My Philosophy on Education

My Philosophy on Leadership
Joy Taylor
Educational Leadership: Educ. 515
June 14, 2015
Professor Rodrigues
Concordia University Irvine
School of Education

My Philosophy on Education

2
My Philosophy on Leadership

No written word, no spoken plea can teach our youth what they should be, nor all the
books that are on the shelves, its what the teachers are themselves (Ted Conferences, 2001). In
this profound statement recollected by UCLA coach and Professor John Wooden, the truth shines
on the fact that it is the type of leader that makes a positive impact, or not, in the lives of his or
her constituents. Throughout my life I have experienced both types of leaders, those who shaped
me into the leader I have become today and those who have showed me the type of leader I do
not want to be. In reading many articles and viewing media on what makes great leadership,
alongside reading The Leadership Challenge: How To Make Extraordinary Things Happen in
Organizations by Kouzes and Posner and personally interviewing great leaders I know, I have
been able to further develop my personal leadership philosophy. As a teacher it is important to
have a written philosophy on your own leadership style so students and parents alike know who
they are working with and what to expect. Once they have received a written statement, one
must make sure they can apply these leadership qualities in the classroom and beyond.
Leadership is displayed in many ways, however, it is up to the leader on how far they want to go
to make a positive and profound difference in the lives of others.
Developing a Personal Vision
After giving much thought about one person who has left a major positive impact on me
and shaped me into the person and aspiring leader I have become, it is impossible to give credit
to just one or even a few persons.

It seems that life is a brushing up against many different

leaders who color you with their magnificence. Just like the saying goes, It takes a community
to raise a child, it is the same to say it takes a community of great leaders to raise a great leader.
From my experiences it really began with loving parents who both did an excellent job in making

My Philosophy on Education

sure I knew how much they loved me, and most importantly, how loved I am by God. Next, it
was my Kindergarten teacher aides who made me feel they were absolutely excited to see me
each day. I remember their smiles, their hugs and their special attention. Sandy and Bruce must
have done this for each student, but for me, I felt like it was just me. Mrs. Kayusa in first grade
was such a blessing. As I was a new student to the school and afraid she might turn out like my
mean Kindergarten teacher, she was sweet and warm as could be. Even when she moved to
England the following year, she sent letters back and forth with me and other former students.
She made people feel important. Big Mike is definitely a leader to mention. He was a
counselor who in my eighth grade year made me feel so loved and special when I was
experiencing my parents divorce and difficult young teenager emotions. I realize it was not only
me he had this effect on, but everyone. He shared his personal story of struggle with us all in
order to inspire us to avoid such a bottom experience. It was his passion to make sure others
succeeded in life when confronted by saddening circumstances that really made his endeavor
impactful. I was very moved by his desire to see me succeed in life. My counselor Gene, during
my senior year of high school, helped me to see my personal value and that I need to make the
right choices in life whether I want to or not. He set the example of what tough love is for his
students. My senior year P.E., Anatomy and English teacher, Becky, treated me as an equal,
made us laugh a lot, was passionate about the subjects she taught and was very creative in her
teaching methods which therefore caused me to learn like I never had before. My first year of
college was at a Bible College in WA where my Pentateuch professor passionately conveyed to
us the truth about how much God truly loves His people. Warm and fuzzy feelings abounded
during each class period as he used visual props and other mediums to bring the message to our
hearts. My junior college English teacher noticed my love of literature and writing, something

