Self-Reflection of Leadership Honest self-reflection can be a daunting enterprise, but the process can also provide people with valuable insights concerning what they actually think and believe that may not otherwise be possible. In fact, some people do not know what they really believe until they are forced to think about it and reduce their thoughts to writing (Daum, 2015). To this end, this paper provides an analysis of the author's principles, values, beliefs and behaviors followed by an assessment of the fundamental principles and core values. In addition, a discussion concerning the author's beliefs about people in organizations, people outside organizations, power, processes/policies, and profit is followed by an analysis concerning the ways in which the author's behaviors align with personal principles, values, and beliefs. Two leadership theories are also discussed in terms of the author's leadership and how the author's principles, values, beliefs and behaviors align with these respective theories. Finally, a comparison of the author's leadership qualities with those of Ronald Reagan is followed by three key insights that can be used to enhance the ethical aspects of leadership influence and a summary of the research and important findings concerning the foregoing issues are presented in the conclusion.

Analysis of individual principles, values, beliefs, and behaviors

Individual core principles, values and beliefs are important because they serve to define an individual's integrity (Plummer, 1995). Likewise, an individual's demonstrated behaviors are important because they serve as physical manifestations of these qualities (Plummer, 1995). A number of different individual principles combine to define individual integrity and it would be tempting to claim them all personally. For instance, Plummer advises that, "Many principles work together to build integrity. A strong belief in the worth of diverse opinions and the power of diverse people, a commitment to doing the right thing, the courage to face adversity, a strong service ethic, and a natural disposition toward openness, as well as loyalty to the organization and the community, are just some of the valued traits that build integrity" (1995, p. 17).

Although I can lay claim to a belief in these principles in varying degrees with reasonable authority, it is also clear that even people with a strong moral compass and exemplary principles, values and beliefs may behave in aberrant fashion from time to time and over time in ways that defy easy explanation but which are inextricably interrelated to the exigencies of the human condition. Fortunately, the following personal fundamental principles can serve as additional useful guidelines in determining the most appropriate behaviors in any given circumstances as discussed further below.

What are your fundamental principles (e.g., four universal principles)?

The author's universal principles are aligned with those described by Streeter who reports that the four universal human principles are integrity, responsibility, compassion, forgiveness. As noted above, there are a number of constituent traits that combine to contribute to an individual's integrity, just as there are several factors that contribute to an individual's level of responsibility, compassion and forgiveness. For instance, individual responsibility relates to someone's ability to respond to changing circumstances such as the obligations that go hand-in-hand with becoming a parent or enrolling in school. By contrast, though, an individual's level of compassion and forgiveness may vary according to circumstances, with some people such as myself being highly compassionate and forgiving towards the plights of other human beings while other people are more compassionate and forgiving towards animals or even inanimate things such as the environment.

What are your core values?

Although my core values also exist along a continuum like the foregoing discussion concerning the day-to-day application of universal principles, these attributes also provide a valuable framework for guiding appropriate personal behaviors. My core values such as honesty, diligence, a hard-work ethic, reliability and consistency all combine to provide this guiding framework. For instance, according to Daum (2015), "Most smart people consciously or unconsciously use personal core values to select friendships, relationships and business partnerships. Your core values also help you wisely manage your personal resources such as time and money" (p. 2).

What are your beliefs about people in organizations, people outside organizations, power, processes/policies, and profit?

Based on a lifetime of empirical observations concerning the actions of real-world business practitioners, my beliefs about people in organizations have been confirmed and refuted on numerous occasions. Every time greed manages to overcome ethical practice, my beliefs about the inherent dishonesty and duplicity of the business world and the dangers of unrestrained power in the name of all-mighty profits are reinforced. This point is also made by Birchfield...

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Conversely, the world is also replete with examples of business practitioners exhibiting genuine concern for their stakeholders, including the general public, which refute these same beliefs. The outcome of this lifetime of observations has been a general consensus that on occasion, most people will do whatever they believe they can get away with and that only a rare few manage to consistently practice what they preach.

In what ways do your behaviors align to your principles, values, and beliefs?

On the one hand and notwithstanding the adage that honesty is always the best policy, is has not always been judicious to apply this value in practice. For instance, on occasion, I have been called upon to share my views and opinions about business decisions that I felt were wrong but which I knew were supported by top management. Rather than attempt to change anyone's minds about these decisions, I have voiced my support for them despite my misgivings. On the other hand, though, I believe I have consistently exhibited diligence, consistency and a strong work ethic that are entirely aligned with my principles, values and beliefs.

Two leadership theories that you most relate to in terms of your own leadership

The two leadership theories that are most congruent with my own leadership style are transformational leadership (Bass, 1985) and transactional leadership. The transformational leadership style has gained increased currency with respect to its effectiveness in recent years. For instance, according to Wolfram and Mohr (2009), "Over the past few decades, transformational leadership has increasingly been seen as an effective leadership style" (p. 261). The definition of transformational leadership provided by Bass (1985) states that it "involves leadership behaviors that can elicit extraordinary performance on the part of followers. Transformational leaders engage the emotional involvement of their followers to build higher levels of trust in the leader and his or her mission" (cited in Wolfram & Mohr, 2009, p. 262).

By contrast, although transactional leaders (Bass, 1985) can be equally effective, they tend to achieve their goals by forging relationships that "achieve solid, consistent performance that meets agreed upon goals. Transactional leaders give rewards and punishments to encourage performance, making the leader/worker relationship essentially an economic transaction" (Bryant, 2003, p. 33).

The determination as to which leadership style is most appropriate to achieve optimal outcomes depends on the unique circumstances of the situation. In this regard, Bryant (2003) reports that, "Transformational leadership may be more effective at creating and sharing knowledge at the individual and group levels, while transactional leadership is more effective at exploiting knowledge at the organizational level" (p. 34). While it would be spurious to suggest that most people rely solely on only one or two leadership styles throughout their careers, it is reasonable to conclude that the transformational and transactional leadership theories most closely describe the author's personal leadership approaches.

Analysis of personal leadership in relation to each of the two leadership theories, discussing how your principles, values, beliefs, and behaviors align with each of the theories

As noted above, the application of transformational or transactional leadership styles depends on the circumstances of the situation. In some cases, a transformational leadership approach would not be aligned with my core principles, values and beliefs due to the inappropriateness of exhorting subordinates to higher levels of performance by appealing to their emotional investment in a project in which they may have no personal interest or commitment, making the use of a transactional approach that relies on more pragmatic considerations more appropriate and aligned with these attributes. Irrespective of the circumstances, however, I attempt to ensure that my demonstrated behaviors are aligned with the above-described principles, values and beliefs.

Compare your own leadership qualities with that of Ronald Reagan

Most leaders would come out on the short end of the stick if they compared themselves to "The Great Communicator," but I do share some of his same leadership qualities but differ with respect to leadership styles. For example, Reagan frequently relied on his charismatic qualities to use transformational leadership to achieve his national goals while eschewing transactional leadership approaches. For example, Abshire (2005) reports that, "In Ronald Reagan, perhaps, the United States has never had a president with such great talent for transformational and so little interest in transactional leadership" (p. 208).

This is not to say,…