In a world such as this, the relational aspect of leadership is of the utmost importance.

To
me, C.S. Lewis says it best when he states that,
"It is a serious thing, to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that
the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if
you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a
corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in
some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of
these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to
them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves,
all play, all politicsBut it is immortals whome we joke with, work with, marry, snub
and exploit -- immortal horrors or everlasting splendours. This does not mean that we are
to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is,
in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken
each other seriously -- no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must
be a real and costly love, with deep feeling no mere tolerance or indulgence which
parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment."
-The Weight of Glory pg.45-46

The impact of the leader goes far beyond those they immediately come into contact with and it is
with the knowledge that it might not even be a moment you remember which pushes someone to
greatness or darkness. With this in mind I created my philosophy of leadership.
Aims: Leadership should strive to create an environment in which the noun* it is responsible for
and to thrives and strives for improvement. In this environment leadership must help its noun be
the best possible noun it can. Leaderships motivation for doing this must be for the success of
the noun and not itself.
Axiology: To accomplish these aims a leader must respect its noun and display compassion in all
of their interactions. Leadership must be aware of its own flaws and weaknesses, knowing when
to ask for help. In conjunction with this leadership must be able to stand up for what is right,
more importantly though it must be able to admit when it was wrong. With these principles and
qualities at its heart leadership will be able to accomplish its goals
Courage: Life takes courage. To lead a noun through life takes even more courage. Without risk,
there can be no courage and it is a leaders job to not only demonstrate proper courage but to
moderate levels of risk as well. Courage is making the hard choice that you know is right, it is
stepping out into the growth zone where learning happens and guiding others to do the same for
themselves. The opportunity to be courageous happens every day, and it is the responsibility of
the leader to make sure the noun is ready for the challenge.
Spiritual Leadership: Having and demonstrating love and compassion for your noun, and those
your noun interacts with. Leadership dictates the treatment of others and sets the standard of
what is and is not okay. A leader must instill within its noun a sense of respect and create an
environment in which others seek to understand each other and their differing perspectives.

*noun is used in this paper to represent the wide variety of scenarios in which
leadership can be applied: small groups, corporations, individuals, and so on. While
reading feel free to substitute your own setting or leave it open ended