My Philosophy on Education

that did not really stand out to me; she encouraged me to be an English Major. There are many
more to name, but these are the first that come to mind for fitting into a short essay. Everyone
has stories of negative experiences with people who were supposed to lead them, whether a
teacher, parent or boss. There are many leaders who are neither great nor bad, they just do their
job and dont leave much of an impression. Those are the leaders we barely remember, their
names and faces are just blurs. It light of all three of these leader types, it is clear that because of
those who showed love, concern, encouragement, passion and creativity in any way toward me
and their other constituents, I have become a leader who wants to provide the same example
toward my children and students alike. I do not want to be just another blur of a leader, but
one who helps shape others into being the best they can become.
Course Connections
My philosophy of leadership is ultimately built upon the fact that a leader is called by
God to be a servant to his or her constituents. Kouzes and Posner, authors of The Leadership
Challenge explain Leadership is not about who you are, its about what you do (2012, p. 14).
Alongside this idea John 3:18 says, Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with
actions and in truth (NIV). We can love the Lord and say we are Christians, but unless we put
our words into action, we arent truly following the Lord and loving others. This matches the
idea philosopher Joe Anderson of Regent University has that Anyone can follow a servantleader philosophy, not everyone can be a servant-leader (2008, pp. 17). He goes on to say:
The case for the God-centered servant-leader is much the same, except for one very unique,
important, and yes, exclusive, difference. To be a genuine God-centered servant-leader one must
be given a new heart, one that *is born of the Spirit of God. It is the actions of God, not man, that
provide this critical prerequisite for the God-centered servant-leader. While this may be an

My Philosophy on Education

unpopular view for non-Christians, and even some Christians, the truth seldom is
popular.

The Holy Spirit in ones heart is, in the end, the only way for one to be a complete servant-leader.
Though there are many good leaders who do not know the Lord, they do have the ability and
passion to love others. I believe God gave us all the desire to love and to be loved. Anderson
writes, People that observe loving and caring acts by genuine servants can themselves be
moved. It can strengthen and deepen their own relationship with the servant and may even serve
as an encouragement for them to emulate the loving attitude of the servant by taking on the role
of a servant themselves when dealing with others (Anderson, 2008, p. 10).

Loving others can

be learned by witnessing and knowing closely leaders who set the example, but in the best way
by having a close relationship with Jesus. A good leader, Christian or not, emits love toward his
or her constituents above all. Any kind and caring act toward a follower is a step toward
building a legacy of great leadership.
The famous book, The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner (2012) explains five
important ways for one to become a servant-leader, where the focus is on the success of the
constituents involved. I believe that utilizing Kouzes and Posners five concepts: 1. Model the
way, 2. Inspire a Shared Vision, 3. Challenge the Process, 4. Enable Others to Act and 5.
Encourage the Heart will definitely set the stage for a well-rounded servant-leader. Kouzes and
Posner write that in order to model the way, evidence proves that credibility is the foremost
characteristic a great leader must attain. They express that in order to gain credibility you have
to be practicing what you preach, putting your money where your mouth is, following through
on commitments, keeping promises, walking the talk and doing what you say (Kouzes &
Posner, 2012, p. 73). An important thing to remember as a leader is to first explain to your

My Philosophy on Education

constituents that all fall short of the glory of God or that we all try to practice what we preach,
but that we all fall short of upholding our own ideals. Leaders must ask their students to help
point out ways we can better serve them after every lesson, task or assignment. In doing this,
students will know that you are on their side and that learning to be a better servant is a neverending endeavor. The second most important aspect of what makes a good leader is having the
ability to inspire a shared-vision. A way to measure whether this great leadership ability is
something you behold is knowing whether you have these characteristics noted by Kouzes and
Posner when they write, Leaders are dreamers. Leaders are idealists. Leaders are possibility
thinkers. All enterprises, big or small, begin with the belief that whats merely an image today,
can one day be made real (2012, p.104). A great leader is passionate about opportunities they
foresee for their constituents and the organization they lead. Seeing and sharing the possibilities
of a better future and a more enriching and productive experience for all are a part of what
energizes a good leader and his or her constituents. Challenging the process is a healthy
shaking up of the normal procedures executed on any given day, and is a crucial action a good
leader must take to create a thriving environment. Kouzes and Posner write, Humdrum
situations simply arent associated with award-winning performances (2012, p. 160). If an
employee, student or child is never given a challenge, they will never have the chance to shine
and know that they can accomplish great things. It is the challenge that excites people and
allows them to show not just others, but themselves what they really can do. When enabling
others to act Trust is required to build collaboration and promote people working
collaboratively together (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 218). A great leader must first earn trust
and then teach others to trust one another through reviewing with them what it means to respect
one another and to think of each other as family members. They must be taught to encourage,

