Leadership_Philosophy

My Top Four My values are an integral part of my life. They are important to me and I make sure that they get expressed. How I act on them is usually a source of satisfaction in my life. I exercise many values that range in frequency and importance. Some, I should act upon more or less frequently than I do, and some of high importance are acted upon frequently. The latter, my essential primary values, are my top four: receptiveness, awareness, socialness, and assertiveness. Awareness I believe that I must be self-aware to achieve personal growth. It is a challenging value to espouse because the subjective perception of my traits, feelings, and behaviors may differ from my objective expressions. How I think I am versus how I really am is at the crux of my existence. My ability to appreciate the daily conflicts between my actual self and who I want to be directly influences my success or failure in personal growth. I view these constant conflicts as opportunities, not obstacles. Some days I am stronger and can see these conflicts clearly and seize the opportunity to grow. Other days, it is just easier to avoid the personal conflict inherent to being truly self-aware. Indicators of self-awareness are humility, empathy, and compassion. Receptiveness I believe that in order to personally grow, I must be receptive to my environment and those in it. Without this trait I am merely existing, not living. Gaining knowledge about me, others, how I fit in to the world, and how things work are powerful resources for the job of living. Each affects my ability to understand and accept challenges both at a personal and a professional level. Indicators of receptiveness are curiosity, openness and determination. I value these indicative traits more than all others simply because they embody my strive to get as much out of this short life as possible. Socialness I believe that our interactions with others are the windows to our souls. We are social beings that thrive from the energy of others and wither when isolated or confined. Although my socialness can cloak or feign the essence of who I really am, I believe that there are intangible factors in everyone’s socialness that we are unconsciously aware of. Some people are more perceptive of these “gut feelings”, but I ultimately believe that everyone possesses a trait-based ability to assess each other’s socialness. Whether conscious or unconscious, these assessments directly affect all my relationships and how I interact in the world. Accurate self-awareness is contingent on outside information and receptiveness is meaningless without new ideas and emotions that challenge my self-perception and lead to personal growth. Indicators of socialness are selflessness, congeniality, and an ability to listen well. Assertiveness I believe that assertiveness is the key tool to meeting and expressing my needs and to engaging in meaningful relationships. Being assertive is my compromise between being too aggressive or passive; neither of which provides me (or those I interact with) the mutual respect everyone is entitled. Ironically, being passive can bring out the aggressiveness in others and vice versa. Without assertiveness, I believe we would all eventually resort to a pecking order based on physical traits much like animals. I hold assertiveness in myself and others at the highest importance; I believe it is the root of communication and collaboration. A fine line exists between being too assertive and aggressive behavior. The key is that I must express my own needs, wants, and feelings in a way that is constructive and allows others to express theirs. Key indicators of assertiveness are respect, clarity, consistency, and fairness. Summary These primary values influence my thoughts, behaviors and ultimately, my everyday life. I believe that each overlaps to form a foundation for other beliefs and perceptions of lesser importance. Acting on them frequently keeps me balanced. Being self-aware, receptive, social and assertive are central to my existence and comprise my top four values.