Running head: Personal Leadership Platform

Katie Seidel
The Personal Leadership Platform
University of Mount Union
ED 501 Leadership and Organizational Change

Running head: Personal Leadership Platform

Abstract
This paper will discuss authentic leadership, vision, and social capital in addition, to my
own leadership philosophy and vision in which I have developed through my time as a coach and
graduate student. I have studied the latest leadership theories and philosophies in athletics and
education.
I plan to examine the Mount Union Intercollegiate Athletics Philosophy, and I will
discuss the following goals for improvement of the Womens Lacrosse program at the University
of Mount Union:
1. Develop our student athletes into the best lacrosse players, leaders, and people they
can become.
2. Develop a culture of winning by creating and environment with clear expectations,
consequences, feedback, self-assessment, and reflection among coaches and players.
3. Win a national championship by effectively implementing our culture, expectations,
and instilling positive habitual behaviors.
I had the opportunity to present my second goal to our head coach and volunteer
assistant. Due to the nature of our program they both agreed that developing a winning culture is
crucial to the future success of our program. The womens lacrosse program here at Mount
Union has only been in existence for 5 years and the focus has been more on retention and skill
development so a concrete culture has not yet been developed. While developing a culture takes
time and patience we are aware that success is by-product of clear expectations, consequences,
and positive habitual actions (culture). We are now in the process of developing a culture by
creating clear expectations and consequences in the form of a student athlete contracts and player
and coach evaluation forms. I choose this goal because culture is the foundation of a program

Running head: Personal Leadership Platform

and serves as a driving force for recruiting and fundamental development. Recruiting is the heart
of a program and will directly determine future success. This culture greatly influences our
recruiting philosophy. We first and foremost look to recruit athletes with good morals and values.
The process of developing a leadership platform has allowed for both a personal and professional
reflection of my leadership philosophy and who I am as a coach, leader, mentor, and student.
Organizational Profile
I am currently in my second year as an assistant coach for the University of Mount Union
womens lacrosse team. Through my short time here in the athletics department I have seen a
tradition of excellence best exhibited through the success of the Mount Union Football team.
They boast 12 National Championships wins and hold the record for most national titles for any
football program in any division in a playoff format (Mount Union Athletics Archive). Taking a
closer look at the general student body there are 2,140 undergraduate students and 141 graduate
students. The population breakdown is 52% male and 48% female. Also, 2% of the student body
is comprised of international students and 15% are American students of color. Student athletes
comprise roughly 40% of the student body. (Mount Union Enrollment) This profile not only
greatly influences the culture of the school itself but the culture of the athletics department.
The culture and philosophy of the athletics department states that The educational
values, practices and mission of Mount Union determines the standards by which we conduct our
intercollegiate athletics program. The highest priority is placed on the overall quality of a
student's educational experience and on the successful completion of a student's academic
program. The welfare, health, safety and academic progress of student-athletes are primary
concerns of athletics administration on Mount Union's campus. Every student-athlete male and

Running head: Personal Leadership Platform

female, majority and minority, in all sports will receive equitable and fair treatment. The
culture and philosophy of the athletics department helps delineate the culture for the womens
lacrosse program and helps me personally define my own leadership platform in terms of
leading, managing and mentoring our student-athletes.
The community
Personal Leadership Philosophy
At the start of my coaching career and this graduate program I did not have a concrete
philosophy of leadership. However, after completing the required course readings and various
assignments, discussing my goals with our coaching staff, and reflecting on my current and
previous experiences as a coach I have begun to develop a framework for effective leadership
within the Mount Union athletics department and womens lacrosse program. I commit to being
lifelong student of leadership and hope to further develop and hone my leadership skills over the
course of my coaching career. I foresee my philosophy changing over time as well.
A major concept that has resonated with me and shaped my framework is the concept of
authentic leadership. Authentic leadership has also been a major theme throughout our
coursework. The article Discovering your Authentic Leadership, found in HBRs 10 Must Reads
on Leadership states that no one can be authentic by trying to imitate someone else. You can
learn from others experiences, but there is no way you can successful when you are trying to be
like them (George, Sims, McLean and Mayer p. 163) People trust you when you are genuine
and authentic. As an authentic leader you need to be able to communicate who you are as a person and
what drives you. Taking it a step further it is important to understand what motivates you intrinsically and
extrinsically. Upon reflection I discovered that I am motivated as a leader by my desire to help

