Running head: FINAL REFLECTION

ELPS 419: Final Reflection on My Leadership Philosophy

Alison L. Reimel
Loyola University Chicago

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Leadership. It is so many things to so many people. It is ever changing and ever

evolving. It is influence. It is power. It is connection, empowerment, change, love, hope, and
risk all at once. Some say it looks the same in all situations. Others say there is no one way to do
it. Most agree that it results in a positive change. Few claim it to be easy. In fact, there is a
rumor it is only for a select few. Over the course of the semester, it has been a combination of
all of these things in some way, shape, or form for me. Back in August, I know that leadership
consisted of these elements. In fact, on the first day of class, we filled out an information sheet,
and on it I vividly remember writing down most of these words. They were in no particular
order and for many of them, I did not have the context to understand where they came from. But
nonetheless, I knew that this is how I saw, felt, and practiced leadership. Over the course of the
semester, I have slowly but surely began to string these words and concepts into an
understanding of leadership based on my own values, best practices, and research. To me,
leadership is the process by which people empower one another to create positive change
through connection that is grounded in shared values.
With in this understanding, there are multiple concepts that stem from a variety of
leadership theories, including transformational leadership, authentic leadership, and the Social
Change Model of Leadership Development. The first of these concepts is the idea that
leadership is a process. Northouse (2012) explained that over the course of the last century,
leadership has been defined a variety of different ways by a number of different theorists. In the
early twentieth century, leadership b control and centralization of power, moving into a focus on
specific traits that made someone a leader, and then to how a leader influences others to meet
goals. Still today there is no one shared understanding of leadership amongst academics or
practitioners. However, many, including me, do agree that leadership is a process rather than a

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trait or perfected skill. For me, how could it be a perfected skill or trait? We are constantly
interacting with different people with different identities and values, who because of these
different view and receive leadership in different ways. Leadership is many times situational,
demanding different approaches, styles, and strategies when working to make a positive change
(Northhouse, 2012, p. 99). For this reason, it is also something that must be constantly and
intentionally practiced. As we come to understand more and more about ourselves, those around
us, and the society in which we live, we must evolve and grow in our understanding and practice
of leadership.
The second component of my leadership philosophy is that of empowerment, specifically
the process of empowering one another to create positive change. It is essential to recognize that
empower is the verb in my leadership philosophy. Empowerment is the interaction that is
happening between two or more people. Throughout the semester, I have gone back and forth
considering the differences between empowerment and influence. At the end of it, I feel that
empowerment is about growth and development, whereas influence can be about those things but
does not have to be. Empowerment is an exceptional form of influence and is cornerstone of
transformational leadership. It raises the level of motivation and morality in both the leader and
the follower (Northouse, 2012, p. 186). Empowerment is about reaching ones fullest potential.
I believe empowerment is personal and thrives most when a connection exists between the leader
and followers.
This brings me to another key component of my leadership philosophy. Connection is
the force or commonality that binds two or more people together. It is also a piece of
transformational leadership as it is the driving force behind raising people up and empowering
them to act. It is also a component of the Social Change model of Leadership Development.

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According to Wagner (2009), connection with others, particularly when aiming to create the
same positive change, is an essential piece to leadership. Connection fosters self-meaning and
ones ability to see their impact in the world around them. It reinforces that idea that leading is
not something that occurs in a vacuum. Rather, leadership, and therefore positive change, can
only occur when people connect and empower one another. True connection however, demands
a level of authentic leadership. Leading authentically means that one does not negotiate personal
values (Northouse, 2012, p. 259).
Personal values are the final component necessary to create positive change. Values and
beliefs are key pieces to transformational and authentic leadership, and particularly central to the
Social Change Model. Specifically, the Social Change Model identifies seven components
essential to leadership development, two of which being an awareness of ones own values and
beliefs as well as shared community beliefs (Cliente, 2009). In alignment with this notion, I
firmly believe that the ability to identify and act on ones own beliefs and finding others who
share those values is at the foundation of the ability to build connection and therefore empower
others toward positive change. Identifying and acting on personal and shared values is also an
ode to the idea that leadership is a process rather than a reachable skill. Personal values are
deeply rooted and central to understanding how we relate to others. As we come into new
environments, contexts, and interact with new people, our values may show up differently.
Shared community values may change. We must do the continuous work needed to understand
our values and how they relate to others.
This is where the positive change happens. The process of empowerment through
connection grounded in shared values is the catalyst for the final component of my leadership
philosophy- positive change. Positive change addresses a larger issue that improves a function,

