Servant Leaders Should Not Be A Platonic Love

Originating in the seminal work of Greenleaf, servant leadership is a paradoxical approach to leadership that challengers our traditional beliefs about leadership and influence. Servant leadership emphasizes that leaders should be attentive to the needs of the followers, empower them, and help them develop their full human capacities. They build strong relationships, with others, are empathic, and ethical, and lead in ways that serve the greater good of followers, organizations, and the community.

Simply, servant leaders hold a view as a servant first and leader second (Owens & Hekman, 2012). Moreover, servant leaders emphasize personal responsibility for the organization and all internal and external stakeholders (Peterson, Galvin, & Lange, 2012). As stated, expressing a genuine concern and care for people are a basis of servant leadership. In addition, servant leadership also focuses on the growth of

A servant leader for me is an individual who simply puts others ahead of themselves, with the main purpose of achieving results for their organization, by keeping in mind the needs of everyone else around them. A servant leader is one with personality traits like; empathy, compassion good listening skills, stewardship, and an honest commitment to the growth of others. Servant leaders are individuals who have a natural inclination to serve, and such a conscious choice makes them desire to lead. This is in sharp contrast to the traditional leaders who aim to gain power or to acquire material belongings.

Servant Leadership is a leadership style that primarily focuses on the people side of leadership. It was developed by Robert Greenleaf in the early 1970s.

However, servant leadership is a way for leaders to connect with their members and show that they understand what they are going through. They tend to create unique bonds with their team by assisting them to make them more productive. The idea of servant leadership came from a novel written by Hermann Hesse named “Journey to the East”. The novel was basically about a group of travellers going on a journey, accompanied by a servant who does literally everything for the travellers. The servant played the most important role on the journey by making sure everything and

“Servant Leadership” throughout history has always been a vital concept to grasp as leaders, however the actual term was not coined until the 1970’s by Robert Greenleaf in his essay The Servant as a Leader. Greenleaf depicts the concept of servant leadership as being a servant first meaning the leader is always willing, ready, and eager to assist those around them in order to create the best environment for everyone to work towards achieving goals.

Servant leadership isn’t applied or adequate to only one type of culture or even one type of culture. Servant leadership can actually be applied to all walks of life and all parts of the world. For example, the culture of the Japanese and the religion of the Hindu people both embrace a sense of what we call servant leadership. All religions and cultures have their own unique way in which they apply servant leadership, either based on their beliefs, history, or lifestyles. The significance of servant leadership is demonstrated in different ways within each culture and religion even when some cultures are not aware that what they are implying is servant leadership. As religions and cultures change and expand through time the concept of servant leadership is adapted and applied in different ways.

Servanthood is to serve the needs of the people in the best way possible and bring forth the greatness these individuals have to offer their community. Being a servant leader also means being selfless. Leaders are placed in certain organizations and a position to bring forth the calling and vision God has for His people. Servant leadership in it entity is to motivate and encourage individuals to turn away from self-serving. Wilkes, author of the book, Jesus on Leadership, says it the best, “A servant leader serves the mission and leads by serving those on the mission with him”

3. Servant leadership is when a leader works not out of his own self-interest, but that of his followers. This is, as claimed by many, the best form of leadership that all should follow. It has been present in the military, specifically the Marine Corps, but

Servant leadership is a type of leadership whereby the leader serves the needs of the people, empathizes with them, and involves them in solving their needs. Servant leadership is all about involving the people you are leading in your decision making, being ethical and caring for the people to enhance their personal growth at the same time improve their life. A servant leader does not simply delegate roles; he starts the work and energizes the others to join him and get the work done. According to Spears (2004), the servant leader as defined by Greenleaf is one who gets the natural feeling of wanting to serve first and then a conscious choice brings him/her to lead. This leader makes sure that other people’s highest-priority needs are take

In the book The Servant, the author James C. Hunter discusses Servant Leadership, and the impact it has on every aspect of life. The book begins with a middle-aged man, John, who has it all, a supportive wife and kids and an authoritative job as a manager at a glass factory. John however, feels his life is falling apart, his employees aren’t respecting him and his relationships with his wife and kids are becoming distant and negative. In an attempt to make a change, John attended a week long religious retreat that’s main focus is Servant Leadership. The attendees at this retreat were all very different, their careers varied greatly, and their views on how to be a leader were not alike either. In the end though, they all agreed on one thing, making a change to become a Servant Leader was going to reshape their lives, through both their careers and relationships.

Servant-leaders must reinforce these important skills by making a deep commitment to actively listening to others. Servant-leaders seek to identify and clarify the will of a group. They seek to listen receptively to what is being and said (and not said) among others. By listening with intent, followers feel understood and valued, even under pressure, the servant leader demonstrates a sense of empathy and compassion by taking the time to understand what one's body, spirit, and mind are communicating.

Being a servant leader can by definition empower your followers. Attending to the needs of your employees and creating a nurturing environment can create trust. Yukl (2010) states, “The servant leader must stand for what is good and right, even when it is not in the financial interest of the organization. Social injustice and inequality should be

Here, Greenleaf describes a relationship that is centered on the selfless nature of the leader. While servant leadership prioritizes serving other’s without benefiting personally, it should be questioned if this is truly possible. This is because it is not likely to act as a servant-leader without receiving something in return. An example of this would be a person volunteering for a cause

Servant leadership is basically a set of leadership practices and the philosophies regarding leadership. Surely most of us know what leadership really is. Leadership is seen simply as the accusation and exercise of power for someone who is on top of the pyramid. This is the conventional and simple form of leadership that we all know and love. Where on one hand there is the conventional form of leadership, the servant leader model is the form where the needs and concerns of others are put first. In this model, the needs and concerns of others are placed