Self-Reflection: Servant 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

Over the past six years of my career as a project manager in an IT company, I have been working as a supervisor to manage a team of programmers and designers. Reflecting on this period of time which I have applied my leadership philosophy, I believe the leadership type, servant leadership, aptly describes my leadership style. I agree with what a servant leader stands for, and I aspire to become a better servant leader in the days ahead of me.

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,

Throughout this past week I have had several misconceptions resolve regarding servant leadership that have resolved. The main misconception or preconception that I had was that servant leaders were pushovers and that they would have difficulty in leading others to reach a common goal. Through the readings that were assigned, specificially in chapter 6, I now understand that a servant leader values relationships with their follwers and by doing so that they can use the gained trust to influence them to reach a common goal (DelHousaye & Brewer, 2004). I had never really thought about how much influence played a part in the success of a leader until this class and yet I completely agree. I think back to the mangers that I have had

When facing crucial conversations such as conflicts or negotiations, people tend to look to autocratic or commanding leaders; organizations seldom see servant leaders as the person for the job. Although servant leadership is finding its way into contemporary discussions of effective leadership styles, people still view it as the characterization of a “weak or meek” leader (Collins, 2001, Kindle location 531). The Gospels, however, reveal that Jesus, the epitome of servant leadership, competently addressed critical conversations throughout his ministry (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 11:15-17, John 6:25-60, Matthew 16:21-23). While some may credit Jesus’s success to his divinity, this argument does not hold for those who followed his example of servant leadership. In contrast, Wilkes suggests the effectiveness of Jesus’s ministry was because of his servant leadership, rather than despite it.

Servant leadership is a leadership style that puts others first and begins with a natural desire to serve first. According to Robert K. Greenleaf (1970), servant leadership is a “philosophy and a set of practices” that improves the lives of people. The “servant-leader is servant first” (Greenleaf, Senge, Covey, Spears, 2002 & Center for Servant Leadership, n.d.) and selflessly serves others, while empowering them to lead with a purpose. Although, the term servant-leader was first proposed and coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in 1970, the concept of servant leadership can be traced all the way back to the life of Jesus. Servant leadership, according to Greenleaf, is a theoretical framework that considers a leader’s key role as being that of service

In the article “servant Leadership” Jones-Burbridge and Jo Ann; discusses about servant leadership. By defining and outlining the characterizes and qualities of servant leadership. They begins the article by quoting John Maxwell words on what makes up leader. To Maxwell” true leadership must be for the benefit of the followers not to enrich the leader” (Burbridge and Ann, 2012, p.45). Thus, Burbridge and Ann regard this concept of true leadership as what makes up servant leadership. This is to say that; like true leadership; servant leadership, is more concerned to satisfying the needs of people rather than that of the leaders.

1. Throughout my career, I have been influenced by senior, peers, and subordinates on various leadership traits—good and bad—that have changed by personal style. From seniors, I have observed traits to aspire for and those to avoid. From peers, I have gained outside perspective of what I have seen, and learned from the superiors of others. I would opine the most beneficial is subordinates. Identifying how leadership trickles down to the lowest rank has enlightened me on the effect of layered leadership through the various levels of the unit, utilizing different methods and strategies on various levels and individuals. To me, servant leadership is the ultimate goal. Embodying the traits of a servant while being the leader, ensuring you have the subordinates needs in mind when making all decisions, and assisting them in development

Jesus encouraged his disciples to serve all humans no matter there ethnicity and at the same time lead his church that is supported by the same people his disciples must served. Jesus’ disciples were some of the first and finest servant leaders. From the multitude of Popes and US Presidents to our many local deacons and post masters, any one has the willingness be a servant leader as set by example by Jesus’ early disciples. I genuinely believe I have the idiosyncrasies to be a servant leader. I possess the listening skills, empathy, and virtues of a fair servant leader.

Just as every story has an ending, every season of life has a close. As the final days of the semester draw near, a time of contemplation and reflection is due. This semester’s journey in the Eagle Scholar Leadership Program has been one of the most personally rejuvenating and challenging times, as the semester’s focus was on self-leadership. Self-leadership, or the practice of leading oneself first in order to more effectively lead others in the future, is one of the greatest lessons and actions that a leader can do to improve their leadership capabilities. Too often, leaders focus on outside behaviors and principles to develop their leaders. However, true change begins inside. Though arguably the hardest area in which to truly grow, as self-leadership often requires brutally honest self-evaluation and change, it has the greatest impact on development as a leader. Throughout this semester, I have had the opportunity to observe, learn and implement the following

Servant leadership is a vital element in the most successful companies in the United States. The concept of servant leadership has been around for a long time and for good reason. It’s a solid concept whose potential is finally being realized. The following pages will examine the benefits of servant leadership and what it is. Its role in the workplace will be examined and why it plays a crucial function in the success of any organization.

In some situations, leaders are viewed as someone who simply gives orders and others do the majority of the work. This perspective is far from the reality of becoming an effective principal. I feel it is vital to delegate tasks to others; successful principals must take control of the important situations and lead by example in their buildings. This course has shown me how essential communication, planning, and becoming a focused leader truly is to the success of a school. I have a great deal to learn and skills to develop to become an effective leader. This course has helped put leadership into perspective and the qualities required to develop into the best possible educational leader. Throughout my final courses I will continue to develop skills and create an even higher level of leadership

Chief Architect for enhancing consumer debt collections application and back-end operations for data management and manipulation for our Global Operations in Scotland.

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

The Leadership Theory presented in this document is Servant Leadership. The article summarised herein is “A systematic literature review of servant leadership theory in organizational contexts” published in the Journal of Business Ethics, pages 113(3), 377-393, written by D.L. Parris and J.W. Peachey in 2012 but published in the 2013 Journal.