Running Head: LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY AND ACTION PLAN 1

Leadership Philosophy and Action Plan

Heather Yazzie-Kinlacheeny

Northern Arizona University

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Leadership Philosophy and Action Plan

Leadership studies are complex and absolutely essential to all social structures.

Northouse (2016) embraced many different historical and current views of how and why we need

to further understand our roles in institutions and organizations. The wealth of information

provided me with a substantial opportunity to review my current practices and reflect on past

experiences. The content and literature led me to a stronger perception of my own leadership

philosophy and action plan. The framework of Northouses research and cited resources will

have different views and outcomes for all people, which only strengthen our self-evaluations and

assessments for those in leadership positions.

Leadership Philosophy

Throughout the discussion about leadership approaches and theories, the Situational

Approach and the Servant Leadership style resonated with me because of my initial

understanding of leadership. I had taken all of the assessments and found that I scored the

highest in both of these categories. The third highest score was Transformational Leadership.

One of the most important aspects of leadership that I had considered to be a top priority was

recognizing how a leader is the first volunteer in all situations, settings and environments. I do

believe that this affected how I answered the questions in the review. Both of these styles

reflected a specific area of how a leader and volunteer can manage the difficult and successful

leadership outcomes. I use the notion of volunteerism because leadership is not for everyone and

is not required in the formality presented for a person to aspire to be a leader.

Northouse reviewed several different theories and approaches to help strengthen the

discourse and dissent of defining leadership (Northouse, 2016). My reason in choosing

Situational Leadership is because the method of reviewing leadership classifications is based on

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the variety of teachings in the book. In Situational Approach, the central component is reviewing

the different situations and applying a specific leadership style to mediate and manage the

situation (Northouse, 2016, p. 97). It is important to me because it makes both leaders behavior

and the followers central to the approach, but also it identifies the diversity of situations and

diversity of the people (2016, pp. 93 & 225). The Situational Approach has embedded in it a

sense of cultural understanding and adds to the lists in the skills and behavioral approaches, in

the same way.

The Servant Leadership style is similar with respect to the Situational Approach by

focusing on the behaviors of a leader with respect to an evaluation of the followers capabilities

and the situation. Leadership behaviors are monitored to balance what is need and to prevent the

leader from establishing decisions that are self-centered. In addition, both review and evaluate

their followers to ensure the proper development of their skills and ultimately accomplish the

tasks at hand. The Servant Leadership style and the Situational Approach provide an emphasis

on both the leader and the followers. I appreciated this concept because they simply cannot exist

without each other.

Returning to the volunteerism, in both the style and approach, the leaders and followers

develop a system of trading and building. The similarities lie in developmental initiatives that

make them assets to the program or environment, where the situations are occurring. The

experiences strengthen and become valued, where ethical and other issues of prejudice can be

minimized. It becomes more treasured in the situation by all of the participants. The idea of

being a servant is found in the foundation of consideration for others and promoting their skills

and behaviors to effectively contribute to what is needed, where its need and how its need.
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In contrast, the Trait and Skills Approaches concentrate solely on the leader, without

regard to the followers or the situation at hand (Northouse, 2016, pp. 19-70). Both of these

approaches create a profile of what a leader should be as a recipe for solving all issues and

situations. This established a very static perception, where the leadership can have a formula or

direction in problem solving and critically thinking about situations and issues. The Trait and

Skills Approaches limit uniqueness and lack the acceptation of diversity. I feel like in many

areas of leadership today, people still carry the ideologies of the Trait and Skills Approaches.

These profiles or, even, standards can have detrimental impacts on the followers because they

may not be able to have their emotions, feelings and thoughts contribute to the solutions. In

addition, the profiles could potentially cause the followers to believe that they are in adequate in

holding a leadership position instead of using it as a resource to determine how they could

become a leader.

Leadership Action Plan

I began my self-reflection on evaluating my relationship with individuals, who give me

an uneasy and uncomfortable memory. I wanted to recall how I handled the situation. I realize

that I hold several behaviors that are positively impacting my leadership positions. I am

conscious of making sure that I give an individual the time to communicate to enhance my

listening skills. I work hard to ensure that others see and feel the supportive qualities needed in

my position. I strongly feel that I work hard with strong organization and time management

skills. I also try to keep all of my employees motivated by finding innovative ways to bring

them together and create a space where they build connections to each other and the

environment. I am very conscious of how others perceive me as a leader and supervisor,

specifically in how they trust in my capabilities and know that I am their advocate.
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After reviewing the interview with Dr. Elmer J. Guy, Navajo Technical University (NTU)

President and the content of the course, I began to review previous experiences that I had in the

past. I hesitantly assessed recent decisions that I made regarding the management of the tutoring

and mentoring program at NTU because I didnt want to feel regret or remorse. I created several

case studies based on this reflection. Through this process, I was able to define my own previous

action plan and create a new one that better serves the community of our university. Since my

preference centered on a balance of behavior and followers ability assessment, I realized that I

had been viewing the staff-student relationship in the Situational Approach and Servant

Leadership style. However, I also was not fully enacting my abilities of each approach and style.

