Summary: Defining Servant Leadership

The idea of injecting a servant leadership approach within a society riddled with thoughts and desires to be #1 is counterintuitive to not only the culture, but the very nature of man. We would all agree that modeling the behavior that Jesus exhibited in the upper room isn’t what we all aspire to do—at least on a very basic, natural level. However, this is the very idea and hallmark that author James Hunter is trying to instill in others in his book The Servant. That is, that we should lead people the way that we would want be lead ourselves—that the essence of ultimate leadership can only be expressed through love. Points such as others’ centered leadership, values for individual development as a leader and how these expressed

In Greenleaf’s work he describes ten characteristics of servant leaders. While serving the animal shelter I showed three characteristics. Listening, Empathy, and healing.

In The Case for Servant Leadership, author Dr. Kent M. Keith proposes that servant leadership is the most beneficial wholesome for a leadership model. Keith presents that the power leadership model does more harm than good, lacks problem solving, fails to grasp opportunities, and does not have the intention to create a better world unlike the service leadership model.

Servant leadership is and old concept that was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in the essay “The Servant Leader”. Servant leadership emphases the evolution and well-being of people and the communities to which a leader is a part of. A servant leader has a natural mind to serve first and aspire to lead. In comparison traditional leadership largely involves the amassing and exercise of power by the leader in charge. The servant leader shares power, places the needs of others before themselves and assists in the development and growth of performance of

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.

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 theory’s emphasis on service to others and recognition that the role of organizations is to create people who can build a better tomorrow resonates with scholars and practitioners who are responding to the growing perceptions that corporate leaders have become selfish and who are seeking a viable leadership theory to help resolve the challenges of the twenty-first century (Parris & Peachey, 2013, p 378).

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

The servant leadership theory is an idea first presented by Robert K. Greenleaf. It is to be understood as a sort of leadership ideology where the leader of a group interacts with his or her subordinates as almost a friend or equivalent. The objective is to achieve

Servant leadership is the combination of treating others as you would like to be treated, searching for the best in people and giving them the opportunity to use and develop their interests and gifts, doing the right thing at every turn, consistently modeling ethical behavior, being humble and honest and not asking someone to do something you would not do yourself.

At its core, servant leadership is about service to others and originates from within. Servant leaders possess individual qualities within themselves that facilitate their leading through acts of service. Ten traits characterize servant leadership: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of others, and building communities. Servant leaders, according to Parolini (2004), are characterized by their ability to “bring integrity, humility, and servant hood into caring for, empowering and developing others in carrying out tasks and processes of visioning, goal setting, leading, modeling, team building, and shared-decision making” (Parolini, 2004, p. 9). A historic

Describe “servant leadership”. What does this mean to you? I am a firm believer in the saying “He who is the greatest servant is the greatest leader,” because it defines what servant leadership is. It is not about exercising authority over another, but rather it is the act of considering one’s needs more important than oneself. A servant leader seeks to build each other up and is willing to invest himself in the lives of others in order to accomplish the goals and desires of the body.

Servant leadership is desire of someone to serve one another through certain principles. Greenleaf, Senge, Covey, and Spears (2002) identifies servant leaders as those work are doing the utmost best for their community. A civil rights activist and leader, Martin Luther King Jr. embodied the aspects of servant leadership. Martin Luther King Jr. is committed to the growth of the community, a dedicated servant leader who inspires followership and has many qualities to emulate. Principles of Servant Leadership

“Servant leadership emphasizes that leaders be attentive to the concerns of their followers, empathize with them, and nurture

Several reviews have been conducted to provide insight into servant leadership as a theory. Parris and Peachey (2013) state that Russell and Stone reviewed the theoretical framework of servant leadership and listed nine distinct character traits of servant leaders, namely; integrity, honesty, vision, service, trust, modeling, pioneering, appreciation of others and empowerment. Parris and Peachey (2013) appreciate the conceptual framework in the work of Russell and Stone yet they note that it lacks a methodology.