Characteristics Of A Servant Leader

I have recently completed a service project at the animal shelter in Bulloch County, Georgia. For four days I rode with my group to the animal shelter to play with the animals. Playing with the animals shows them compassion. We played with many dogs over the course of four days. Doing this service have made myself and my group servant leaders. What is a servant leader you ask, well a servant leader wants to help others better themselves. They want to help even if they do not look like, think like, or talk like us.

Servant leadership is a term defined by Robert L. Greenleaf in 1970 (Spear, 2010). Marquis and Huston, (2015, p. 56) describe servant leadership as, “…put serving others…as the number-one priority. In addition, servant leaders foster a service inclination in others that promotes collaboration, teamwork, and collective activism.” This is a type of leadership style that can positively impact one’s relationships with others. Servant leadership has various characteristics that distinguish this unique style of leadership. Listening, awareness and empathy are three major characteristics that one must possess to truly be a servant leader. These characteristics can be implemented in the every day practice of nursing to better the work environment.

Servant leadership is a fundamental skill that is of great importance in today’s health care system. Servant leadership allows healthcare workers to effectively conquer challenges and promote teamwork during stressful situations. Servant leadership requires an individual to have authority with the people they are leading. It is a complex task to gain authority among people; I believe that an effective and important way to obtain authority is to show love to others. The book, The Servant by James C. Hunter describes love not as a feeling, but rather as a behavior or action towards people. As a leader, one might have good intentions, but without following up with the intended action, the leader loses authority. The act of love requires having

The second area I need to improve is my conceptualization skills. As a servant leader, I must be able to articulate the vision for organizational and performance goals to my team (Russell, 2016). According to Spears (2010), “The ability to look at a problem or an organization from a conceptualizing perspective means that one must think beyond day-to-day realities;” therefore, conceptualization is aligned with the servant leadership theory because it is a primary objective of the servant leader (p. 28).

This artifact justifies competency fifteen by demonstrating that was I able to work with a teacher and learn the keys to be a more successful servant leader. Through observations and reflections of my time in Mrs. Pavy’s classroom I was able to learn strategies to become a better servant leader. It was a great opportunity to teach whole group lessons, small group lesson, and individual tutoring all while modeling servant leadership to the students. I was also able to help Mrs. Pavy with grading and prepping learning opportunities before the school day began. By completing these observation journals I learned to be more aware of my actions inside and outside of the classroom. This will be a benefit to my future classroom so that I will be more

Robert Greenleaf, the man given credit for launching the modern term “servant-leadership”, points out that a leader is first a servant. The idea of servant leadership can be traced back to The New Testament and the many stories of Jesus first serving others. Although not traditionally thought of as “leadership”, His example of servant leadership is one I follow. Giving of my time to those in need is how I lead and set an example for others.

If you are a highly effective principal, you seize opportunities that enable you to serve others through your leadership. The trait of being a Contributor requires being a servant-leader who inspires and empowers their teachers, students, and parents by making a contribution to their success. Being a servant leader doesn’t mean you are in the spotlight, but rather the one behind the scenes supporting others, and making parents, teachers, and students shine. Principal, Christy Johnston, embodies several benchmark characteristics of a Contributor.

I have observed various leadership styles in my experiences, which range from military life to corporate life. Over and over again I see the same pattern among those who are being lead. The leaders who tend to get more cooperation and motivation out of those they lead, are themselves hard workers who without hesitation will get into the trenches with their people.

The application of the principles of servant leadership will benefit my organization quite a lot. Being a private organization, this hospital does not follow servant leadership style. Still, we apply some of the principles of Greenleaf, like empathy, healing, and awareness (Casterlow, n.d.). These principles help generate good team spirit in the employees. Once the people know that the leadership is aware of their needs and the leaders would try meeting these needs of the staff, like provision of leave when needed by the staff, arrangements in duty, and so on, the staff will remain happy and satisfied. They will commit themselves more towards the organization. When the leadership shows empathy and healing attitude to the staff, they feel as if the leaders care, this feeling motivates them and they will be willing to work hard as the way the management desires. These features are already evident in my hospital. Hence, if my hospital follows the servant leadership style, the leaders would be more supportive than they are now. They would be more persuasive, show foresight and conceptualize (Casterlow, n.d.). This could help reduce the burn-out feeling of staff when there is staff shortage. The awareness that the

I just got the news today about your upcoming retirement. I just want to say that you have been a true example of a servant leader. You have been extremely supportive to me in my role and I felt you really want me to succeed in everything I do. I can remember in 2013 when I was working on the pathway document you were always available to offer me support. I will definitely miss your leadership. As the saying goes, “all good things must come to an end.” I wish you the best in whatever you choose to do. God bless you and your family.

Nursing is a profession focused on patient care and compassion. What is not apparent to someone that is not in the health care field are the driving forces of good patient care in the leadership structure of a facility or unit. Servant leadership is an ideal style of leadership for the nursing field because it emphasizes nurses serving the patient and empowering them, promotes effective delegation, and improves listening and communication among staff on a unit and between staff and patients. The relationship between the values of the nursing field and those of servant leadership are clear once the characteristics attributed to a servant leader are identified and explored. It is important to first establish a solid understanding of what it means to be a servant leader.

Empathy. “The servant-leader strives to understand and empathize with others. People need to be accepted and recognized for their special and unique spirits. One assumes the good intentions of coworkers and does not reject them as people, even if one finds it necessary to refuse to accept their behavior or performance” (Spears, 2004).

Leadership is one of the most desired traits a modern day worker can possess. It does not matter what trade or profession an individual belongs to, leadership is desired by all employers. Leadership plays a major role in the profession of nursing. Nursing is a profession that requires organization, collaboration, and teamwork of all nurses to achieve the ultimate goal of a happy patient. None of these concepts are possible without the structure and guidance of an effective leader on the nursing staff. The health care environment is constantly changing and producing new challenges that require effective leadership in the profession of nursing every day. There are numerous leadership styles and methods around the world, this paper will examine the definition of leadership and the most common types of leadership.

The concept of servant leadership practices in nursing outlines that serving the suffering humanity is more important than the self-centered leadership. The theory of servant leadership was first introduced by Robert K. Greenleaf in 1970. He said:

Identify and analyze at least one leadership theory or style that you believe best aligns with your own thoughts of what leadership means. Use that theory or style to analyze your strengths and weaknesses.