Throughout my experience as coordinator, I was always curious about how people made

decisions and acted in front of their followers. I feel confident in my ability to probe and

problem solve, specifically through research-based studies, but only with a selection of who I

believed were intelligent enough. I identified that method as a gap and not beneficial to the

followers because I didnt share that information and solicit alternative options from others. I

was judging my followers intellectual capabilities and not appreciating their input. In my plan

of action, I would like to alter this view because it strongly countered my advocacy of including

other people to think and learn independently. I also became aware of this gap when I

interviewed Dr. Guy because his view of inclusivity was weak, yet he considered it a virtue.

Through the gap analysis, I also identified my lack of empathy in certain circumstances,

where I had the expectation to positively impact the lives of the people I served. We are situated

within the Student Services Department and are expected to stand in the shoes of another

person to understand where they are coming from and why they made certain choices

(Northouse, 2016, p. 227). I had always worked to keep my personal opinions and preferences
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outside to encourage additional world perceptions in and outside the lab. However, as a leader of

the program, these attempts of showing empathy needed to be consistent to exhibit fairness and

balance. In the future, I will build a greater competence to work with others, who display the

willingness to be insightful and open.

Northouse (2016, p. 228) listed healing as a characteristic of a servant leader. I hadnt

considered the importance of healing with respect to the well being of the individuals I had

served. This gap I felt was counter productive in my attempts to be a good leader. I support the

mission of our institution and respect the teaching of our educational philosophy, but I knew I

needed to take one more step further in obtaining the correct training to help students, staff and

faculty deal with personal issues that effect their ability to thrive. I had avoided this

characteristic because I wanted to keep a strict professional boundary. However, it isnt possible

with the context of the mission and philosophy embedding healing components.

I choose two characteristics from the list of characteristics of a Servant Leader because I

defined my leadership style more closely with serving others and putting other first (Northouse,

2016, pp. 227-229). Again, I followed by the idea that a leader was the first volunteer because

they know the extend of the position and are willing to take on higher responsibilities. These

specific characteristics lead a review deeply rooted in all the experiences, cases and issues that I

had experienced thus far in my education and career. I understand how different situations can

be and how time changes needs of individuals in relation to leadership.

Diversity is immensely important in the leadership approaches that I resonated with.

Diversity establishes a wealth of information, experiences, and perspectives, which prevent

characteristics from becoming narrow and useless. It builds respect in creating a mural of all the

skills, approaches and techniques leadership has to offer. In addition, it can also show injustice
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and prejudice. In my undergraduate years, I was always considered for the alumni magazine or a

photo-shoot because I helped portray the belief that my institution was diverse. I didnt

appreciate it at the time, until I realized that they had community building as an initiative and

were trying to make the minority of minorities more visible. As a reflection, I know the sensitive

nature of diversity and also how important its existence.

Mohamad Karkouti (2016) examined how detrimental it could be for minorities to

experience leadership roles, if the institution doesnt consider the repercussions of racism and

exclusionary practices of minority students ( Mohamad Karkouti, 2016, p. 405). In my

undergraduate experience, I do remember issues of racism and how it affected our Native

American community. I wanted to continue practicing the initiative that the institution took

when the administration sponsored a solidarity rally. The gathering showed me that inclusionary

practices were ways that higher educational leaders could address diversity and introduce

cultural change (Mohamad Karkout, 2016, p. 410).

The discourse on diversity was my initial introduction to the Five Principles of Ethical

Leadership (Northouse, 2016, p. 341). Each element had a significant impact on how I wanted to

be viewed and eventually remembered. I recognized the power of reputation within a

community and especially for a woman in leadership. In the future, I hope to practice proper

respect for others, how to serve others effectively, how to be fair with justice, how to be honest

and truthful, and how to make community building through productive outcomes (2016, pp. 341-

347). These concepts are simple, but are also difficult to practice on a daily basis in certain

situations. One of the primary reasons for considering theses ethical principles is to constantly

remind myself that eventually, I may become a mentor or role model. As a role model, I would

be able to combat the fact that women are profoundly underrepresented in high-level leadership
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positions (2016, p. 399). The ethical and moral roots of leaderships are structure of leadership

creation, development, sustainability and reflection.

I will continually study is the relationship of my own Navajo Leadership teachings. This

class provided an opportunity for me to study the relationship that may exist between my people

and myself. In preparation for this paper, I read several articles about women and minorities

who became college or university presidents. Dowdy and Hamilton (2011) examined the life of

a Black woman, who worked hard to earn a position as an administrator (Dowdy & Hamilton,

2011). One aspect of the conclusion was the emphasis on improving the setting of institutions,

where minority and women leadership are low (Dowdy & Hamilton, 2011, p. 209). This

impression of improvement resonated with me because leadership values and studies will be

integral for the upcoming generations. In conclusion, I will take away a well-rounded

perspective on leadership. I could adapt to many different situations and know that it isnt

nonsensical (Northouse, 2016, p. 98). Leadership development will continually grow in all

situations and experiences in life. Whether you are the central leader or are the follower with

aspirations of leadership, we need knowledge, research and studies to build our philosophy and

implement it.

References
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Dowdy, J. K., & Hamilton, A. (2011). Lessons from a Black Woman Administrator: "I'm Still

Here". Negro Educational Review, 62/63(1-4), 189-212.

Mohamad Karkout, I. (2016). Professional Leadership Practices and Diversity Issues in the U.S.

Higher Education System: A Research Sythesis. Education, 136(4), 405-412.

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage.