Servers are thought to be submissive followers and leaders are thought to be powerful decision makers and as contrast as serving and leading can seam to be at first thought they can have much more overlapping roles. Helping others so they will in turn help you is by no means a new concept; it is one that has in fact been around for at least the last two thousand years. However, it was Robert K Greenleaf that took that general idea and reshaped the roles of serving and leading molding then into one philosophy of Servant Leadership (Keith, 2015). Greenleaf’s concept was that “the servant-leader is servant first” meaning not that a leader should be slavish or submissive but that they should have a desire to know the needs of others and ensure those needs are meet (Keith, 2015).
In 1904, Greenleaf graduated from Carleton College in Minnesota, he went to work for AT&T, continuing to research management, development, and education (Gill, 2015). During this period of time in the United State the classical management was leading management style (Gill, 2015). The classical management put emphasis on structure with an organizational hierarchy and division of small repetitive task; employees had narrow fields and were not expected to multi task (Russ, 2015). This strict authoritarian leadership approach is designed to give management easier control over the employees whose motivation was increased by monetary rewards (Russ,2015).
Greenleaf had a growing skepticism of the
Dr. Kent M. Keith is the Chief Executive officer for the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. Over the past thirty years, Keith has become an advocate of servant leadership. According to his website, Keith focuses on aiding to others and has a mission to help people find personal meaning in the world. In one of his most recent publications, The Case for Servant Leadership, Keith highlights the servant leadership model while explaining how and why it can be used in order to establish a better world.
Michelle’s life embodies the idea of a person who has the x-factor, she shows that leadership is something that is developed over time and learned through experiences. The x-factor is when individuals in a society spark creativity, it is a multi-discipline that borrows and synthesis existing intellectual resources to generate new ones and approach causation. (Burns, 2003). Michelle is a prime example of the ideals of the x-factor that crates a leader.
The two theories that I chose to do my self-assessment by are the authentic leadership theory and the servant leadership theory. The authentic leadership theory was chosen due to my desire to stay true to who I am and what I stand for. However, the servant leadership theory was chosen because of my desire to meet the needs of others while doing what I can to help others succeed as well as meet their set goals. Being a servant while being authentic are the traits I want in my style of leadership and are assessed throughout this paper along with my strengths and weaknesses in the area of leadership.
The foundation of my personal leadership philosophy can be found in the principles of servant leadership as spelled out by Greenleaf (1970, 1977). Leadership is granted to individuals who are by nature servants. An individual emerges as a leader by first becoming a servant. Servant leaders attend to the needs of those they serve and help them become more informed, free, self-sufficient, and like servants themselves. Leaders and those they serve improve, enhance, and develop each other through their connection. A leader must also be conscious of inequalities and social injustices in the organizations they serve and work actively to resolve those issues. Servant leaders rely less on the use of official power and control, but focus on empowering those they
From the group Biblical Integration Paper, it was understood that servant-leadership is not only a gift of purpose that God places in the hearts of His people, but it is also a calling in one’s life to truly touch the lives of others in need. Living a successful life, as a servant-leader is not one that focuses on self-fulfillment, rather it is in seeking a fulfillment that comes from Christ when one pours him/herself out for the sake of others. It is through servant-leadership that one is able to bring hope into hopeless situations (Group Integration Paper,
Being a servant leader means to be a person who participates, engages in the community, and builds good relationships. As a servant leader at Silver Lake College, I am actively engaged in many clubs and organizations that try to help the community and make it better. For example, I am a member of student united way, as well as, the student senate. Even thought, I am participating in different clubs I would like to create my own club that would be a Spanish club.
Servant leadership has the ability to enhance individual lives, create better organizations and provide a world where everyone’s cares according to Robert Greenleaf (Greenleaf). The purpose of this paper is to introduce servant leader operational philosophy to the organization to maximize the capacity of the company’s performance with the ability to strengthen personnel growth from the lower to the upper level employees. By implementing this philosophy, the outcome is extremely positive and may create a win-win environment, as the focus is to grow the people to grow the organization. Servant leadership does not necessary require a title, in addition, most servant leadership in the organization does not have a title assigned to them. Servant leadership may be very contagious, a trend may be created when one service another, in-turn, the one that was served may become a servant leader. This development generates are great working atmosphere, where retention level increase, but most importantly, the knowledge of the people to grow the organization.
John Barbuto and Daniel Wheeler (2006, 300)—authors of “Scale Development and Construct Clarification of Servant Leadership”—state that Greenleaf (1977) developed 11 dimensions of servant leadership that include: “calling, listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, growth, and community building.” Again, it should be noted that although Greenleaf (1977) uses the term “calling,” he does not use it in a spiritual sense, but more on a secular level (Barbuto and Wheeler 2006, 300). The results from Barbuto and Wheeler’s (2006) investigation found only five dimensions that relate to servant leadership and not all of them the same as those put forth by Greenleaf (1977). These five dimensions include
Michael, your post was well written and you organized your thoughts in a concise and easy to read format. Servant leadership does require specific moral virtues, as you mentioned in your post. Servant leadership was first introduced in the late 1900’s and brought a previously absent moral dimension to the leadership field (Sousa & Dierendonck, 2017). Servant leaders are distinguishable from other leaders because servant leaders, instead of serving their own needs, focus on the needs and interests of others and serving them (Peterson, Galvin, & Lange, 2012). You stated, “A leader does not have to surrender their leadership abilities when it comes to serving others.” This is a correct and appropriate assessment. Leaders must continue to lead and simultaneously assess the needs of their subordinates or their organization.
I was profound by the opening statement. I am speechless with words to say on your post since I can relate to all the information you presented as who you are and how you see yourself as a leader. While all your statements are structured well, there are two statements that stands out most, they are the "ability to develop new ideas" and "hard work drives me to become a servant leader." At times, I can develop new ideas but whenever challenged to do them, no one listens and put them into actions. I guess this is why shut down when it comes to participating in developing new ideas. There were about two jobs I have worked where management encouraged new ideas and allowed me to put them in actions and get others to do the same thing. I agree
Kevin, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your discussion board regarding humility and leadership. Particularly of interest was the section regarding service to others. You mentioned that building trust was an essential aspect for leaders to accomplish, and one way it was achievable was through serving others first. Boone and Makhani (2012) concur with this assessment by relaying that credibility is also essential to servant leadership and that only leaders people feel are trustworthy obtain it. Additionally communicated by these authors is that converting to a servant leader style is not a simple feat, because this type of management operates differently than most, although the rewards are numerous. Teams under servant leaders are reported to have increased job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Also reported is a positive organizational environment and culture.
A servant leader is a servant first, and then aspires to lead others (Greenleaf, 1991). By putting the needs of others first, the servant leader helps people grow (Blanchard & Hodges, 2003). Therefore an appropriate test one might to measure to determine the effectiveness of servant leadership is by asking: Do those served grow as persons? A servant leader will initiate opportunity to serve since the desire comes from within. However, leadership must also be initiated (Boone & Makhani, 2013). Leading others toward growth must be a priority if a servant leader is to lead effectively. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate an opportunity initiated by this writer to practice the principles of servant leadership.
As written in the lines above, employee engagement has a significant impact on an employee and their engagement. Although there has been many articles and research written about leadership and servant leadership, in this study, it will provide and overview, key traits and influences that servant leaders use in collaboration to address significant problems with strategy and other individuals. Therefore, how do managers and leaders facilitate the engagement of their employees? Leaders do this through their leadership style. In 1970, Robert K. Greenleaf identified servant-leadership, which was different from the traditional views of leadership. According to Greenleaf, “The servant-leader is a servant first. Servant
Leadership is a skill that is developed with time, experience, and wisdom. Leadership is not developed over night, and it does not come easily for most people either. Good leaders can empower their people, these types of leaders are typically more successful because by empowering their people they build capability and can at times create a movement. Much like Esther did in the story of Esther. The book of Esther illustrates what a person can achieve when being a servant leader.
Introduction: There are many ways that a person can lead. Some lead in an organization that creates entertainment. Others may lead in a small household that provides services. In Boeing, sound processes need to be put in place for an organization to be successful. Furthermore, organization justice needs to be employed and a suitable mission statement adopted to signify the organizational goal. However, the success of the organization amplifies when a servant leader is leading. A servant leader not only understands the importance of the process in an organization, but also understand that the people in the organization are what drives the organizational success. The servant leader understands that organizational behavior influences