When I decided I was going to run for Senior Patrol Leader for the first time, I had no idea whether anyone in my troop respected my authority or my potential to lead the troop for the next 6 months. The former SPL’s in the troop were very good in this position and I had a lot of respect for them because of what they did for the troop. Running against Parker, who had already been SPL, was going to be tough as well because the adults and scouts in the troop liked him a lot. He had already proven himself to be a good leader and I looked up to him as well. Although he and I may not have realized it, the role of the SPL was teaching us how to be leaders but more importantly how to serve those that we were leading. As I stepped to the podium to make my campaign speech, I thought to myself “could I see myself as the next leader of this troop?”
Since that troop election, I’ve come to learn that leaders aren’t born with great leadership qualities like patience, confidence, commitment and a positive attitude. It is the works of their hands and the experiences in which they partake that build the skills and knowledge they need to lead others. This is the essence of what I now know as Servant Leadership.
Robert Greenleaf, the founder of the modern servant leadership movement said that "the servant-leader is servant first." “By that he meant that the desire to serve, the "servant's heart," is a fundamental characteristic of the servant-leader. It is not about being servile, it is about
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
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.
Servant leadership, as it applies to the modern world, is a concept that Robert Greenleaf defined in his influential 1970 essay, The Servant as Leader. Greenleaf’s essay explains that servant leadership is an amalgam of concrete leadership styles and “fragments of data” that came to him through “intuitive insight” (1970). Having worked at AT&T from 1926-1964, he accumulated a number of leadership qualities throughout his professional career. After retirement he began teaching at Harvard Business School, but became distressed by younger generations and their rebellious attitudes. After careful consideration, he decided institutions were doing a poor job of serving, so they were doing a poor job of leading. His
“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.
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
EWhen I was younger I was in the Boy Scouts of America striving for the rank of Eagle Scout I met an Army National Guard Colonel that would set an example of leadership, a bad one. I was a Boy Scout many years but had to limit my attending meetings over the course of my junior year of high school and over the course of my absence a new Scout Master had come to our troop, the aforementioned Colonel. Prior to this man I had the pleasure of knowing several excellent leaders and it was quite the shock to see our once massive troop slowly dwindle.
The phrase “Servant Leadership” was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as a Leader, an essay he first published in 1970 ("What is servant," ). The servant leader serves first, while aspiring to lead second. The servant leader serves the people that he or she leads, implying employees are an end in themselves rather than a means to organizational purpose or bottom-line. Servant leadership is meant to replace a command and control, top-down, model of management. Servant leadership encourages collaboration, trust, foresight, listening, and the ethical use of power and empowerment. A few famous examples of servant leaders are George Washington, Gandi and Caesar Chavez.
After serving over 15 years in the Ohio Army National Guard, I have experienced many different leadership styles. Some styles have had a positive impact on both my personal life and my military life. While others, have had a negative influence. My experience with different leadership styles has taught me what type of leader I strive to be and highlights the impact I have on others as a peer and leader. These experiences helped define me as not only a leader, but as a person. I have been given the privilege of influencing young Soldiers and our future leaders. As a leader I value integrity, hard work, and service.
“A leader steps up in times of crisis, and is able to think and act creatively in difficult situations. Unlike management, leadership cannot be taught, although it may be learned and enhanced through coaching or mentoring” (Ubben, 2017). My thoughts will focus on what is achievable even when things seem difficult to move forward. A genuine leader knows how to be flexible when it comes to their crew, able to distinguish each individual’s strengths, and capable to motivate and reassure the team to succeed. I will lead by example and give my best in whatever I partake in. It is important for soldiers to recognize that as a leader I will not participate for the sake of contributing. A leader should actively engage themselves in activities that involves soldiers instead of being a spectator. I believe leaders who participate in activities with their soldiers tend to gain more respect from their soldiers. A leader with tangible goals in their leadership philosophy will keep everyone focused and lead everyone without any distractions. My expectations for my soldiers are to ensure they give their best in everything they do.
Robert Greenleaf and James Hunter are both experts when it comes to leadership. Greenleaf coined the term “servant leadership” and published his first essay regarding this topic in 1970. Hunter is a world renowned author and speaker because of his leadership forte, and has worked with thousands of business executives on developing leadership skills that create successful businesses (Hunter 1998). Both of these men are distinguished professionals because of their philosophies and approaches to efficacious leadership, but they each have a different approach of how they present and represent these ideas.
Throughout history our country has had many leaders. Whether you’re the leader of a business, military platoon, or the leader of our great nation you were withheld with the honor and trust to govern the actions and best interests of fellow Americans. But just because you have achieved the title of a leader does not by default make you a good leader. A good leader is a person who has risen above and beyond to show cooperation, perseverance, and respect to decisions made by those still above you at one point in time. “As a seasoned member of the military, you’ve risen through the ranks because you understood your mission and performed your duties with distinction. At this stage of your career, your most important contribution may be how well you take care of the service members and
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.
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