My Personal Leadership Philosophy

1. My Personal Leadership Philosophy
By: Sandra Olivarez
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of
other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions
drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the
courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already
know what you truly want to become. Everything else is
secondary.”
- Steve Jobs
What I’ve learned about Ethics
Working in Corporate America, ethics is a part of my everyday work
life. Previously, my knowledge of ethics was limited to my own
ethics, that being what my culture determines to be right and
wrong. Through this class, I feel I have been enlightened. I now
realize the importance of educating yourself with the ethics of other
cultures you may do business with, as it can have a heavy impact
on the impression you make. Mannerisms and behavior may vary
by culture and what is acceptable and appropriate in our area of the
world may not be in another. I have learned the importance of
Ethical Reasoning, and how critical it is to teach to the younger
generations. I now know to be weary of ethical drifts and check
myself on an ongoing basis to ensure I am not failing others and
myself by letting myself slip when others might. I have written and
posted my own personal mission and vision statements, and credit
this class to my renewed focus on organizational ethics.
My Idea of an Effective Leader
I have encountered all types of leadership styles in my career,
some good, some bad – but I have learned something important
from every single one of them. In my experience, there are leaders
who are looking to self-promote, and leaders who want the team to
succeed. What makes a good or bad leader typically has more to
do with how they see and treat others, than how they see
themselves. Their actions speak, one way or another, speak
volumes. An effective leader builds others up, empowering their
employees, inspiring them to succeed. They are transparent, turn

2. potential issues into teaching moments and are servant leaders.
They recognize others for their hard work and contributions, and
remain supportive and optimistic. Unfortunately, not all leaders are
good leaders. Sometimes, people end up in leadership roles that
are either not ready for them, or do not have what it takes to lead
successfully. A bad leader can end up crushing the morale of a
team and drive good people away. In some cases they selfish, and
feel threatened by others success. In some cases, they may not be
contributing to the actual work, but want to be the one in the spot
light, falsely taking credit for others work. They may not take
responsibility, instead blaming others. Bad leaders are toxic to the
people they work with as well as the organization they work for.
Self- Analysis:
Who I am
I strive to be the best version of myself each day. I am a mother,
wife, daughter, sister, friend and ally. I hope for the best, but
prepare for the worst. I have unjustly struggled and suffered in life,
but have survived. I am able to turn any bad situation around so
that some sort of good can come out of it. My Strengths Quest
results reveal and affirm who I am at my core. My five strengths
are belief, responsibility, relator, connectedness, and restorative.
Belief is fitting since it foundation of my life. It causes me to be
family-oriented, spiritual and value responsibility and ethics in
myself, and others. Responsibility is both a blessing and a curse. It
causes me to be extremely dependable, but also triggers me to
carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. Relator essentially
means that I am easily able to relate to others, which makes me
remarkably good at building and maintaining relationships.
Connectedness is a strength and life theme for me. As I mentioned
earlier, I believe everything happens for a reason, and this gives
me the drive to help make the world a better place. Simply being
aware of my responsibilities to help make our world better, one
interaction at a time is not enough. There is a call to action in my
very soul. Restorative basically means I am a problem solver. I
have a passion for solving practical problems. I like to be someone
who makes life easier for others. I seek out opportunities to
improve things, and am revitalized when I do.
What I believe

3. Knowing who you are as an individual makes it much easier to
figure out what it is that you believe. I strongly believe that
everything happens for a reason. We all go through our own
individual struggles in life to help us along our path to grow. I
believe that my faith in God will carry me through any difficult
situation and I will survive. Every dark cloud I may encounter will
also have a silver lining. Those silver linings may not always be
apparent in the moment, but without fail, something good has
always come out of the bad times. I have been able to be a pillar of
strength for so many friends that have had to face things I have
already endured – I believe in my heart that was by design. God
will always be with us in our walk. I believe if we’re faithful, we will
find peace and happiness; we just have to have faith and trust in
God.
What I Value
I value you many things, but the top five are my family, faith,
wisdom, resourcefulness, and adaptability. My family and friends,
whom I care for and love, are my reason for striving to be the best
version of myself each day. My faith, or belief in and personal
relationship with God, is what grounds me in daily life and
strengthens me. Wisdom, or my ability to utilize and share key
learning’s from my life experiences to positively influence others, I
consider to be a spiritual gift. Resourcefulness, or my ability to act
and think creatively in difficult circumstances, is what carries me
through life’s challenges. Adaptability, or rather my ability to
continually adapt and adjust to changing conditions is what assists
me in successfully dealing with life’s obstacles. My Personal Mission
Statement: To live with an appreciation for life’s blessings, and be
a positive & supportive influence in the lives of others. My personal
Vision Statement: I will be present in life, cultivate a better work-
life balance and remove obstacles that keep me from experiencing
life.
My Priorities
Having determined what it is that value most makes it so much
easier to set my priorities. I make God my first priority because He
is the reason I am who I am. It is His love that makes all things
possible. My family is my second priority. It is my privilege to be
able to help shape that my children grow-up to be, and to help

4. prepare them for life. My husband, the rest of my family and all my
other beloved friends are an inspiration for me to work hard and be
the best version of myself I can be. I will help support my family in
every way I am able, emotionally, spiritually, physically and
financially. My third priority is to help make a difference in this
world and leave it and all it’s people in better condition than I found
them. It is my duty to utilize the resources, experience, knowledge
and skills I have to make a positive impact.
My Expectations of Others and Myself
I expect others to be honest, and trustworthy. I expect
transparency in communication, and for people to speak up when
they need assistance. I expect to set an expectation of integrity in
all things and make every moment teachable. I expect to work
hard on finding an ideal work-life balance and encouraging others to
do so as well. I expect myself and others to make a valiant effort
to be present in daily life and appreciate all that life has to offer.
Who I aspire to be
I aspire to be exactly who God has created me to be. It is in the
journey that I prepare myself for what is to come. The leadership
principles that I strive to model and see in others are simple. I am
a servant leader, and I will lead by example and strive to
consistently set a positive example for my team to follow. I am
open-minded, and I will listen to others ideas with an open mind. I
am a Christian, and I will bring my loving and accepting Christian
Worldview with me in my personal and professional life each day.
My personal dislikes or “hot button” issues are few, but they are
important nonetheless. I am a responsible person and will not
accept excuses or rationalizations for not taking care of priorities. I
will hold you accountable and call you out on things when I need to.
I will fire you for integrity issues like lying or stealing. I will not
tolerate intolerance or discrimination of others.