In the Course Overview, we spend some time referring to John Dewey’s definition of principles, because we appreciate his idea that principles serve as a foundation for action. As we say in the introduction, principles help us decide “when to say ‘yes,’ when to say ‘okay, but’ … and when to say ‘(oh hell) no.’”

Your foundational principles are deeply embedded in your identities, beliefs, and experiences. Surfacing them can be the project of a lifetime, of course. For the purposes of this Playbook, though, we’ll focus on strategies you can use to surface your personal and professional principles as they apply to your own leadership. Before starting this activity, you might want to review videos from some of the contributor mentors who have spoken very eloquently about acting from principle, too. Elaine Maimon, Stacy Perryman-Clark, Chris Blankenship, and Sheila Carter-Tod all discuss their foundational principles and how they have acted on those principles as leaders in challenging situations. We’ve collected these videos for your convenience below:

Video from Sheila Carter-Tod coming soon

The structured heuristic (thinking tool) below may be helpful for you to begin accessing your own principles. While your principles will likely be much more complex than what you’ll create using this brief activity, this can provide a start on that thinking. We’ve put a sample response in the first row to illustrate. As with all these engagements, we encourage you to return to these principles occasionally to refresh and refine your thinking.

Table 1.1. Your Personal and Professional Principles [PDF] [Microsoft Word]

Cite this Resource

Adler-Kassner, Linda, and Chris W. Gallagher, eds. 2026. “Engagement 1: Your Personal and Professional Principles.” Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn: Playbook. Center for Engaged Learning. https://doi.org/10.36284/celelon.oa11.