Running

head: LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY AS AN EDUCATOR 1

Leadership Philosophy as an Educator

Shelby Elkins

Loyola University Chicago

LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY AS AN EDUCATOR 2

Leadership Philosophy as an Educator

Northouse (2018) said that leadership is a process, but I think it is a unique process.

When in unique situations, you often have to find unique and specific ways to handle situations.

Especially when you want to handle situations with grace, you must think hard and be cognizant

of every action you take. In the field of student affairs, us educators are fortunate enough to be

there for students when they experience various critical points of their lives that could potentially

shape them for generations. Northouse (2018) analyzed leadership’s shifts from dominance,

influence, approach, and effectiveness. Even though leadership is often pegged to be a certain

way in each decade, I believe that you can always make it your own to handle what lies in front

of you. With emotional intelligent leadership, we have the opportunity to handle our daily work

with grace and the endearment that we feel for our work and students.

In this paper, I will discuss the three core sections of my personal leadership philosophy

as an educator statement: working with vulnerable students, being vulnerable yourself, and

setting things aside. I will analyze these three steps through the emotionally intelligent

leadership theory. By using this theory, I would like to give you a front row seat to the way I

approach my daily work and how small things can make a significant difference. My leadership

philosophy as an educator statement is:

Leadership as an educator is a unique process; it is not a task, it is not the

accomplishments of your work. Leadership as an educator is the manner and emotion you

exhibit when working with students - even when students are in vulnerable positions, when you

feel vulnerable, and when you must set aside everything else to create a lasting impact on the

students we are fortunate enough to work with everyday in our field.

LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY AS AN EDUCATOR 3

Vulnerable Students

When students are in vulnerable positions like suicidal ideation, home life issues,

academic concerns, etc., we as student affairs educators must be there and know how to handle

the situation. And when we do not know what to say, it is okay to be quiet and just let a student

know they are being heard. Dugan (2017) wrote about emotional intelligent leadership and its

necessity to be conscious of situations and how to handle them. I wholeheartedly agree with this

sentiment and see it every day in my work. When students are sharing themselves with you and

feel that they are in a vulnerable position, we must as educators be knowledgeable about what is

going on and ways that we can help them.

By using emotional intelligent leadership as a student affairs educator, you are better

equipped to see the entire situation you are dealing with, understand their emotions, and

controlling your own emotions (Dugan, 2017). Social cues from students, unspoken

assumptions, and other unsaid parts of a students’ concerns are often the most important. For

example, when talking to a student who has been facing suicidal ideation and all the other

concerns that brings, we must look around the situation and see what outside factors are affecting

the it. What is their network? Do they feel supported? Are there things in their room that put

them at further risk? Do they have a plan? Are you asking the right questions, and using the

right words? These questions are important to ensure the situation is handled with grace and

concern for students’ safety.

Northouse (2018) wrote about how leadership and management are not the same, and I

believe that is applicable to every single situation. When we look at our work with students as a

situation to manage, we risk failing them. When we find ways to lead and be a leader, we have a

better chance of reaching the students concerns in the ways they so badly need. By using
LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY AS AN EDUCATOR 4

emotional intelligent leadership as educators, we provide “attitudes to achieve desired leadership

outcomes (Dugan, p. 95).” We can use our attitude and tone of voice to deescalate a tense

situation and use what we sense in an environment to solve a crisis. The moment you feel

disconnected and uninformed is the moment you have lost the emotional intelligence required to

be there for students in your role as an educator.

Vulnerable Staff

Students often view staff members as just robots that sit behind a desk and process

paperwork. Surprisingly, we are so much more than that and have lived interesting and unique

experiences ourselves! Because of this, we are often in vulnerable positions as well. Students

could potentially say things that are triggering, that remind you of your past, and make you feel

uncomfortable and at a loss of words. Dugan (2017) notes that the consciousness of self is

important when applying emotionally intelligent leadership. When you are aware of yourself

and what positions you hold in a situation, you are better prepared to work with students and

handle your consciousness of the context (Dugan, 2017).

There are staff members that I currently work with that I know when they enter

situations, they risk having something being said by a student that challenges how they respond

to the situation. Some of us as educators have battled suicidal thoughts, have had major issues at

home, and have various concerns that we carry with us everywhere we go. This requires us to

challenge the ways we show empathy and be able to understand how we channel our experiences

into helping students (Dugan, 2017). We now have the opportunity to be authentic and use

transparency when talking with students (Dugan, 2017). We can often share how we have faced

the same challenges and what we did to overcome them. This allows students to see that others
LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY AS AN EDUCATOR 5

have faced similar things and found ways to balance them moving forward. I do not view this as

providing a silver lining but being authentic and letting someone see they are not alone.

Setting Things Aside

Dugan (2017) showed in his chart of Emotionally intelligent leadership framework that

the consciousness of context is vital to be aware of the setting and situation. We must be able to

set things aside and look at the situation in front of it and its many facets. When analyzing a

group that we are working with, we should interpret group dynamics and understand the setting

we are in. We must set aside the individual connections we might have with individual students

that might prohibit group growth – but, we must remember them and understand how they fit

into a group. We must set aside the challenges we face(d) so that we can give students the full

support they need in their times of concern.

When assessing the environment, we must interpret external forces and trends (Dugan,

2017). This is vital to ensuring emotional intelligent leadership is being integrated into our

work. Setting aside preconceived notions of groups or environments is acceptable for creating

fresh experiences for students. Chunoo (2018) said that “using an approach to leadership that

challenges us requires us to change attitudes, values, and behaviors in order to address complex

challenges.” By setting aside bad attitudes and behaviors, we are able to navigate any context

and accomplish the high level of work that is expected from us. It would be easy for me to walk

in a room and have an attitude while searching for prohibited items after a student is rude to me –

but that is not acceptable. We must remember that students might feel vulnerable, exposed, and

attacked by some parts of our work. This context is important to remember so that we can justify

why we must set aside feelings we hold that are heavy, but not necessary.
LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY AS AN EDUCATOR 6

Emotionally intelligent leadership theory is largely absent from many leadership theories

but is so important to every part of our work (Dugan, 2017). We should not look at this as

something to check off on our leadership journey, but as part of every word that comes out of our

mouths. Before we speak and act, we must challenge ourselves to think where we are talking,

what we are saying, and how it will be perceived. Although this is a lot to think of every time

we speak, we must challenge ourselves so that we do not miss the opportunity to be a support

and emotionally intelligent leader when it is needed.

LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY AS AN EDUCATOR 7

References

Dugan, J. (2017). Leadership theory: Cultivating critical perspectives. San Francisco, CA:

Jossey-Bass

Guthrie, K., & Chunoo, V. (2018). Changing the narrative: Socially just leadership education.

Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing

Northouse, P. (2018). Leadership: Theory and practice, 8th edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.