A Servant Leader’s Approach to Employee-Centric Operations

1850 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The benefit of ethical leadership

It is quite a privilege to analyze a leader I have no fear or reservation following. To be nearing the end of my third full decade of professional life, it has been both the unqualified and unethical managers who remind me that a career requires survival skill and dumb luck. Thankfully, leadership, discipline, and service will be unmistakable themes in my attempt to categorize my present leader. Even as I gladly look past the transgressions of much earlier encountered bad actors.
So I will begin with mention of the steward or servant leader, either one will suffice, and the defining qualities of empathy, kindness, honest, humility, and respect for others (Lussier & Achua, 2012). This concept of leadership will describe a transactional motivator who exercises his authority without promoting his personal interests or advantage. I have had the sincere honor to know this man for a considerable time. I have him to thank for many of the opportunities I have to lead. Yet, I take this occasion to write objectively and without reservation on a champion of servant leadership. According to Robert Greenleaf, a true servant leader can be defined in ten principles:
Listening - Servant-leaders must reinforce these important skills by making a deep commitment to listening intently to others. Listening also encompasses getting in touch with one's inner voice, and seeking to understand what one's body, spirit, and mind are communicating.
Empathy - People need to be accepted and recognized for their special and unique spirit. One must assume the good intentions of coworkers and not reject them as people, even when forced to reject their behavior or performance.
Healing - One of the great strengths of servant-leadership is the potential f...

... middle of paper ...

...resources/principles-of-servant-leadership/
Leadership and Force Development: Air Force Doctrine Document 1-1 (AFDD 1-1). (2011). U.S. Air Force. Retrieved from http://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_cv/publication/afdd1-1/afdd1-1.pdf
Luisser, R., & Achua, C. (2013). Leadership: Theory, Application, & Skill Development (5th ed., p. 520). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Nieminen, L., Biermeier-Hanson, B., & Denison, D. (2013). Aligning leadership and organizational culture: The leader–culture fit framework for coaching organizational leaders. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 65(3), 177–198. doi:10.1037/a0034385
Welch, D., Grossaint, K., Reid, K., & Walker, C. (2014). Strengths-based leadership development: Insights from expert coaches. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 66(1), 20–37. doi:10.1037/cpb0000002

Show More
Related

  • Southwest Airlines: Servant Leadership

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    Servant leadership, as defined by Kretiner and Kinkicki (2015, p.486), is putting the needs of others, including employees, customers, and community ahead of one’s own needs. This management style requires selflessness and humility from management so the organization can focus on serving key stakeholders. There are ten characteristics of a servant-leader as identified in the text

    Read More

  • The Human Resources Framework By Bolman And Deal

    1107 Words  | 3 Pages

    Servant leadership is a philosophy and set of practices that augments the lives of individuals, builds better organizations, and creates a more just and caring world, they put the team first, and themselves second (MindTools, 2015). Servant leaders are able to demonstrate their traits through interaction with followers and other leaders within the organization. The characteristics of servant leaders include their commitment to the growth of people, stewardship, and building community, and provide leaders with the opportunity to experience change and to invite followers to change (Savage-Austin & Honeycutt 2011). Servant leadership encourages leaders and followers to ‘raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality’, and set their leadership focus: follower’s first, organizations second, their own needs last (Sendjaya, Sarros, & Santora, 2008). The servant leader focuses on the needs of others to include team members. They acknowledge people’s perspectives, and give them the support needed to meet their goals. Servant leaders involve members when decisions are appropriate helping build a stronger commitment within the team. Strong qualities of servant leadership are trust, appreciation for others, and empowerment. Honesty and integrity form the moral foundation of effective leadership through the four values of truth telling, promise

    Read More

  • Greenleaf’s The Servant Leader

    838 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Shackleton’s Expedition

    1101 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kellerman, B. (2004). Bad Leadership: What it is, How it Happens, Why it Matters. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Press.

