Traditional theories of leadership include the great man, power bases, skills approach, style approach, contingency, and path-goal theories. Those are all very objectively based, not looking at the individual’s experiences, wants, needs, and idiosyncrasies. Then the emerging leadership theories came along, viewing leaders as unique individuals, instead of positions within an organization. These theories are relationship-heavy, focusing on the interactions between the leaders and the followers as something fragile, instead of surface-level. There has been a movement within management and leadership theories over the past century that focuses on the intangibles – trust, loyalty, respect, etc. of leadership. One that is gaining popularity is servant leadership.
The trait approach looks at who the leader is, the skill approach is what the leader can do, and the style approach is why the leader does what he/she does. Servant leadership looks at the leader’s motives. This paper will discuss servant leadership and how it is applicable in today’s society.
Religion and Servant Leadership
According to the emerging theories, leaders are those who work with and for others instead of barterers looking to gain something out of an efficient transaction. Individuals who work unaccompanied are not servant leaders because they do not put others first; they could be power leaders who are focused on gaining power or material possessions, according to servant leadership founder Robert Greenleaf (What is servant leadership?, 2008).
Servant leadership is based on empowerment, service, and synergy. Greenleaf traces servant leadership’s roots to Christianity (Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power & greatness, ...
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...asier said than done, anyone can be a servant leader, religious or not, as long as service truly comes before oneself.
Works Cited
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Greenleaf, R. K. (2008). What is servant leadership? Retrieved October 19, 2010, from The robert greenleaf center, inc.: http://www.greenleaf.org/whatissl/
Greenleaf, R. K. (2002). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power & greatness. New Jersey: Paulist Press.
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2007). The leadership challenge. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Wallace, J. R. (2007). Servant leadership: A worldview perspective. International journal of leadership studies, 114-132.
The Servant Leader discusses the importance of leaders who adopt a service oriented attitude in which they care for the needs of others before their own. A servant leader need not be an actual servant or have ever been a servant to become a servant leader. Rather, a servant leader is born with or adopts an “others first” disposition. Climbing through the ranks may help to create a servant leader, though it is not necessary. When leaders choose to see that the needs of their followers or their organizations are the highest priority they become servants.
Servant-leadership is a way of life that evolves and matures with the passage of time. This way of life transforms spiritual people, with strong and stable emotions, into someone who has a deep understanding of truth and the world around them.
Servant leadership consists of leaders helping their followers become leaders themselves. The use personal skills such as empathy, compassion and listening to help their followers succeed. It is not necessarily the most popular form of leadership but, it has been proven successful b those leaders who implement it in their work practices. Servant leaders typically have a strong bond with their team. They are the base and the foundation of their teams.
Servant leadership is becoming a more “sought-after” concept in today’s society, but what exactly is servant leadership? Does it mean different things to different people? Although the three books, The Servant as Leader, The Servant, and Lead Like Jesus, all center around servant leadership, each author takes a different perspective on the meaning of being a servant leader. Robert Greenleaf addresses leadership from a straight-forward stance; saying that a good leader must be a servant-first by finding the will within themselves to put the needs of their group before their own. James Hunter discusses servant leadership through a story involving everyday people that the reader can relate to. He uses Jesus as a guide to explain how to initiate character development that will, in turn, fashion servant leadership. Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges offer a new perspective on servant leadership by bringing Jesus into the picture on an even deeper level than Hunter. They explain that by knowing Jesus Christ and developing an intimate personal
3). Through the service of others, servants as leaders create positive changes in the lives of others that lead those served to act more autonomously (Block, Blanchard, Wheatley & Autry, 2006). The goal of a service leader is to help others achieve their highest level of functioning. Those served are then motivated to become service leaders as well (Block, Blanchard, Wheatley & Autry, 2006). Thus, servant leadership focuses on commitment to helping the individual served grow in their abilities. In turn this gives the served individual confidence in their work and personal abilities which then transforms into a desire to help others do the
Servant leadership is a leadership style that is more democratic instead of autocratic. The employees are the center of this model. This leader is one that assesses the employee in the professional and personal growth. Servant leader follow the model established by Robert Greenleaf in 1977. Using Mr. Greenleaf’s ten characteristics, those will show the benefits of this type of leadership for both the company and employees. Does this style really do want is said of it. Yes, based on the research, this style is more beneficial toward the employees making them into employees that are more productive and want to stay with that company. When more companies follow this style, the retention of their employees will be higher as they would have
Servant leadership is both a leadership philosophy and set of leadership practices. Traditional leadership generally involves the
According to Northouse (2013), “Servant leadership is an approach focusing on leadership from the point of view of the leader and his or her behaviors” (p. 219). The servant leadership approach was designed to put subordinates first and to build and develop them to the personal capacities. There are ten characteristics of s Servant leader: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of the people and building community. The model consists of three components: antecedent conditions, servant leader behaviors and outcomes. An effective leader puts their subordinates first; they are honest, trustworthy and supportive in order to get the staff to work to their full potential.