others as seen through my goal to develop our student athletes into the best people, lacrosse

Running head: Personal Leadership Platform

players and leaders that they can be. Leaders are constantly changing and the leadership journey
occurs within the day-to-day decision making, encompassing personal, cultural, and political challenges.
These challenges are what truly shapes us as leaders. If we are able to understand ourselves well

enough we can then discover and use our leadership gifts to serve others.
Understanding who you are an authentic leader will aid in establishing a vision for your
organization. Establishing a vision and setting a destination will greatly impact the success of an
organization. John P. Kotter in his article, what leaders really do he discusses the idea of vision
and how it relates to leadership. He maintains, Most discussions of vision have a tendency to
degenerate into the mystical. The implication is that a vision is something mysterious that mere
mortals, event talented one, could never hope to have visions and strategies do not have to be
brilliantly innovative; in fact, some of the best are not.(Kotter p.42) As Kotter mentioned a
vision does not need to be overly complicated. The Union athletics department the intercollegiate
athletic philosophy clearly states the highest priority is placed on the overall quality of a
student's educational and athletic experience and on the successful completion of a student's
academic program This immediately sets the tone for the focus for the expectations for the
student athletes in our program. Based on this philosophy we are able to establish norms and
responsibilities both academically and athletically. Student athletes then understand what is
expected of them academically, athletically, and socially. By establishing these norms players
will know how to act and will either be rewarded or reprimanded for their behavior.
Along with authentic leadership social capital allows us to work with groups and
determines the quality of the interaction within the group. As a coach the majority of the time
you are working in a group setting. We work with student athletes, coaches, administrators and

Running head: Personal Leadership Platform

professors daily by establishing social capital with these various groups we are able to increase
our knowledge and expand our networks. Relating to coaching it is imperative that our student
athletes buy-in into our philosophy and culture. Our team culture serves as a driving force and
ensure that we are a united front. It is important that we communicate to our athletes that we
truly care about them as people. We aim to be their advocates and offer advice. Sociologist James
Coleman explains, for example, a group within which there is extensive trustworthiness and
extensive trust is able to accomplish much more than a comparable group without that
trustworthiness and trust(Hargraves and Fullan p. 90). Building trust among our athletes will
lead to great success and even better relationships. Groups with purpose that are based on trust
learn more and get better at their work or in this case get better at their sport.
In conclusion, I have found this assignment to be beneficial and thought provoking. As
mentioned earlier I commit to being a lifelong student of leadership. I plan to continue to
develop my leadership vision and philosophy throughout my coaching career and over the course
of this program. I am also excited to create and help develop a winning culture for the womens
lacrosse program here at Mount Union.

Running head: Personal Leadership Platform

References
George, B., McLean, A. N., & Meyer, D. (2011). Discovering Your Authentic Leadership. In P.
Sims (Ed.), HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership (pp. 163-178). MA: Harvard Business School
Publishing.
Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. (2012). Professional capital: Transforming teaching in every
school. New York: Teachers College Press.
Kotter, J. P. (2011). What Leaders Really Do. In HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership (pp. 3756). MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.
Mount Union Football Records. (n.d.). Retrieved November 06, 2016, from
http://athletics.mountunion.edu/sports/fball/records/index
University of Mount Union. (n.d.). Retrieved November 06, 2016, from
http://www.mountunion.edu/university-in-ohio-facts