Submit the Outline for your Leadership Philosophy Paper (Signature Assignment) here. Start by creating an outline for your essay. As you get started, reflect on your growth and accomplishments relative to leadership. How you organize your outline is up to you; however, the following questions must be addressed:

• How is leadership defined?
• What is the importance of leadership?
• What are your values?
• What are your priorities?

For your Signature Assignment, you will write an essay on your Philosophy of Leadership. The objective of this assignment is for you to demonstrate essential research, writing, and analytical skills to be utilized in future professional and academic endeavors (SLO3). Prior to submitting your Final Draft in Week 14, you will submit an Outline this week and a First Draft in Week 11.

Length and Required Sources for the FINAL DRAFT: 600 – 800 words (roughly 2 – 3 pages double spaced 12 point Times New Roman font). Cite a minimum of 3 sources.

Most organizations have some sort of vision or mission statement that guides its members and focuses their work. These statements help keep the organization on track and pointed toward clearly articulated goals. A written leadership philosophy achieves the same thing on a personal level: it lets people around you know what you expect, what you value, and how you’ll act. Additionally, it acts as a compass to help keep you, the leader, on course. In essence, your leadership philosophy will make public your understanding of who you are as a leader.     

As a student of leadership studies, it is important for you to be familiar with leadership theories and acquainted the work of leadership scholars. Demonstrate your familiarity with these scholars and their theories by citing their work in your Leadership Philosophy Paper. Here are a few examples of how this can be done… use the work of leadership scholars to support:

• Your definition of leadership.
• Your assertions of the importance of leadership.
• The importance and effectiveness of the leadership skills and traits you exhibit
• The need for a clearly articulated vision
• The importance of goals