Northouse (2013) defines servant leadership as emphasizing that leaders be attentive to the concerns of their followers, empathize with them, and nurture them. Those who are truly servant leaders have the best interest of their followers at heart and are able to help them and lift them up, selflessly. Because politicians, police officers, and firefighters are all considered community and national leaders of our country, it is important that those are are put into these positions have characteristics of being a servant leader. Although some may argue that we may not be “followers” that does not take away from the leadership impact that they have.
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 essay on his belief that a servant leader is a servant first, and explained that it would begin with the natural urge to serve and then the leader would make a conscious choice to become a leader, in doing so he makes the choice to ensure that others needs are met first (2005 ). As a servant leader develops he should always keep aware of those who he serves and strive to ensure that they are becoming healthier, wiser, freer, have an increase in autonomous, and are become more like servants themselves (2005). Leaders and organizations can use the principles of servant leadership to frame decisions, and service that include focus on the community, care of others and quality services (Waterman, R., 2011). Watermen states that working to higher purpose increases standards, integrity and should lead the followers through supports, shared visions and bring followers together in toward a common purpose to provide service to others.
Servant leadership has gained attention among leadership authors over the last twenty years. Even Collins and his team had to address the impact of servant leadership qualities in the actions of their Level 5 Leaders (Collins, 2001, Kindle loc. 531). While servant leadership has enjoyed increasing popularity among secular writers, Blackaby and Blackaby suggest a growing trend among Christian leaders to give greater emphasis to secular leadership theories at the expense of principles such as servant leadership (2011, p. 19). To better assess the significance of servant leadership to the biblical narrative, the author will evaluate the history of five prominent biblical leaders for evidence of qualities or leadership principles typical of servant leadership.
Wilkes, C. G. Jesus on Leadership: Timeless Wisdom on Servant Leadership. Carol Stream, Illnois: Tyndale House, 1998.
Being a leader is treating people the way you want to be treated. Leadership is being the individual you are while working on influencing others. Being a good leader consists of several characteristics. (Hunter, 1998, p. XVII). Some characteristics include empathy, committing to the growth of others, and most of all, being a good listener. Leadership roles aren’t always consisting of individuals at the top of organizations, people aren’t always good leaders, and it’s an influence process. . Hunter (1998) goes into great detail throughout his writing, that the foundation of servant leadership style is not directly based upon power, however more relates to authority. This paper explores the various characteristics of servant
Chung, Y. (2011). Why servant leadership? Its uniqueness and principles in the life of Jesus. Journal Of Asia Adventist Seminary, 14(2), 159-170.
As implied by its name, servant leadership can be defined as “providing leadership that focuses on the good of those who are being led and those whom the organization serves’’ (Hamilton & Nord, 2005, p. 875). Greenleaf (2002) suggests that as opposed to being the central focus of the group, servant leadership places the leader in alignment with the group, allowing for support and resources to be allocated to its members. Moreover, servant leaders act as organizational directors, fostering a sense of community between organizational members (Greenleaf, 1977). In contrast to the traditional top-down paradigm of leadership, the servant leader is placed at the bottom of the hierarchy (Rieke, Hammermeister, & Chase, 2008), thereby allowing for the needs of followers to be met. The major focus of this approach to leadership is to encourage the growth, autonomy, and learning of followers, which in turn will influence and enhance future organizational leadership and growth (Bass, 2000). Through behaviors such as empathizing and nurturing followers, the servant leader places the concerns of his or her followers at the forefront, allowing them to reach their own personal capabilities (Northouse, 2012). Moreover, an overarching theme of servant leadership is the ethical behavior the leaders exhibits toward followers (Walumbwa, Hartnell, & Oke, 2010). That is, the servant leader possesses a sincere concern for the well-being of followers (Caldwell et al., 2011). Thus, this brand of leadership focuses on the altruistic behaviors of the leader and the effects that these behaviors have on the followers.