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What Is Servant Leadership? A Style Of Leadership Practices First Outlined By Robert K. Greenleaf

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What is servant leadership?
Servant leadership is a style of leadership practices first outlined by Robert K. Greenleaf in 1970. The style of leadership is different than the other styles of leadership in that the focus of servant leadership is to empower others to make change alongside of the leader. Servant leaders believe in the change being made and work with others to make change happen, instead of simply dictating what needs to be done and how it should be done. Additionally, servant leadership also focuses on the growth and well-being of those serving and those being served. Greenleaf described servant leadership as the following: “The Servant-Leader is servant first… it begins with a natural feeling that one wants to serve first (Greenleaf Center).” This is different than those who are leaders first, in that a leader first is more driven by power. The principle of servant leadership, beginning with people with care and compassion, allows a strong community to build. This community could take the form of a company, a classroom or a geographic community.

Tenants of Servant Leadership Servant leaders seek to serve first. What does this actually mean? Many have synthesized the writings of Greenleaf on the topic, and have synthesized the concept of servant leadership into ten characteristics. Call them pillars or tenants if you like, these ten qualities are seen as necessary for all servant leaders to embrace and show in the everyday work. The ten

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