Servant Leader Characteristics

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.

What do you think the goals are for the program as a whole? How do you see yourself fitting with these goals? As the Lone Star Band continues to grow in size, I visualize the number of servant leaders growing as well. I believe that it is the duty of current student leaders to build up the future leaders of the band, and I would like to take part in this responsibility. I think that the goals for the band as a whole are to continue seeking excellence in all that we do. We are not trophy-chasers, but I believe it is the band’s goal to be the best version ourselves in and out of the field. I will always remember Mr. Golden telling us that his goal for us was to experience greatness, and I see myself fitting with this goal through motivating my peers by modeling persistence and hard

Liden (2014) explained that servant leaders serve as a role model to their team on what needs to be done to reach the team goals. This supports that engagement is a positive strength to have as a servant leader. When leading a team, I delegate work but make sure that I spend time working on the project and go beyond just checking in with the group. It is important to take part of the process as well as leading the work that is being done on behalf of the organization. Focht (2015) did a study to define the most important elements of servant leaders and one of the ones identified by the study was empowerment. “Empowerment for the servant leader involves effective listening, making people feel significant, putting an emphasis on teamwork, entrusting

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.

After reviewing the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People jump start program by Stephen R.

Sweaty and slightly shaking, I walked into a room of strangers feeling unprepared for a campaign speech. I made it through and earned a position as an officer in my college's Phi Theta Kappa chapter. It was a life changing moment. Now, I have an amazing resource of challenges, opportunities, and different surprising life lessons. Phi Theta Kappa has pushed me into becoming a stronger leader and a confident public speaker. I would continue with this group because no matter how far I have come there is always room for improvement in being a servant

A prominent religious leader in my community is quoted as saying that “life is business and business is life. If you learn one, you learn the other.” This quote implies that the day-to-day operations of any successful business are comparable to the steps required to live a complete and balanced life. Understanding the intricacies of what makes a person happy is not only advisable, but crucial, in being successful in any business endeavor. In the status quo, many corporations have dishonest or harsh practices which belittle the workers and exalt those seen in a position of power. However, this is what kills the “life” of those involved, and eventually what kills the business as well. This is why the servant-leadership mentality is so important in the emerging business

Shannon, you give great points about why you think servant leadership should be conceptualized as a behavior rather than as a trait. You also give a great summary at the last two paragraphs about what affects servant leadership, and how this make this behavior constantly change.

The terms servant and leader are typically thought of as being contradictory terms. However, the theory of servant leadership has started gaining more and more notoriety over the last several years. Many organizations are learning that the management and leadership styles of the past are no longer inspiring or influencing the workers of today (Hunter, 1998). Servant leadership combines being able to identify and meet the needs of employees and patients by using the characteristics one poses to positively impact and influence them. Most simply put it is the combination of utilizing ones characteristics to do the right thing (Hunter, 1998). The Servant describes many characteristics that make a leader a good leader and this paper will explore a few of those characteristics and how they influence the nursing profession. Namely, commitment to the growth of others, empathy and being an active or productive listener.

The terms servant and leader are typically thought of as being contradictory terms. However, the theory of servant leadership has started gaining more and more notoriety over the last several years. Many organizations are learning that the management and leadership styles of the past are no longer inspiring or influencing the workers of today (Hunter, 1998). Servant leadership combines being able to identify and meet the needs of employees and patients by using the characteristics one poses to positively impact and influence them. Most simply put it is the combination of utilizing ones characteristics to do the right thing (Hunter, 1998). The Servant describes many characteristics that make a leader a good leader and this paper will explore a few of those characteristics and how they influence the nursing profession. Namely, commitment to the growth of others, empathy and being an active/receptive listener.

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

I believe service is important because it has helped me understand who I am as a person, and has helped me impact others. Servant-leaders are successful contributors and are needed in our world. The service activity that has been most influential and important to me is playing in my church’s orchestra. I want to be a positive influence on those around me, and being a part of my church’s orchestra allows me to do this. As a member of this group, I feel my leadership skills have grown. What makes leading worship through the orchestra unique is not only am I leading people in worship, but I am also worshiping by playing my instrument. This activity has helped me become a better servant leader in my daily life and in other music related activities.

Wende, I am with you on the concept that everyone has to move towards the common goal to succeed. A servant leader has a great role in this. The main concept of servant leadership is to serve the followers as and when needed. Thereby, these leaders aid in the development of their team members. Not only that, by doing this, the servant leaders change the culture of an organization. They make it favorable for the staff to work without stress. The servant leaders would put the needs of their followers first and help them achieve their goals. These leaders use their power, influence, and position to encourage and ensure cooperation and team spirit among their team members (Melchar & Bosco, 2010). The knowledge about the help that is available and

Servant leadership is a set of practices that enriches the lives of people, builds better organizations, and ultimately builds a more just and caring world. People are not usually pre-destined to be a servant or leader, rather it is an individual’s choice to serve or lead. The perception of what a leader looks like is often mis-understood. Leaders are often viewed as a President, King or Queen, top executive in business or the highest religious leader, such as the Pope. In contrast, leaders can be found at the highest and lowest ranks throughout government, royal staff, in business, and religious organizations. Leadership is everyone’s business. To be an effective leader no matter the position we must follow the same practices. The five practices of a servant leader are Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart (Leadership Challenge, Kouves and Posner). Jesus Christ taught us using these same five practices. We must live by the motto of “Love All, Serve All” and put others before ourselves to become the greatest leaders.

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