My Philosophy on Education

help and applaud one another. In doing so, a positive and loving environment will thrive and
production will be able to flow. To encourage the heart a leader must be clear, give examples
and make sure constituents understand assignments by asking questions in a group setting and in
private. Kouzes and Posner write, If you want people to give their all, to put their hearts and
minds into their work, you must also make certain that people know what they are supposed to
be doing (2012, p. 280). So many times leaders explain an assignment briefly and expect their
constituents to get it done. This creates anxiety and a lack of motivation to get the job done.
Alongside understanding, a leader must make sure their constituents have the necessary tools and
resources to get the job done well. In order finish the process of encouraging the heart, a leader
must recognize the accomplishments of all his or her constituents, making them feel important,
highly capable and special. One last crucial point a leader must display that is not mentioned in
Kouzes and Posners book is that an exemplary leader must take great care of him or herself to
be they can be for their constituents. A good leader must get enough rest, time to relax, take care
of family matters, eat well and exercise plenty; a good leader must also love him or herself in
order to love others. All of these actions explained above are important to attain in order to be a
servant-leader after Gods own heart that will make the most difference in the lives of his or her
constituents.
My Philosophy Statement on Leadership
When a student walks into my class, I want that exceptional individual to be a step closer
to governing a better present and future for themselves and the people with whom they come into
contact every day. I prize the quote, Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhileAlbert
Einstein. As a teacher I aim to make life easier and more purposeful for my students by making
sure they have a teacher who is respectful, clear about what values and expectations to uphold

My Philosophy on Education

and who practices what she preaches. It is my goal to give my students an opportunity to shine
to their fullest potential with unique and challenging experiences in reading literature, writing,
critical thinking, acting, collaborating, leading and creating like they never have before. In doing
this, our class will rise to the occasion of making a positive impact on one another, the school
itself, the community in which we live and on a global scale alike. My students will have the
opportunity to contribute their unique ideas on how to best pursue assignments and will work
together to make their ideas come to fruition. In doing this students will be able to build
confidence in decision making, build leadership skills and will be able to learn from mistakes.
An important part of the learning that will take place in my class is described in Kouzes
and Posners book on leadership: Learning happens when people can openly talk about what
went wrong as well as what went right. Leaders dont look for someone to blame when the
inevitable mistakes are made in the name of innovation. They ask, what can be learned from the
experience (2012, 200-201). And James E. West, research professor at John Hopkins
University, has secured more than fifty domestic and more than 200 foreign patents. I think Ive
had more failures than successes, but I dont see the failures as mistakes because I always
learned something from those experiences, he says (2012, 200). I would like to provide the
opportunity for my students to become successful by having many opportunities for trial and
error. I believe that if this philosophy is learned, one will become successful at whatever it is
they are meant to pursue. Since relationship building is at the core of fostering collaboration
(Kouzes and Posner, 2012, p. 218), a process of trust-building between me and my students and
between my students and their peers will be of the utmost importance. Collaboration is a top
skill all must be highly efficient at in order to succeed in the 21st century job market, therefore, I
will provide the means necessary to for my students to develop this skill by teaching and

My Philosophy on Education

practicing interpersonal skills, studying related themes in literature and ensuring that respect is
practiced on a daily basis.
In my class students will become teachers. I believe that each individual is capable of
achieving great things. The opportunity to take on leadership roles will be given regularly so my
students can see their ability and gain confidence in doing so. Along the way to achieving
excellence in my classroom, celebrating the many victorious steps in the process will be a regular
practice. In doing this students will be able to enjoy the hard work they do and will learn that
each finished assignment is a win to be celebrated. I will provide complete information and the
tools necessary for my students to get their assignments done right. It is my goal to make sure
students know that I am here to serve them, to challenge them, to inspire and encourage them. I
am here to cheer them on, celebrate their success, and provide the tools they need and to help
them find the uniqueness they behold that will make them shining stars in their pursuit of a
successful life.
Applications
Having a philosophy leadership is important, but applying that philosophy is of utmost
importance. In order to implement the actions stated above there are tried and true ways and
endless innovative methods alike. The tried and true applications would be to first share my
philosophy with my students, share with them about my own life, successes, failures and
struggles, and make sure they have a hardcopy to be signed that states my classroom rules and
expectations. It is important to decorate the classroom walls with inspiring quotes and scenic
posters that help foster creative ideas and a peaceful environment. Students should be given the
chance to ask questions, express fears, and share a bit of who they are all in an introduction

