Many of us can think of leaders we have come to admire, be they historical figures, pillars of the industry we work in, or leaders we know personally. The leadership of individuals such as Abraham Lincoln and Margaret Thatcher has been studied and discussed repeatedly. However, you may have interacted with leaders you feel demonstrated equally competent leadership without ever having a book written about their approaches.
What makes great leaders great? Every leader is different, of course, but one area of commonality is the leadership philosophy that great leaders develop and practice. A leadership philosophy is basically an attitude held by leaders that acts as a guiding principle for their behavior. While formal theories on leadership continue to evolve over time, great leaders seem to adhere to an overarching philosophy that steers their actions.
What is your leadership philosophy? In this Assignment, you will explore what guides your own leadership.
To Prepare:
• Identify two to three scholarly resources, in addition to this Module’s readings, that evaluate the impact of leadership behaviors in creating healthy work environments.
• Reflect on the leadership behaviors presented in the three resources that you selected for review.
• Reflect on your results of the CliftonStrengths Assessment, and consider how the results relate to your leadership traits.
The Assignment (2-3 pages):
Personal Leadership Philosophies
Develop and submit a personal leadership philosophy that reflects what you think are characteristics of a good leader. Use the scholarly resources on leadership you selected to support your philosophy statement. Your personal leadership philosophy should include the following:
• A description of your core values
• A personal mission/vision statement
• An analysis of your CliftonStrengths Assessment summarizing the results of your profile
• A description of two key behaviors that you wish to strengthen
• A development plan that explains how you plan to improve upon the two key behaviors you selected and an explanation of how you plan to achieve your personal vision. Be specific and provide examples.
• Be sure to incorporate your colleagues’ feedback on your CliftonStrengths Assessment from this Module’s Discussion 2.
YouTubers such as Shani Grimmond, Lydia Elise Millen, Sophia Tuxford and Cinzia Zullo are having a great impact on young girls and educating them about all the current must haves and even standing in as the kind of ‘big sister’ on the internet for lots of young people. The vloggers show their lavish lifestyles with all the best products, clothes and holidays. “A new segment of entrepreneurs- fashion bloggers- is utilizing the digital technologies, such as blogs and social media, to transform their personal lives and style into online businesses.” (Findlay, 2015.) The development of a career on Instagram has showed how important social media can be for brands when it comes to advertising and attracting customers. Using these influencers who relate to an audience make the brand seem relatable and make the blogger lifestyle seem achievable if you buy the products of the brand. Another development for social media influencers is the free trips away that they are taken on for new product releases or promotions. Recently high street and high-end brands have been taking these influencers on luxury trips, which can include the Maldives, Ibiza and Coachella festival in LA. These trips are a good way for brands to promote their new products and show that all the best and popular bloggers are using and supporting them.
The fashion industry must overcome many challenges all the time, but a recent challenge is technology and keeping up with the constant demand of social media platforms. Online retailers and fast fashion have resulted in the constant worry for brands making sure they are always communicating their new ideas correctly to ensure that the audience is interested and engaged. Burt and Sparks (2003) found that “as a continually evolving market, the widening of consumer demand and changing consumer expectations has intensified this process, meaning retailers should be encouraged to think outside the traditional boxes in meeting the changes of consumers’ behaviour that these shifts have brought”. For these brands to ensure that they are attracting their audience and customers they must partake in research to see what a certain audience’s interests are and what appeals to them, so they can supply the products they want and desire. In terms of audience labour, it plays a huge role in being able to sell no matter how big or small