Servant Leaders

A servant leader is that leader who shares power, puts the interest of others first and then help them grow and perform as highly as possible. As Robert Greenfield argued when he comes up with the servant leadership philosophy back in 1970’s, he asserted that as a servant leader, one must start by becoming a servant first. That is, as a leader, one must start by focusing on the needs of others particularly the team without considering his or her personal interest first. Currently, the significance of servant leadership has been justified by the need to make any organization more relationship-oriented and the force their leaders to step aside from personal-centeredness including narcissism and thereby integrating such businesses goals with

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.

This learner believes that servant leadership is one that balances humanity in the workplace and the bottom line (Wong & Davey, 2007). This is because one might argue that the focus is on people and the future rather than on solely outcomes and processes. It is telling that in today’s business world, the challenges for an organizational leader are considered threefold (Wong & Davey, 2007). Firstly, one needs to be able to build a positive workplace that attracts and retains talented knowledge workers. Secondly, one needs to be able to develop an employee and untaps that person’s creative potential. Thirdly, one needs to be able to support innovation and risk-taking to adjust to an unpredictable future (Wong & Davey, 2007).

Servant Leadership is “an approach to leadership with strong altruistic and ethical overtones that asks and requires leader to be attentive to the needs of their followers and empathize with them; they should take care of them by making sure they become healthier, wiser, freer and more autonomous, so that they too can become servant leaders” (Valeri, 2007). Although there is not many servant leaders in this world but the concept of servant is one of the most leadership approach leaders today struggles with. Servant leadership is mainly about the leader helping to grow their followers or members personally and professionally through empathy, listening skills and compassion. The concept of servant leadership which was proposed by Robert K. Greenleaf in his 1970 writing indicated that servant leadership is a theoretical framework that advocated a leader’s primary motivation and role as service to others.

Over the course of my career, I have tried to model various leadership behaviors based upon successful leaders that I have worked with or for. This has led me to incorporate different styles into my own. Considering my current leadership strengths and how I view successful leaders I will use a servant leadership theory to analyze my own competencies. Servant leaders have 9 different aspects comprised of: emotional healing, creating value for the community, conceptual skills, empowering, helping subordinates grow and succeed, putting subordinates first, behaving ethically, relationships, and servanthood (Boone & Makhani, 2005, pg. 86). The aspects of a servant leader are those that I personally value and identify with. In addition to this, it is my belief that servant leaders, because they are people oriented, are more effective in a variety of environments and situations.

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.

The ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said that,” A leader is best when people barely know he exists; when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” (Shinagle, 2013). The importance of a leader in among people cannot be underestimated. The paradox of Lao Tzu’s words is only an indication of how someone who is traditionally inclined to be at the helm of affairs is subdued and assumes the position of the least represented. To be a leader, Robert GreenLeaf said, a person must be servant first. (Greenleaf, 1970). A servant leader is arguably a person who seeks the welfare of his followers first before his own welfare. That selflessness is characteristic of most servants who do their best to make sure their superiors are satisfied. Servant leaders have the same attitude towards their followers; except they do it willingly and are not usually coerced.

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,

Servant leaders puts their followers first versus the goals and objectives of the organization, which limits organizational strategy and processes and lacks continuous improvement of core competencies; therefore, there is no research to date that proves this leadership style increases organizational performance (de Waal & Sivro, 2012). In contrast, as a positive, communication strategies of servant leaders are rewarded with employee loyalty and decreased staff turnover which increase patient outcomes and satisfaction due to staff feelings of appreciation and compassion from the servant leader (Marquis & Huston,

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

How do you rate as a servant leader? Discuss commitment to others as shown by access, communication, and support.

As a servant leader, people come first and giving back to the community is an integral part of it’s philosophy. Servant Leadership is the practice of serving others with your time and energy, which builds an improved and more considerate world. It is all about leading by example and supporting people, which generally creates a much better work environment and world. Servant leadership requires selflessness, which is the biggest component of the philosophy. A genuine servant leader requires many characteristics such as: passion, dedication, sympathetic, generosity, and a desire to learn from others while also teaching them. With the aid of class discussions and my personal experience from volunteering, these characteristics are imperative for a leader to be considered a servant leader.

Analyze and explain the situation using any of the theories of leadership discussed in Chapter 14.

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.

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