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10

writing assignment. In exchanging personal information, a teacher and his or her students begin
a relationship of trust. These are some of the basic ways to apply a healthy classroom
environment.
Finding more innovative ways of applying Kouzes and Posners five practices of
leadership are what kindle the fire in a natural leaders heart. One innovative way to create trust
between peers is to assign daily character building quick-writes based on a concept the teacher
reads aloud or displays on the overhead from a character building book such as What Do You
Stand For? For Teens: A Guide to Building Character by Barbara A. Lewis. Students can share
their thoughts about these concepts for a few minutes after each quick-write and then be called
on randomly to share not only their thoughts aloud, but about what their partner had to say as
well. Calling on students randomly will help ensure they truly discuss their thoughts with their
partner. One of my favorite ideas to challenge students is to give them the opportunity to be the
teacher for a twenty minute period at least once per semester. They would be able to sign-up to
teach a concept to the class from the assigned unit and have the opportunity to prove they have
leadership skills. To play off of this challenge, their assigned group would each have to create
great teacher award at home which could be a collage, formal looking award, a trophy or prize
that celebrates the teachers accomplishment. Along with the awards created, their two or so
partners would have to write a thoughtful letter to the teacher about the methods and skills they
did well at and a couple of things they can improve on. The awards would not only foster a
closer relationship between peers, but it would also encourage the receivers heart. The
possibilities to apply great leadership practices are exciting and endless.
In conclusion, it is the teacher/leader that provides the opportunity for a
student/constituent to receive a true and meaningful education/career experience. An exemplary

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leader is a servant to his or her constituents and whose sole purpose is to improve their lives.
The practices described by Kouzes and Posner are ideals for great leaders to use, not as a way to
measure how good or bad they are leading, but as tools to apply and challenge themselves with
throughout their leadership career. It is ideal that a leader have the infilling of the Holy Spirit
and a close relationship with Jesus in order to display closely the love of Jesus, however,
Christians fail daily as anyone else might. It is the desire to be more like Jesus that a Christian
leader does hone, which gives the Christian leader the passion to become a better servant-leader
by learning from mistakes, forgiving self and owning a Spirit-led love for others. Exemplary
servant-leadership is an ongoing learning process that must be prayer-infused, focused on daily
and is something we can work on to bless the individuals who have been, for only a short while,
given to our great care. Jackie Robinson said, A life is not important except in the impact it has
on other lives. It is this idea that parallels the scripture about what Jesus did on Earth, The Son
of Man did not come to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:28).

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12
Works Cited

Conferences, LLC. (Producer). (February, 2001). John Wooden: The Difference Between
Winning and Succeeding [Video File]. Retrieved from
http://www.ted.com/talks/john_wooden_on_the_difference_between_winning_and_succe
ss.
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2012). The Leadership Challenge Fifth Edition: How To Make
Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations. Jossey-Bass.

My Philosophy on Education
Topic/Chapter or
Article
Ch. 1 When
Leaders are at
Their Best/

Ch. 2 Model the

Way/ Clarify
Values

Ch. 3 Model the

Way/Set the

13
Quote

Reflection

When making extraordinary things happen in

organizations, leaders engage in what we call The Five
Practices of Exemplary Leadership are: Model the Way,
Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable
others to Act and Encourage the Heart. (Kouzes & Posner,
2012, p.14)
Leadership is not about who you are, its about what you
do. (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p14).

These are the practices that

have been noted to make a
difference throughout
documenting years of
research.

