9043Phil

As a student affairs professional, my personal philosophy of student affairs and leadership will aid me in becoming a successful and effective administrator who can positively impact the students I work with and the institution.

I believe that the ultimate goal of higher education institutions is to provide individuals with the knowledge and skills they need in order to become productive, engaged citizens who lead a happy and fulfilling life. In my eyes, the academic side of the institution provides them with a core portion of the knowledge and skills required in order to obtain that goal. However, these important learning outcomes we hope students learn are not often framed around situations that they, especially those of traditional college student age, will have to deal with when they begin to live life outside the authority of their parents, and the university. Thus, students may lack the ability, for example, to make independent informed decisions, understand how to effectively collaborate with a group of diverse individuals, and understand who they truly are as individuals.
 * //Role of Student Affairs://**

Therefore, I believe that the role of student affairs divisions within higher education institutions is to further student learning in ways that are not found within the academic classroom. As a student affairs professional I believe in encouraging students to develop healthy relationships with others and through their experiences develop self authorship; the ability for students to “becom[e] the authors of their own lives” and make decisions based upon their own identity and belief structures (Meszaros, 2007, p. 11). If students know how to have healthy relationships with diverse individuals, and have the opportunity to develop a strong sense of their identity then they can learn how to make judgments and act based upon who they truly are as individuals. These abilities can only serve them well as they advance in a society that offers them multiple ways of thinking and requires that they create collaborative relationships with others.

I believe that the role of student affairs professionals within higher education institutions is to be a partner in student learning. Student affair professionals must focus on empowering students and letting them control their learning experience. Instead of controlling what they learn, we must guide them in a direction that will assist them positively in their development. I strongly believe in Baxter-Magolda’s Learning Partnership model that promotes student self authorship through empowering students to realize their ability to construct knowledge on the basis of three principles; (1) empowering students, (2) through personalizing learning through framing it in terms of their experiences, and (3) by learning through working with others to find their own meaning (Meszaros, 2007).
 * //Role of the Student Affairs Professional://**

I personally like to draw on the “tandem bicycle journey” metaphor that Meszaros (2007) outlines when describing the Learning Partnership model. This metaphor helps me to guide my thinking in how I should be interacting and working with students. In this metaphor, the student drives the bicycle and is charge of making the decision of where and how the bicycle is going to get to the final destination, which is self authorship. Meanwhile, I, the student affairs professional, am on the back of the bicycle providing the student with the elements of challenge and support they need in order to move in the direction of self authorship. Along our journey we will pass guideposts that will tell us how far along the student is in their journey towards self authorship.

I believe in empowering students and to let them take control of their learning experience because they need to obtain the skills necessary to direct their lives once they leave the protected environment of the university. I see the higher education realm as a place where students can make mistakes and then with the support of student affairs professionals find the guidance to learn from those mistakes.

I believe that leadership requires (a) a sense of awareness of yourself and others, (b) a desire to serve others, and (c) an understanding of the dynamic process that is leadership.
 * //Personal Leadership Philosophy://**

//A Sense of Awareness of yourself and others// I believe that leadership is about being aware of who you are as an individual. Effective leaders are successful because they are aware of their personal strengths and limitations and only are able to lead when they are true to their values and belief systems. I also believe that it is important to be aware of others around you. I value respecting the qualities and characteristics of each individual person. As a leader, understanding the people I interact with will allow me to successfully reach my goals and serve others.

//A Desire to Serve Others// I believe that without a purpose, leaders, no matter their leadership style, will struggle to achieve their goals. Furthermore, without the right purpose, a leader will also be completely unsuccessful. Therefore, when I lead, I strive to serve others and incorporate a social exchange/transactional style of leadership where I include others in the process and form goals based upon the needs of the collective group (Bensimon, Neumann, Birnbaum, 1989).

//Dynamic Process// Lastly, I believe that leadership is a dynamic process that at requires a flexible and adaptable leader. I view leadership as a process that must be continuously reevaluated because circumstances and situational variables are continuously changing. Lastly, I value the role culture plays within an institution and feel that a leader must recognize and respect the culture of that community. Only by working within the groups’ norms, can leader truly make a positive impact.

References Bensimon, E. M., Neumann, A., & Birnbaum, R. (1989). Higher education and leadership theory. In M. C. Brown (Ed.), //Organization and governance in higher education// (5th ed. ASHE Reader Series, pp. 214-222). Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing.

Meszaros, P. S. (2007). The journey of self-authorship: Why is it necessary? //New Directions for Teaching and Learning,// 109, 5-14.