Connor Kloepfer

Leadership Philosophy
Observations of an Interpersonal World
Being a leader requires, in one form or another, effort and consideration. There may
be some degree of natural leadership talent or inclination towards the action, but
experiences create the ability to drive change at a greater level. The desire to learn is
similar, and intuitively goes hand in hand with being a leader. The good and mostly the bad
things in life provide endless opportunities to become a better individual. I recently came
across this quote, yet it aptly identifies the mindset I have taken towards life:
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or
where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is
actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives
valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error
and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms,
the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end
the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring
greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know
victory nor defeat. Theodore Roosevelt, Excerpt from the speech "Citizenship In A
Republic" delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910
There is a caveat here, and it is the necessity to absorb and reflect on knowledge gained
through the highs and lows of our existence. The world in 1910 was a very different place,
so while I value every word of Teddys the hundred years following Citizenship In a
Republic taught everyone in the world consideration and observation before action are
probably more important than the action itself. So while there is benefit to investigating
my the inner workings of my leadership perspective I would like to divert focus to what I
have learned so far as a result of my (insert creative adj. here) path through life.
By default, people have figurative barriers in place that make them resistant to new and
changing things. In a general sense this is fear of something being outside their control.
Every leader/superior must consider that followers/employees will have reasons they
resist. Unless you show consideration before your interaction or during it, there will
always be some anxiety felt on the part of the follower that their best interests are not
being cared for. The key for a successful culture is alignment of interests, goals, and beliefs.
When this is the case, anxiety is released and peoples default becomes being open to
change.
One last thing to include is the simplest way for someone to refresh themselves
when they are busy and stressed. I call it the 2-Breath Rule. The first step is to divert your
attention away from everything else and bring the focus to breathing two full and calm
breathes. As you inhale the first breathe, feel the general tensions in your body and as you
exhale let them leave your body. Now for the second breathe, you must believe in the
power of happiness. Happiness chemically benefits your body, and we all could focus on
the good things more in life. Think of this as you inhale that second breathe, and as you
expand your lungs to their full capacity, choose something that makes you smile and let
your smile grow wider and wider as you exhale. Many times you may way to take a few
more breathes, just because you are so joyous, but just two can change your life. Please try
this sometime and let me know how it works for you.