This exercise involves having you develop your own leadership philosophy. What is a leadership philosophy? The articulation of the core values that guide a person's actions as a leader; what they as a leader stand for, what they expect of others, and what others can expect of them (Kouzes & Posner, 2012). One of the key first steps in becoming a leader is to develop and articulate this personal leadership philosophy statement. Many leadership enhancement programs consider the development of a leadership philosophy to be so critical that it is the first thing participants do before any other training is initiated. Your leadership philosophy is dynamic, and will change as you mature and gain experience. However, the act of writing the philosophy can make a leader's development planning much more effective. In fact, research dictates that a widely communicated leadership philosophy and a vision of what the leader wants an organization to be are essential to being an effective leader. Writing a philosophy is a very personal exercise and must begin with answering some serious questions about who you are, what you believe in, what you value, your priorities and your expectations of yourself and others. 1) To begin the exercise, the first step is to build upon your past. The past can help you identify themes, patterns, and beliefs that both underscore why you care about certain matters and how they have shaped who you are as a leader. Try to recall important turning points in your life that have shaped you Make note of these events, when they happened, and their significance 2) Step 2 - Determine your values Use your past to help determine the values you hold most dear What ideals are attractive to you? What values give meaning and purpose to your life/work? Select a number that resonates with you and describe them 3) Step 3 - Write your philosophy In your own words, use your values and the following question to get you started: What do I believe about my leadership? Within your leadership philosophy, feel free to use the following prompts to help shape your response 1) I lead by: 2) My core values: 3) I place great value in: 4) What I expect from others: 5) What others can expect of me: 6) Things I do not accept: Example list of values: Ability Customers Accountability Democracy Achievement-oriented Developing Individuals Advancement-seeking Development Ambitious Diligence Attitude Diversity Autonomy Doggedness Being Global Effectiveness Can-Do Attitude Efficiency Care for Environment Empathy Challenge Empowering Collaboration Enterprise Commitment Enthusiasm Communication Entrepreneurial Community Environmental Compassion Equality Compliance Ethical Practice Confident Excellence Continuous Expertise Improvement Fair Courage Financial Acumen Creativity Fun Global Grit Grow Growth Health Honest Hope Human Resource Humility Impact Inclusive Independence Individuality Innovation Inspiration Integrity Leadership Learning Life Quality Loyal Modesty Neighbourly Openness Ownership Partner Partners Partnership Passion People Perseverance Persistence Pragmatic Pride Professionalism Prudence Recognition Reliability Resilience Respect Responsibility Responsiveness Safe/Safety Security Serve Community Simplicity Socially Conscious Socially Responsive Speed Stakeholders Stewardship Supporting Others Sustainability Sympathy Teamwork Technology Tenacity Transparency Triumph Trust Winner Work/Life Balance Loyalty Making a Difference Select a number of values that resonate with you and briefly describe what they mean to you: What this value means to me Value 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Your leadership philosophy: What do I believe about my leadership