From Theory to Practice: My Leadership Philosophy
This semester, I had the privilege of taking Donnie Williams ’s Honors Supply Chain Colloquium. In this class, I was exposed to several leadership frameworks through lectures and readings, with some of them being particularly meaningful in shaping the vision of what kind of leader I would like to grow into. At the same time, I saw these theories come to life with teachings from seasoned supply chain executives who visited my class, including those representing companies like 沃尔玛 , Sam's Club , 宝洁 , 可口可乐公司 , and ArcBest .
These experiences shaped my leadership philosophy and enabled me to identify what areas I need to improve to become a stronger leader, marking the beginning of a lifelong leadership journey. My goal in this article is to share this journey thus far and the leadership philosophy I’ve developed along the way.
The Starting Line
Frankly, I seldom thought about the best way to lead others before I took this class. It was something I passively did with little thought, and I didn’t know about any of the leadership frameworks I have since learned about or the decades of research underlying them. While I prioritized being friendly and getting to know those on my teams personally, I didn’t consider much else. In other words, I was blindly leading with an unformed leadership philosophy.
The Finish Line
I’ve since addressed this by developing a concrete leadership philosophy that I aspire to embody. The first step of doing so was establishing a definition of leadership to strive for: as defined by John C. Maxwell in his book, Developing the Leader Within You 2.0, it is nothing more than influencing others. Thus, the ability to effectively do so is the ultimate goal of my leadership journey.
As I learned in class, there are several ways to accomplish this goal. However, authentic leadership is the means that resonated with me the most. Its importance has been emphasized by everyone from my professor, Donnie Williams , to Mr. Mark McEntire , the CEO of Princeton TMX , and John C. Maxwell . Fundamentally, it focuses on whether one leads with genuineness. According to Bill George’s article, “Discover Your Authentic Leadership,” people trust you when you are genuine, not when you are trying to be someone else. The article further explains how authentic leaders are defined by having a passion for their purpose, consistently practicing their values, and leading with both their hearts and their heads. This requires them to draw upon their life experiences, whether positive or negative, and channel them to stimulate personal growth.
As you might expect, leaders who are authentic can influence others and foster positive relationships more effectively than those who aren’t. Thus, I aspire to be an authentic leader myself. Accordingly, the values of authentic leadership serve as the foundation of my leadership philosophy. Below, I’ve outlined the three defining principles of this philosophy. However, there is still room for improvement in all of them.
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Being an authentic leader means being aware of who I am and what I do.
To be an authentic leader, I need to be self-aware, especially since I deeply value how my actions affect others. This is the first of four components in Bill George’s basic model of authentic leadership that I learned about in class, and according to his aforementioned article, it’s been regarded by many prominent people as the most important capability for leaders to develop. However, it’s still often lacking among younger leaders, including myself. To be self-aware, I must do three things that I currently do only infrequently:
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While I’m still developing these skills, I have had the opportunity to practice them in my class. For example, Donnie Williams tasked me with asking two of my colleagues to assess the strength of my abilities as a servant leader. While this was far outside of my comfort zone, I discovered a plethora of useful new information. For example, I learned that although I value creating positive change in my community, my impact is less than I initially thought. As a result, I have since found additional ways to get involved in my community. While there’s still much work to be done in this area, this progress encourages me to make a conscious effort to continue practicing these three things when I enter the professional world next year.
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It also means developing those around me.?
Several highly respected leaders, including Mrs. Julie Reilman , Vice President of the Sam’s Club Customer Team at 可口可乐公司 , and John C. Maxwell , emphasize how important it is for leaders to develop those around them. In fact, Stanley Fawcett argues in his article, “The Indispensable Supply Chain Leader,” that leaders must “teach, mentor, and motivate others to contribute as part of a team.”
This is a responsibility that I deeply value, and it’s why I enjoyed being a peer mentor for the Walton Honors Program and a lead tutor for the Student Success Center during my time in college. Helping people succeed and become the best versions of themselves gives me great fulfillment. As I discovered in my StrengthsFinder assessment, one of my greatest strengths is my need to make a large impact on my organization. Of course, one of the most meaningful ways to do so is by developing those around me. Thus, my ultimate purpose as a leader is to develop others, which is something that I hope to continue doing when I begin my full-time role at Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. next year. Because authentic leaders have a passion for their purpose, living through this purpose will help me be more like one.
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And finally, it means being incorruptible and always exhibiting strong character.
In John Kerr’s article, “Anatomy of a Leader,” he writes that being an authentic leader “also means being deeply, consistently, unimpeachably ethical.” This sentiment is reflected by Mrs. Shelley Simpson , the CEO of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. , who highlighted the importance of having integrity and holding your promises. Evidently, leaders, especially authentic leaders, must demonstrate strong character and hold themselves and their teams to high ethical standards.
Thus, I strive to guide my behavior with my moral standards. Before I make any decisions, I reflect on whether they align with my principles. I believe that exhibiting strong character is critical in building trust. Likewise, I also believe that trust can easily be damaged by a lapse in integrity, so it must be treated delicately. By consistently practicing these values, I can be a more authentic leader.
"Authenticity also means being deeply, consistently, unimpeachably ethical." - John Kerr
My Final Thoughts
Perhaps authentic leadership resonated with me more than any other leadership framework because I value sincerity in my relationships more than anything else. The most effective leaders I know demonstrate a deep commitment to this in their words and actions. For example, one highly respected executive at my company encouraged all the attendees of a webinar to schedule a coffee chat with him, promising us that he would make time for each of us despite his extremely busy schedule. This reflects his genuine care for others and his commitment to building trusting relationships, qualities that contribute to him being an authentic leader. Working under him was an impactful life experience that serves as a model for the type of leader I aspire to become.
In any case, taking this class was instrumental in shaping me into a more well-rounded leader. I am extremely grateful to Donnie Williams and the supply chain executives who visited my class for sharing their insights with us. Now, I must live through this philosophy in my day-to-day life, applying it to every interaction, decision, and challenge that I encounter. By doing so, I’ll be more prepared to lead in a rapidly changing world that increasingly demands resilient leadership.