    Read More

  • Emergent Leadership Theory: The Gap Between Men And Women

    1728 Words  | 4 Pages

    Primary service is the key. Many view this as a contradiction because the leader is leading and serving. How can a person do both? Good servant leaders are good listeners. The communication between the leader and the follower being served allows the leader to listen to the follower first, in order to understand what the other person has to say and to understand their needs. These leaders practice empathy as well. Understanding what the follower is facing or feeling is comforting to the follower because it validates their importance to another person. The ability to heal a person through care and the concern for a person’s well being is another quality of a servant leader. These are only a few of the characteristics that generate a strong servant leader. Mother Teresa said, “The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.” Her words describe exactly what servant leaders do. Servant leaders serve others willingly because they find joy and pleasure in doing so. The outcome of serving others in this manner is growth and social impacts for a greater good. When there is an improvement in self-actualization, followers improve in their goal reaching or task completion by understanding their full potential to do

    Read More

  • Authentic Leadership Style Vs Servant Leadership

    71 Words  | 1 Pages

    Servant leadership is defined as a philosophy that one carry outs to supplement the lives of others and shape organizations to become better. In order to become a servant leader, you have to first become a servant. One must be want to serve first. There’s a difference between servant leadership and an authentic leadership style. The impression of servant leadership can be traced back to have started two thousand years

    Read More

  • Critique on the Book The Leadership Challenge

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kouzes, J., & Posner, B., (2007). The leadership challenge, (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-

    Read More

  • Leadership Philosophy

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    ADRP 6-22: Army Leadership; Chapter 10: Organizational Leadership, HQ, Department of the Army, Washington, D.C, 10 September 2012

    Read More

  • Leadership In Servant Leadership

    938 Words  | 2 Pages

    Servant leadership can be thought of as an inverted triangle where the leader is supporting the organization at the point. As a result of this leadership style, leaders are more in tune with their teams. They have more insight on their team and the inner workings of their organizations.

    Read More

  • Nursing Leadership Analysis

    969 Words  | 2 Pages

    Leadership at times can be a complex topic to delve into and may appear to be a simple and graspable concept for a certain few. Leadership skills are not simply acquired through position, seniority, pay scale, or the amount of titles an individual holds but is a characteristic acquired or is an innate trait for the fortunate few who possess it. Leadership can be misconstrued with management; a manager “manages” the daily operations of a company’s work while a leader envisions, influences, and empowers the individuals around them.

    Read More

  • A Personal Model of Leadership

    1292 Words  | 3 Pages

    Introduction Through identification and ongoing assessment of her leadership style and ability, this leader is able to develop and understand her own strengths and limitations in order to grow and develop into a more effective leader. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of servant leadership, contingency, and path-goal styles of leadership to gain an understanding of current leadership models, identify this author’s style of leadership, and explore why leadership is important to organizations, society, and this author. A Personal Model of Leadership 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 autonomy, and become more like servants themselves (2005).

    Read More

  • Leadership Self-Assessment

    3035 Words  | 7 Pages

    Lussier, R. & Achua, C. (2013). Leadership: Theory, Application & Skill Development (5th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning

    Read More

  • The 3 Levels of Discipleship Taught by Jesus Christ

    1546 Words  | 4 Pages

    Northouse, P. (2010). Leadership: Theory and practice (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

    Read More

  • Leadership: A Self Reflection

    993 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lussier, R.N. & Achua, C.F. (2010). Leadership: Theory, application, skill development (5th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western.

    Read More

  • Self Reflection and Personality Traits

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    Empathy also assists me to be helpful to my workmates. If I put their feelings at heart, I will manage to assist them when need be. They could have problems not only at the work place but also in their social life. This may be a hindrance to their productivity at work. In this case I can step in on their behalf. By being helpful to my patien...

    Read More

More about A Servant Leader’s Approach to Employee-Centric Operations

Open Document