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system, or situation. Positive change is also identified collectively, not just by those privileged
enough to deem something good. Most importantly, positive change can also be an outcome
that reaches far beyond the efficiency of an organization, ensuring deadlines are met, and even
creating buy-in for a new way of thinking. Much like the Social Change Model, I consider
positive change deeply rooted in issues of inequity and injustice (Cliente, 2009). However,
when aiming to create this type of change, it is essential that I also consider the ethical and social
justice impacts of my leadership philosophy.
Before adopting this philosophy, or any philosophy for that matter, into practice, it is
necessary to take a step back and recognize the extent to which a leadership practice is inclusive.
First and foremost, critical selfreflection is a tool a consistently incorporated within my
philosophy. Critical reflection, according to Preskill and Brookfield (2009), is the practice of
reflecting on and in our practice. In the case of my philosophy, critical reflection can be applied
in a variety of different ways. When connecting with others, you might ask Who am I choosing
to connect with? Do they hold all the same identities as me? What am I connecting with them
over? When considering shared values, you might ask Why do I value this? How did this
become a value? Why do others value this? Are there people who do not value this? How to my
identities impact what I value? Most importantly, when considering creating positive social
change, you might ask Who says this change is positive? What is this changing? For who is this
changing something? By whom is this changing? What are the intended and unintended impacts
of this change?
In addition to utilizing critical reflection, a pluralistic leadership approach is also
incorporated into my leadership philosophy. Pluralistic leadership is defined as a framework that
seeks to truly honor and engage the diversity of experiences and perspectives that enrich our

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campuses (Kezar, 2000, p. 7). At a time when there are more voices of underrepresented
population on college campus than ever before, there needs to be an approach to ensuring that
those voices are not only heard, but listened to. Again, critical reflection can be used as a tool to
incorporate pluralistic leadership into my own leadership philosophy. First, it is important to
step back and consider who we are choosing to empower on our campuses. What are their
identities? What are we empowering them to do? Are we acknowledging and addressing that
leadership looks different depending on our identities? In our leadership development programs,
what students are we recruiting and how? Are we allowing space to determine shared values as a
whole community?
Using pluralistic leadership as the foundation of my philosophy, I can now begin to
develop strategies for implementing this understanding into practice. My philosophy, that
leadership is the process by which people empower one another to create positive change
through connection that is grounded in shared values, can be implemented as a general approach
to working with students or colleagues, as well as adopted to drive a formal leadership program.
For me, when I work with students whom I advise, I am incorporating this philosophy through
the lens of challenge and support depending on their perceived stage of he Leadership Identity
Development Model (LID). Specifically, how I empower students through challenge and
support. The LID is a model comprised of six development stages that describe the increasingly
complex ways that students view leadership and their own identity as a leader (Komives, Dugan,
Owen, Slack, Wagner, & Associates, 2011). Depending on how my students view leadership
and their own ability to lead, I can utilize different approaches of challenge and support in order
to empower. For example, a student came to me with an issue within the organization, but
expressed that she did not feel like she could do anything to change it since she did not hold a

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leadership title in the organization. She seemed to be in the leadership identified stage,
wherein leadership is titular and hierarchical. Those with titles are the ones who can implement
organizational changes. In this conversation, I asked her what a leader does for the organization
that makes them a leader. She talked about organizational improvement and helping other
members develops their skills. I then supported her definition and challenged her to think of
ways she does that without having a formal leadership title. She walked away from the
conversation recognizing that she was also a leader, considering the initiative she takes in
working toward carrying out the groups shared vision. In this situation, guided by my
philosophy to empower others to create positive change through connection, I used a challenge
and support technique that aligned with her stage within LID in order to empower her to create a
positive change.
Positive Change. This is the result of leadership. The result of a process by which
people empower one another though connection that is grounded in shared values. The words
that once were doodled on a paper now form an understanding based in theory and in practice.
Practicing this philosophy means it guides my work with students, but also within my personal
spheres. Behind this philosophy is a lot of love, compassion, hope, and yearning to foster deeper
relationships with those around me.

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References
Cilente, K. (2009). An overview of the social change model of leadership development. In S. R.
Komives, W. Wagner, & Associates (Eds.), Leadership for a better world:
Understanding the social change model of leadership development (pp. 43- 78). San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Kezar, A. (2000). Pluralistic leadership: Bringing diverse voices to the table. About Campus,
5(3), 611.
Komives, S. R., Dugan, J. P., Owen, J. E., Wagner, W., Slack, C., & Associates. (2011).
Handbook for student leadership development. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Northouse, P. G. (2012). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Preskill, S., & Brookfield, S. D. (2009). Learning as a way of leading: Lessons from the
struggle for social justice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Wagner, W. (2009). What is social change? In S. R. Komives, W. Wagner, & Associates (Eds.),
Leadership for a better world: Understanding the social change model of leadership
development (pp. 7- 42). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.