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Management and Leadership Philosophy Paper – Chase Greeson

I’m a very relational and supportive person when it comes to the people around me. I

always want to help someone if they’re having a problem or if they come to me for advice, help,

encouragement, etc. That being said, it’s something I look for in leaders as well. I want to feel

like I have a personal connection and a real understanding of how my leader works and behaves.

I want to develop a sense of their values and motivations when creating more personal,

intimate relationships with them. I believe that it’s vital for leaders to be understood by their

colleagues. If everyone develops a sense of connection and community with their leader(s), it

enhances those people to be benevolent towards said leader(s) and their team.

Personally, when leading, my philosophy is that creating strong connections and bonds

with the leader and their “employees” is necessary. This would provide a long list of benefits and

help employees feel more comfortable with:

 Disagreeing (with me or other team members)

o Would allow me and the team to view different perspectives/outlooks.

Nobody is perfect and has perfect ideas every time. Disagreements and

conflict are necessary at some point in teams to create better outcomes.

 The team must value honesty and transparency to provide healthy,

effective communication, to supply these disagreements.

 Working alongside each other as equals

o Would help the people I’m leading feel less as a “follower” and more of

an equal colleague. And help the unconscious “power difference” between

boss and employee because a leader is not a boss. If those tensions

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weaken, it will motivate the other team members to work more efficiently,

knowing that they would be helping the team as a whole, and not just

myself.

 The team must value equality, have passion and commitment to the

team, and treat each other with respect.

 Coming to me for help

o Would allow me to support my team members and give them advice or

more clarity.

o I would not do the work for them, but rather guide them towards the

right path if they are stuck. You mustn’t develop a sense of reliability in

team members thinking “I don’t know how to do this; I’ll just have my

leader do it.” But more of reliability in thinking “I’m struggling in this

aspect; I’ll see if my leader has any advice or suggestions to point me back

in the right path.”

 The team must value reliability, independence (as well as

dependence), influence, and development.

Those are just some of the benefits that would occur when developing more personal

relationships with the people you lead. You create more of a sense of a team, which is a huge

part of my philosophy/outlook on how leaders and managers should operate. In all the jobs that

I’ve had, if my boss makes an effort to get to know me and understand what my

values/motivations are and vice versa, it relaxes that feeling of hierarchy. While we both knew

who was “above” the other, it didn’t feel that way. That is the kind of philosophy that I believe is
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crucial in having a successful team and in being an effective leader. One that develops strong,

relational bonds and relationships with the people you lead and work with.