LEADERSHIP PORTFOLIO
LEAD 600-Capstone Leadership Experience, Western Kentucky University
Welcome to my leadership portfolio. Here you will find information and examples highlighting my academic knowledge and leadership experience gained from my graduate studies in organizational leadership at Western Kentucky University and a twenty-year career in the United States Army.
Walter Drysdale
Western Kentucky University
M.A. Organizational Leadership
walterdrysdale@gmail.com
(530) 210-3298
My Personal Leadership Philosophy
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Leadership is more than a title or position. It is the ability to influence others in a constructive manner to accomplish more collectively than any one individual could accomplish alone. Leadership is a privilege that must be earned through dedication, hard work, and constant development. In my own professional development and education regarding leadership, I have learned that leadership must start with the values that drive the actions of a leader. From a foundation of values, a leader can then develop a style or approach to leading others based on experience.
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Values serve as the foundation to leadership. A leaders’ values guide their actions and the intentions behind their actions. They also allow for consistency between what a leader believes is important and how their actions support those beliefs (Rosenbach et al., 2012). The top four values that serve as the foundation to my leadership are loyalty, selflessness, trust, and accountability. These values serve as a guide for me to make decisions that are in the best interests of followers and the organization. It also allows me to assess my decisions and actions to make sure they support the well-being of followers and the organization. As a leader, I also believe that followers and I need to have an internal drive and belief in the intrinsic value of doing everything to the best of our abilities in trying to reach common goals. Finally, as a leader I must trust in the abilities of others and earn the trust of followers in my abilities as a leader. These values also fit into my overall leadership philosophy and approach as well.
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Transformational leadership and servant leadership are two leadership theories that drive many of my practices as a leader. The value I place in the well-being and development of followers can be attributed to both theories of leadership. One aspect of transformational leadership I feel is important is the ability and practice of motivating followers through inspiration in a shared vision of success. I also want to encourage followers to share in the success of the organization through their own initiative in handling problems and developing new solutions to organizational challenges. To attain these objectives, it is important as a leader to empower followers to be proactive and assist in their own development and growth, which are key aspects of servant leadership (Northouse, 2016). As a leader I value strong, honest, and selfless relationships with followers. This is one of my strengths as a leader that I have identified through different psychological/behavioral assessments such as the CliftonStrengths assessment. I have developed an understanding through various leadership experiences within the military that building trust between myself, and subordinates helps the process of creating transformational and servant leadership environments that are successful. Overall, as a leader I feel that developing, caring for, and inspiring followers helps lead to long term and sustainable success for an organization
​ Leadership is a lifelong process built upon knowledge and experience. Knowing oneself as a leader starts with understanding your core values that are most important and build a foundation for actions and decisions. Every leadership role requires a relationship between leaders and followers. Different leaders value and establish that relationship in different ways. For me personally, the relationship between myself and followers is one of the most important aspects of leadership. How I approach that relationship is most closely aligned with transformational and servant leadership theories and practices.
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References
Northouse, P.G (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed). Sage Publishing.
Rath, T. (2007). StrengthsFinder 2.0: Discover your CliftonStrengths. Gallup Press.
Rosenbach, W. E., Taylor, R. L., & Youndt, M. A. (2012). Contemporary issues in Leadership (7th ed). Westview Press.