Dear children, let us not

love with words or speech
but with actions and in truth
I John 3:18. (NIV Bible)
We can love the Lord and
say we are Christians, but
unless we put our words
into action, we arent truly
following the Lord and
loving others.
To become a credible leader, you first have to
I am glad to say that I have
comprehend fully the deeply held beliefsthe values,
a strong set of values,
standards, ethics and idealsthat drive you. You have to
standards, ethics and ideals
freely and honestly choose the principles you will use to
that are based on Biblical
guide your decisions and actions. Then you genuinely
principles. I strongly
have to express yourself. You have to authentically
believe I am their allow
communicate your beliefs in ways that uniquely represent God to inspire my students
who you are. (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 44)
through me. I believe God
has blessed me with
experiences that have
prepared me to love and
encourage others to be the
best they can be.
Therefore, leaders must not only be clear about their
It is important to hold my
personal guiding principles but also make sure that theres students accountable to the
agreement on a set of shared values among everyone they
values and standards that I
lead. And they must hold others accountable to those
have set, and to give them a
values and standards. (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 44)
chance to agree with those
at the beginning of each
year.
"Values influence every aspect of your life: your moral
It is evident whether a
judgments, your responses to others, your commitments to leader is following the Lord
personal and organizational goals" (Kouzes & Posner,
by his or her actions. Non2012, p. 49).
Christian leaders have
values and passion and hold
to a standard.
our research has consistently revealed that credibility is I believe this is most
the foundation of leadership. People want to follow a
effective by explaining to

My Philosophy on Education
Example

leader in whom they can believe. P. 73

Being credible is practicing what you preach, putting

your money where your mouth is, following through on
commitments, keeping promises, walking the talk and
doing what you say. P. 73

Ch. 4 Inspire a
Shared
Vision/Envision the
Future

Being forward-looking is second-most admired

characteristic that people look for in those people they
would willingly follow. In fact, its this quality of focusing
on the future that most differentiates people who are seen
as leaders from those who are not. P 104

Leaders are dreamers. Leaders are idealists. Leaders are

possibility thinkers. All enterprises, big or small, begin
with the belief that whats merely an image today can one
day be made real. P. 104

Ch. 5 Inspire a

Turning possibility thinking into an inspiring visionand

one that is sharedis another one of your challenges as a
leader. P 104
Leaders are expected to be a major source of energy.

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students that leaders are not

perfect, care about them
deeply, and want to serve
them as best as possible.
Getting in there and setting
an example of working hard
like we want them to do is
the most important part of
being credible. Getting our
hands dirty alongside them.
This is the most challenging
thing for me personally. I
have high standards and
Christian morals, however,
I feel like I cannot ever live
up those ideals. I sin/fail
every day. In light of this, I
think it is important to tell
constituents that I will fail
at times. That I need their
feedback regularly so I can
better serve them.
As I read this, I feel a fire in
my heart. This concept is
very much a part of why I
love teaching. I love to
think about the ways to
make learning fun, more
productive, enriching and
meaningful in every way.
Watching my students run
with our ideas keeps my
fire stoked.
It is nice to hear this
because this is one of the
characteristics I have for
everything. It is lifes great
challenges that have made it
difficult to for dreams to
come true, however, I still
have that hope for a better
future for all.
I have seen this happen in
class and at home with my
kids and it is a great feeling.
This means that as a teacher

My Philosophy on Education
Shared
Vision/Enlist
Others

People arent going to follow someone whos only mildly

enthusiastic about something. Leaders have to be wildly
enthusiastic for constituents to give it their all. P129

15

I must make sure what I am

teaching is something I can
be enthusiastic about. I
must make humdrum
activities have meaning and
importance.
One leaders described wrote a four page vision message
It is important to speak with
and posted it everywhere and spoke about it with
conviction and make sure
conviction to her constituents. It was not only a message everyone knows the
about what they could achieve in business but also a
possibilities you foresee
connection to the significant role they played in the lives
and desire for your class. It
of their constituents. P131
is important to include how
important they must be to
each other. Community
matters.
Ch. 6 Challenge
When people recall their personal best leadership
Whenever I am challenged I
the Process/Search experiences, they always thinks about some kind of
have rose to the occasion.
for Opportunities
challenge...hardships have a way with making people
Educational challenged are
come face-to-face with who they really are and what they
exciting, there are others
are capable of becoming. They test people and they require that are not exciting but
inventive ways to deal with new situations. They tend to
very trying. If people know
bring out the best in people. P158
that can perform well when
challenged at work or in
school, it will help them
persevere and overcome
more important obstacles
such as marital or health
challenges.
Humdrum situations simply arent associated with award- I want make sure that I give
winning performances. P 160
my students and myself (to
set the example) challenges
so we can produce great
performances and be proud
and gain confidence.
Be an adventurer, an explorer. Where in your
This is great for keeping
organization have you not been? Where in the
excitement alive, bring
communities that you serve have you not been? Make a
about new challenges each
plan to explore those places. P 179
year. Go global in the class
field trip to new place, start
a new club, have new
fundraiser, bring a new
speaker to school and have
students set it up.
Ch. 7 Challenge the On risk-taking: Not only do they have to test bold ideas
It is important to explain
Process/Experimen and take calculated risks, but they also have to get others
why it is important for you
t and Take Risks
to join them on these adventures in uncertainty. P 187
and for others to adventure

