The Servant was written by James C. Hunter. The focus of this book is servant leadership. Hunter uses a retreat set up at a monastery called John of the Cross to explain the importance of servant leadership and how one can apply it to one’s life. Hunter uses a businessman, principal, college basketball coach, pastor, drill sergeant, and a head nurse to bring different personalities and views on leadership. The group meets together with a monk at the monastery twice a day to discuss different areas that lead to a servant leader. The three most thought-provoking topics for me discussed in The Servant were the definitions, the old paradigm, and the word love. Hunter defines leadership as “The skill of influencing people to work enthusiastically toward goals identified as being for the common good” (pg. 28). Authority is “The skill of getting people to willingly do your will because of your personal influence” (pg. 30). While power is “The ability to force or coerce someone to do your will, even if they would choose not to, because of your position or your might” (pg. 30). I learned that it is important to have authority not power. This is important to remember in the classroom because if I have authority with my students instead of power over my students there will be a better sense of community in the classroom and it will help lead to a democratic classroom. But, to obtain authority or the sense of community and a democratic classroom, I must work on/ practice at the skill
The Servant by James C. Hunter lays a foundation of required strategies that are commonly learned throughout life. The concepts that are laid out in this book are quite interesting and similar to the laws of love. There is an unfortunate amount of successful and unsuccessful people who acquire the “I know best” leadership style that John portrays. Having the “I know it all” mentality can be a person’s biggest downfall. Within this story, you can see the consequences of that mentality as John is losing his grounds in all leadership roles within his life. These strategies are not difficult or new but understanding the foundation of these strategies may be quite challenging for some. When reading this book I recognized to become an efficient leader
Servant leadership is an effectual way to motivate the employees. Its unique emphasis on concern for
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” 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 from a Christian perspective is a replica of what Jesus Christ symbolizes. Jesus was a servant because he showed truth, vision, humility, commitment, teacher to his followers, and brought about change; he was a suffering servant, yet was merciful, he was a teacher, yet willing to be taught by the Holy Spirit. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
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
For my book review, I have read James C. Hunter’s book entitles The Servant, A Simple Story about the True Essence of Leadership. Hunter’s purpose of the book is neither new nor complex, yet rather simply based on strengthening the bonds of respect, responsibility, and caring with the people around you. His message to the readers is not only applied on people in work setting, but also to your home lifestyle.
Servant leadership is a theory based on Robert K Greenleaf’s belief that all men have a primary motivation to serve others and through this service they aspire to lead (Parris & Peachey, 2012). Although this leadership model has very little in common with charismatic and situational does however compare to transformational leadership in several areas. The main area of commonality between the two can be found as transformational leaders serve as stewards to change enable the followers to accept the change and move forward with the organization (Tichy & Devanna, 1990, p. 75). In essence, servant leadership becomes the long-term transformational approach to life and work.
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 leadership was a term that was first used by Keifner Greenleaf(1970) in his first essay, The Servant as Leader (as cited by Crippen, C., 2005). Greenleaf based his
In the world we live in today the roles of power and leadership are often confused. Although they have similar meanings, they can be distinctly defined between the latter. The key difference between the two is the term of effect. Power is the exercise of leadership, and leadership is only defined if you have power. Leadership always involves attempts on a leader to affect behavior or a follower in a situation, whereas power is not equivalent with influence on another person’s behavior. Although power and leadership have similar meanings, they are certain differences that can point out what makes
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
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
Since this article was a systematic literature review, the authors did not provide their own definition of servant leadership and thus the theory remains under-defined. Parris and Peachey note that most researchers quote Greenleaf’s definition of servant leadership verbatim.