My Philosophy of Leadership

Wade Westwood

ORGL 620 Leadership Seminar

Gonzaga University

Dr. Kingsley

28 January 2024

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AND VISION SETTING

Foundational to my leadership philosophy is that people, organizations and systems are capable of achieving greatness. The cycle of continuous improvement is an incredibly powerful tool that can unlock potential and help attain previously out-of-reach results. Work and persistence are the inputs to the continuous improvement cycle, and leadership is required to both start and steer the effects of change to make the individuals and the organizations better. From my time and work at Gonzaga University, I have come to better understand the power of servant-leadership, listening, forgiveness, and building teams and community. 

To define my philosophy of leadership, I must first acknowledge who I am at my core. A keen awareness of who I am and what I am made of is a prerequisite to good leadership; if I am not aware of how I am perceived, and received, how can I expect to affect people in an intentional and meaningful manner? I believe the best way to answer the question “Who am I?” is through meticulous work. Toil and struggle can peel back the layers of our personalities and expose the essence of our being. Struggling is the purest way to heighten self-awareness, and we identify what we truly value by the suffering we are willing to endure for those things. 

Improvement must never end, so struggle must not end. I don’t think developmental stasis is possible for any meaningful amount of time. The environment in which we operate and what we value are both dynamic, so we cannot stop struggling entirely or we will lose our sense of who we are and what we care about. I must continue facing new challenges head on, and my leadership values and skills must continue to be honed, or they will atrophy like an unused muscle.

To improve is to change, and as a leader it is my job to create an environment where individual, organizational and systemic change is possible. I cannot do it alone for the entire organization, but I can set a vision for where the organization should go and enable the team to succeed. Through foresight and strategy, I identify and frame what improvement, and thus struggle, is required, and communicate its positive return for team members, both organizationally and individually. It is not enough to offer a vision that requires challenges that will birth improvement only for the organization; there is also the element of individual development that my organization’s vision must fulfill. If a person is part of my team, they are not only part of something bigger in terms of the organization’s success, they should also be receiving personal value through the individual skills they are developing.

SERVANT-LEADERSHIP

To be a servant-leader is to be more Christ-like, which ultimately means finding ways as a leader to re-gift the love God has given us. “If I speak in human and angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing” (New American Bible Revised Edition, 1981, 1 Corinthians 13: 1-3). Grounded in love, my goal is to serve my team and my organization by developing both into better versions. If my goal is only to serve myself, my team would undoubtedly falter, because we’d each be willing to compromise and settle for less than our collective best. As a leader, I insist on returning value to both my organization and my team members. When change is for the greater good, including our families, our children’s futures, and our communities, a team will dig deeper to make the vision a reality.

BUILDING A TEAM

In physics, potential energy is the energy that represents the capability of an object due to its position within a system. Like how a ball resting at the top of a ramp may be capable of rolling at great speeds, if only given a little nudge to overcome its inertial state. With a little help, the potential energy is converted into kinetic energy, or energy in motion. For me, community (or a team) represents that little bit of help that individuals need to be put into motion to achieve their potential. Newton’s first law states that an object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. For individuals, our community provides the nudge that we need – the outside force – to put us into motion or to correct our trajectory. Community at its finest unlocks a person’s potential and enables that person to become the fullest version of themself. However, in violation of the physical laws of nature, energy is not conserved in community; in community, it is possible that the collective “we” is greater than the sum total of our individual efforts and contributions.

I create the environment for change to take place by being deliberate about team composition. I do not build an echo chamber or an organization with homogenous viewpoints, but in order to be successful, the team must all be aligned to the same ultimate objective. Team members must have a “we before I” attitude and a desire to work to be on the winning team. These are the people with whom I want to surround myself, because they are the people that will make their team members better and help achieve the vision. “Genchi gembutsu” is a Japanese phrase that means “go and see for yourself”. This phrase is meant to drive a bias for active problem solving, rather than supposition away from where the problem is occurring. I want people on my team who actually fix problems, rather than people who simply suppose problems and propose solutions. 

If someone is willing to trust and support my vision, it is my job to make sure they are in a role where they can have a meaningful and positive impact. I match task to talent, and it is my job to see the forest through the trees and ensure they’re in a role where they can succeed and the organization will benefit from their success.

Through generative listening, I take the opportunity to serve as both an example to and a sounding board for my team. I strive to be an empathetic listener who can remain off the drama triangle. By seeking to understand, rather than simply waiting to speak or passing judgment, I hope to show my team members and peers a path to being more empathetic. 

Every individual and organization will stumble in its execution toward improvement. My prayer is that I can be a positive example and influence, and that along with my team members, we will seek to give and experience positive and forward-thinking experiences rather than be consumed with notions of judgment and revenge. Accountability can and will still be held, but I can sow seeds of love within our organization that help us move forward, rather than dwell in past short-comings. And when we make mistakes, which we are certain to do, we must ask for forgiveness and set a tone of grace for the organization if we are to be an example for everyone.

Through systems thinking, I understand what moves metrics and key-performance indicators. I ignore the day-to-day noise and push to move the needle in whatever direction necessary to drive us closer to fulfilling our vision. By emphasizing metric-drivers rather than results, my team is empowered to make decisions and implement changes that move the needle in real-time, since the effects will be nearly immediate rather than delayed in an earnings report; permission from their leader is not required due to the ability to fail fast and try something else.  

COMMUNICATION GROUNDED IN LOVE

St. Thomas Aquinas defined love as “to will the good of the other.” There is a vulnerability required in leadership, and within that vulnerability, an authenticity in being candid and forthright both to other leaders and to followers. There is a direct correlation between how well the organization communicates and how quickly we overcome problems. So, I strive to communicate the right things, to the right audience, at the right time, in the right manner, to fulfill our vision. Being candid and forthright also includes delivering hard-to-hear messages when needed. Difficult messages are more easily received when the message comes from a place of love, so my actions and words are guided by Proverbs 27:17, “Iron is sharpened by iron; one person sharpens another” (New American Bible Revised Edition, 1981). By willing the good of my team members and peers, I am able to lovingly deliver hard-to-hear messages when necessary.

OUR SUCCESS

My leadership philosophy is built on respect for life, candor and work ethic. I am asking people to give their limited resources of time and talent to fulfill my vision, so I owe it to them to respect their investment in my leadership. I demonstrate this respect to my team through leading by example, working alongside them, and being as candid as possible with my communication. I approach with love but am also forthright when necessary. 

Through my commitment to continuous improvement, I enable every person on my team to have the opportunity to find who they are and what they value, so that we can help each other move closer to our definitions of success. 

References

New American Bible Revised Edition. (1981). Devore & Sons.