My Philosophy on Education

On motivating others to take a challenge or risk: You

climb that mountain one hop at a time. You make progress
incrementally. You break the long journey down into
milestones. You move people forward step-by-step,
creating a sense of forward momentum by generating what
University of Michigan professor Karl Weick calls, small
wins. P 189
James E. West, research professor at John Hopkins
University, has secured nearly fifty domestic and more
than two hundred and fifty foreign patents. I think Ive
had more failures than successes, but I dont see the
failures as mistakes because I always learned something
from those experiences, he says. P 199

Ch. 8 Enable
Others to Act/
Foster
Collaboration

World-class performance isnt possible unless there is a

strong sense of shared creation and shared responsibility.
P 218

Trust is required to build collaboration and promote

people working collaboratively together. And as
employees and customers are more empowered than ever
with new tools of social media, relationship building is at
the core of fostering collaboration. P 218
Ch. 9 Enable
Others to Act/
Strengthen others

Leaders significantly increase peoples belief in their own

ability to make a difference. They move from being in
control to giving over control to others. P 243

Ch. 10 Encourage
the Heart/
Recognize

Exemplary leaders elicit high performance because they

strongly believe in the abilities of their constituents to
achieve even the most challenging goals. (p 275)

16

out on the new risk-taking

journey. Explain what will
be the benefit.
This technique makes it fun
for students along the
journey, makes them see
their progress, it lightens
the heavy load of all the
work that needs to be done
to attain their end goal.
It is important to show
students that experiences
failures is part of the
journey in accomplishing
their goal. Failures are a
part of how we learn to do
what is right. We need to
explain that failure is not to
be a discouragement but an
encouragement because it
means we are a step closer
to the finish line.
This statement is important
to remember that every day
a leader must foster good
communication, trust and
care between his or her
constituents.
Getting students to trust one
another is quite an endeavor
when there are so many
personal struggles for each
individual. It is good to
research effective ways to
this on a regular basis.
An idea for this is to give
each student the assignment
to be teacher for twenty
minutes. Each student
would choose something
teach the class within the
class subject perimeters,
and be the teacher.
I found this to be true when
I God opened the doors for
me to go to Bible College

My Philosophy on Education
Contributions

Ch. 11 Encourage
the Heart/Celebrate
the Values and
Victories

Ch. 12 Leadership
is Everyones
Business

The Writings of
Robert K.
Greenleaf: An
Interpretive

17

and then to be an English

Major. I felt nervous but
important and it raised my
esteem knowing that God
believed I could do it,
though with His help. I
knew I could succeed with
God. This applies to our
students as well.
Just believing that people can succeed is part of the
I thinks it something that
equation. If you want people to give their all, to put their
most teachers dont do well:
hearts and minds into their work, you must also make
showing the expected
certain that people know what they are supposed to be
outcome so students know
doing. You need to clarify what the expected outcomes
what to do. I felt lost in an
look like and make sure there are some consistent norms
assignment many times,
governing how the game is played. P 280
even in college. It is
discouraging.
When leaders bring people together, rejoice in collective
It is important to have
successes, and directly display their gratitude, they
awards, parties, celebrate
reinforce the essence of community. P.304
successes and create
activities that foster love
between students.
Leaders make sure that people know they are being paid
This is the most important
attention to and not being taken for granted. P. 318
trait as I have looked back
upon the most influential
leaders in my life.
U.S. Major General John H. Stanford explained how he
This is so true. This
develops leaders, he replied, The secret to success is to
statement is so important to
stay in love. Staying in love gives you the fire to ignite
remember. If we are called
other people, to see inside other people, to have a greater
to be leaders, we must make
desire to get things done than other people. A person who sure that fire stays ignited.
is not in love doesnt really feel the kind of excitement that We must make sure to
helps them to get ahead and to lead others to achieve. I
recharge, stay connected to
dont know any other fire, any other thing in life that is
our first passion. If
more exhilarating and is more a positive feeling that love
something is getting in the
is. (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 344)
way, we must figure out
how to get it out of the way
so we do not compromise
anything.
Leadership is not an affair of the head. Leadership is an
This is a great statement for
affair of the heart. (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 345)
my classroom philosophy.
The consistent and repetitive display of all these actions is
what makes others see their leaders as genuine servantleaders. Follower observation of the servant-leaders
actions and activities thus is critically important for

