the Polynesian

communities. In regards to that power and the duty that I was given, I was taught and felt that

no one else is ever going to do this for you, so it is up to you to get up, and do it. I learned

early in life to seek the value that I could create and motivate myself to achieve. I have never

intended to be complacent by any means, especially in regards to what I have done or

accomplished, because among those around me, within my family and among those I lead, I

know there is always a need and I can always contribute, in some capacity, to the fulfilment of

such. Thus, I have always been so firmly self-motivated to achieve, to refuse complacency and to

contribute to the fulfilling of the needs of others.

In addition to my strong independence, motivation and duty, I also have strong ambitions

to constantly improve and educate myself in various capacities. Because of my rich Polynesian

heritage, I am very connected to my own ancestry. My ancestors championed knowledge and

education, and despised the idea of settling for what has already been achieved or learned. In

examining the lives of my family members, it is so clear to me that education is what ultimately

allowed them to ascend beyond the confines of their situations and provide a better life for their

children, and eventually for me. Because of this, I, too, fundamentally affirm that there is so

much power in expanding upon ones knowledge, and in utmost respect and honor of the legacy

that my ancestors and parents have perpetuated, I, too, intend to cherish my own opportunities to

learn continuously. I truly love learning. The sincere desire that I have to continuously refine my

strengths and learn, accompanied with the duty that I have to those around me are central to my

purpose as an individual and especially as a leader.

In studying various leadership styles, leadership laws, theories and concepts, as well as

my own personal strengths as identified in Strengths Quest, I have learned to take the passion

that has been fundamentally established within me and broaden my perspective and vision to

greater depth, focus and refinement. I have become more aware of how far I have come, where I

am at currently, and what I intend to pursue in the future.

My strengths, as shown by my Strengths Quest results are, in order, Learner, Achiever,

Strategic, Arranger and Responsibility. I strongly feel that these strengths are very representative

of both how I view myself and how others see me, as well. My Learner strength is almost exactly

as I had previously understood it, prior to this class. However, my insight guide even goes so far

as to say, Your fascination with knowledge has probably been part of you even before you

formed the words to ask your first question. This is a statement that I absolutely believe. This

innate desire to learn always is something that is such a huge part of who I am as an individual

and has always been a consistent driving force for my personal growth.
 My Achiever strength is very straightforward and is actually works hand in hand with my

Learner strength. The guide says, You truly regret making a mistake, violating a rule, breaking a

trust, or producing poor results, and to continue, as a Learner, I will always concede to these

mistakes and actively work to improve from there. I am confident and will always rely on my

brainpower and developed abilities to accomplish all that I have set out to do, but I also

understand that I am not perfect and neither do I intend to be. I simply know what is within my

means and capacity and will challenge my own abilities in an effort to grow and consistently

achieve new feats.

Next, I have the Strategic strength. What impressed me the most was the concept that I

often use this Strategy beyond just analytics and factual information and through my

communication. Chances are good that you may be known for your ease with language. Perhaps

this ability serves you well when you need to talk with newcomers or outsiders. Your vocabulary

might allow you to tell stories or express your ideas with clarity. This is a strength that has been

made manifest increasingly within the last few years and has helped me immeasurably. I love

that I am an effective communicator because I value gaining insight and understanding of others

perspectives and ideas, as well as being understood. A quote that I have valued for many years is

one from William Howard Taft which states, Don't write so that you can be understood, write so

that you can not be misunderstood. In my experiences, I have seen that this concept definitely

influences my relationships with my fellow board members, Church leaders and other members,

professors and classmates, and especially in my friends and family.

Then, I have the Arranger strength, which also reiterates the strong sense of personal duty

that I feel, stating, Instinctively, you have a strong sense of commitment. It motivates you to

make sure that things are carried through to completion even when difficulties arise. It is this
sense of commitment, paired with values and abilities of organization and flexibility that allow

for tasks to not only be completed, but done at maximum productivity and efficiency.

Lastly, I have the Responsibility strength, which echoes some ideas from my Achiever

strength in saying, Its very likely that you are occasionally willing to be vulnerable. Perhaps

you claim your talents or admit your weaknesses. I value being honest with myself and that

requires admitting to vulnerability at times. Because I recognize the potential for growth and

learning in being vulnerable, I embrace these awkward, unsettling feelings and am okay with

being unsure. In understanding these five strengths, I truly have come to a greater knowledge of

why I value certain things, why I carry myself in the way that I do and why I am so deliberate in

the way that I act.

In conclusion, in addition to Strengths Quest, the Law of Leadership that has had the

greatest impact on me is the Law of Addition. Growing up in a family of conscious individuals

who strived to be leaders, I have always been able to recognize and thus, actively implement

ways of fortifying and developing my natural skills and abilities. Ive always known who I am

and the potential I had. Thus, I never really had to worry about myself, because I knew that no

matter what came my way, I could always figure out some way to overcome. In interacting with

so many people in so many diverse places, I sincerely can not help but hope that they, too, find

the stability and empowerment that stems from being self-aware and actively striving for

personal improvement. Hence, the Law of Addition. Strong leaders do not sit in satisfaction over

their abilities. They take their strengths and magnify them and their influence by going beyond

themselves and strengthening and supporting others. Once we are strong and developed to a

certain extent, we realize that leadership is not about us, but what we are able to create for others

those we lead and others around us. This brings me to the final words of my philosophy
stating, in an effort of active, continuous improvement, strengthen yourself, that you may better

see to the needs and strengthen others around you. This law, for me, completely encompasses

the true purpose of leader to aid in the benefit of others.