Leadership Philosophy

A lot was said about leadership during 2020 and for very good reason. In what most would agree was a challenging year, we collectively sought good leadership to guide us through difficult times. Leadership, in all its various forms is an important part of the fabric of our society. I am thankful most folks recognize this important truth.

I was fortunate to serve in a profession for 24 years that placed a great emphasis on leadership. The military requires its members to remain students of leadership throughout their service and I really enjoyed that aspect of the profession. I often reflect on the leadership methods and lessons learned during my former career as I try to adapt my skillset for the workplace and civilian life in general.

One of the most common artifacts of the military leader is their leader or command philosophy. As a younger leader, one is exposed to a commander’s philosophy as a guide to be successful within a particular organization.  Pretty soon, the young military leader will find themselves developing their own leader philosophy for a unit they are about to take responsibility for!

I got serious about developing a leader philosophy because I was required to, as part of the Army’s Intermediate Level Education (ILE) course. This 10 month graduate level school is a Professional Military Education requirement and teaches Army field grade officers at roughly their ten year mark of service how to lead at the operational and strategic levels. I approached the writing assignment from the perspective of identifying what is important to me about leadership rather than a more pointed command philosophy as found in an operational unit.

Even though it was a rookie attempt at a leader philosophy written 13 years ago, before a seemingly lifetime of leader experience, I realize not much has changed about my perspectives. The following text was work I submitted for an ILE assignment, modified only slightly for this blog to tamp down some of the Army jargon.

Leadership Philosophy- Often I believe we tend to complicate our thoughts on leadership.  A leadership philosophy should enable a leader to be transformational.  More simply put, leadership that inspires an organization to perform because it is the right thing to do rather than for want of reward or fear of punishment.  Leadership philosophies come in many different styles and levels of effectiveness to attain this goal.  Some philosophies are less effective than others and generally there is not a perfect template.  There is however one certainty- each leader’s philosophy is shaped by their core principles.  The core principles which shape my leadership philosophy are Army values, humility (servant leadership) and personal presence.

What are now known as Army Values were inculcated in me as a child long before I entered the profession of arms.  Loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage are widely accepted and esteemed values in any facet of life.  The Army very wisely packaged these concepts and made the values a cornerstone of the organization some time ago.  More than just a poster in the day room or piece of metal hanging from one’s dog tags, when set as a foundation of our daily lives, the Army values provide an excellent framework from within which to lead.  Army officers are members of a profession in the same regards as a doctor or lawyer.  The Army Values serve as an excellent professional code to lead and live by.

Humility is another core principle of my leadership philosophy.  I am drawn to leaders who display servant leadership or humility and have tried to emulate this quality in my own leadership philosophy.  Humility goes beyond being humble and not believing what is written in your evaluation reports.  To me, humility means taking the time to carry on a meaningful conversation with members of the organization that are very different from you just as easily as you would with a peer who has a similar background.  Humility is our ability to put away our biases and preconceived notions about people in order to interact with them successfully.  Leaders who can accomplish this will instantly earn credibility and respect from their organization.

Lastly, personal presence is a key component of my leadership philosophy.  The organization must know that you are always there.  This means more than leading from the front (i.e. leading a foot march, scoring the best on an APFT, or enduring shared hardships).  More often it is ensuring the organization is confident you will always work towards their best interest.  Personal presence must be thought out carefully; it does not require hovering in the work place 24/7.  The right balance of personal presence will clearly indicate a leader’s dedication to the profession and reassure subordinates their welfare is a priority.

Army Values, humility and personal presence are the three main core principles which form my leadership philosophy.  There are more considerations that shape my leadership philosophy for a particular organization, including previous life experiences and organizational goals.  However, these three core principles are the foundation regardless of circumstance.   I believe successful leaders should always learn and seek self-improvement.   A good leader will continually reflect on their leadership philosophy and may change over time.  However, a leader’s core principles or what could be called their character will not.

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I used this assignment from ILE as the basis for developing a command philosophy later in my career. I feel fortunate to have identified fairly early in my career, those key aspects that were important to me as a leader. I believe having this foundation certainly helped during the field grade years, battalion command and beyond.

Of course now the challenge is tweaking this leader philosophy for use back here in the civilian world. From what I’ve seen in a little over a year, I don’t think it will be much of a stretch. Leadership philosophy is one area where there are certainly some parallels between military and civilian leadership. Gives me something to think about; I am glad I am able to remain a student of leadership even though my “operational environment” changed!

Join me in this three part blog on leadership as I examine some aspects of military and civilian leadership.  Use the links in the about section below to follow on Facebook or subscribe for emails to receive updates on the latest weekly blog at www.normspivey.com!