A servant-leader must be
consistent/genuine in
displaying the qualities of a
servant leader in order to

My Philosophy on Education

18

Analysis and the

Future of Servant
Leadership
The Writings of
Robert K.
Greenleaf: An
Interpretive
Analysis and the
Future of Servant
Leadership

creating the follower-ship that gives breath and life to the

leadership of the servant-leader. (Anderson, 2008, p. 4 )

gain consistent and longlasting devotion.

THIS IS MY THESIS: caring for persons, the more able

and the less able serving each other, is the rock upon
which a good society is built. Whereas, until recently,
caring was largely person to person, now most of it is
mediated through institutions, -- often large, complex,
powerful, impersonal; not always competent; sometimes
corrupt. If a better society is to be built, one that is more
just and more loving, one that provides greater creative
opportunity for its people, then the most open course is to
raise both the capacity to serve and the very performance
as servants of existing major institutions by new
regenerative forces operating within them.15Greenleaf
(Anderson, 2008, p. 6)

The Writings of
Robert K.
Greenleaf: An
Interpretive
Analysis and the
Future of Servant
Leadership

The Writings of
Robert K.
Greenleaf: An
Interpretive
Analysis and the
Future of Servant
Leadership

Because the servant-leader may reduce sin from their own

lives and at the same time extend love and caring into the
lives of others, everyone benefits -- the servant-leader,
followers, the institution, and society are all better for it.
As a result, there will be fewer problems for the people,
institutions and their society. In simple terms, a leader
focused on self is destructive whereas a loving and caring
focus on others is constructive. In other words, a focus on
others builds. It builds relationships. It builds other people.
It builds institutions. It builds societies. This is the real
reason that being a servant-leader actually works!
(Anderson, 2008, p.9)
People that observe loving and caring acts by genuine
servants can themselves be moved. It can strengthen and
deepen their own relationship with the servant and may
even serve as an encouragement for them to emulate the
loving attitude of the servant by taking on the role of a
servant themselves when dealing with others. (Anderson,
2008, p. 10)

I completely agree that in

order to build a caring
society we must first build
caring/servant-leaders. It
starts with the example of a
valid servant-leader to give
others the ability to do the
same. If students were
taught to serve each other,
bullying would not be so
rampant in school.
Popularity may then be
based on ones ability to
love rather than to
discriminate.
It makes sense that if you
focus on the well-being of
others, their lives will
become better which will
allow them to do the same
for others. It is the chain
reaction that makes a
difference. A bad seed
grows more bad seeds,
whereas a good seed grows
more good seeds.

The Writings of
Robert K.
Greenleaf: An
Interpretive
Analysis and the

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he

that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews
11:6). For this reason it is important that organizational
leaders be told the truth; they need to be willing to boldly

This is so true from my life

experienceall of the
people who have been
displayed loving leadership
toward me have inspired me
to do the same for others.
They have blessed me, and
knowing the good feeling I
have attained from those
actions, I want others to
experience the same.
This is a key idea to my
personal philosophy. My
relationship with God leads
my heart to do what is right
and the Holy Spirit drives

My Philosophy on Education
Future of Servant
Leadership

19

honor God if they seek to have Him boldly honor them

and their leadership. (Anderson, 2008, p. 24)
Appendix
Reading Reflection Journal

me to want to love and help

others.