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Servant Leadership Benefits Both Organizationas and Employees

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In the traditional view of leadership, service is the job of the follower. However, servant leadership puts the leader at service. In servant leadership, the leader focuses on servicing their followers; they empathize, nurture, and provide attention so that the followers can develop their full personal capacities (Northouse, 2013). Spears (2002) identified 10 servant leader characteristics: Listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, and commitment to the growth of people.

Listening involves the interactive process of communication between leaders and followers (Northouse, 2013). In the traditional world of leadership, we think of leaders as instructing, ordering, or ruling. In servant…show more content…
Stewardship is when the leader takes responsibility for their role as leader. It requires taking on the responsibilities of a leader and holding the organization in trust for the greater good of society (Northouse, 2013). Lastly, commitment to the growth of people is a dedication to each person in the organization and commitment to helping each individual grow both personally and professionally.

Simon Sinek, a management theorist discusses what makes a great leader in this TED talk. Sinek explains why good leaders make their followers feel safe and secure which can inspire cooperation, influence, and create a strong bond. This talk really helps to illustrate how efficient leadership can be achieved by putting the followers first.

Servant leadership is successful when leaders truly believe and act upon a desire to make their followers successful, through being honest and treating them as partners (PSU, 2014). Sinek gives us a great real world application of this by telling the story of Charlie Kim, the CEO of Next Jump. Next Jump is a tech company, of which there are thousands in the US, but what makes Next Jump stand out is it’s policy of lifetime employment. That’s right, no one gets fired. ever. In fact, if your performance is weak, extra time and resources are dedicated to coaching and helping you improve. As a leader, what better way to demonstrate your belief in and desire to make your followers successful, than a no fire
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