To be a leader, one must posses leadership however, to describe leadership, much like any other human trait, it is a difficult task. For much of human history scholars and leaders have discussed what is leadership and what makes a great leader. However it is difficult to compare one leader 's accomplishments to another because every generation has their different struggles. Without comparing different leaders, to define what leadership is first you must examine who can be a leader.
Every individual strives to be a leader, and thus every individual can be a leader. However, not every person can be an effective leader. An effective leader shows leadership through multiple individual characteristics which collectively become their style of leadership.
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Leadership is a position of power, and given a certain level of respect. Therefore; a leader can not always relinquish their command to someone below them. Every person has the capability to be a leader, yet not every person can not be a leader at the same time. It is an important characteristic of all leaders to is to recognise higher authority, and thus “A leader leads by example, not by force.” (Stone, Russell, Patterson, 2004) Servant leadership shares all that same characteristics of other forms of leadership, but don 't have an issue with command structures. This issue is solved because all the followers and the leader have the same goal of service to the servant. An effective servant leader shares the power and allows for growth of the people being served. The characteristics that make a person 's form of leadership more like servant leadership include, the ten which Larry Spears compiled from Robert Greenliefs philosophy. The greater emphasis on: Awareness, listening, building the community and most importantly Foresight, separate a servant leader and other styles of leadership. I believe these traits take the leadership beyond the leader and allow the collective team to focus on the greater task, and effectively serve …show more content…
I understand that leadership, a positions of power and rank must be respected, but whenever availed if the leader can take some characteristics of a servant leader they will create a better following. I quotes Sun Tzu earlier saying “A leader leads by example, not by force.” (Stone, Russell, Patterson, 2004), and Tom Peter explained that ”Sun Tzu Leaders don 't create followers, they create more leaders.” (Stone, Russell, Patterson, 2004) I believe that this is very relevant in servant leadership. With this thought, servant leadership is the most effective form of leadership to create more leaders who have a passion for what they do and want to continue working for a cause rather that a rank. “Successful corporations don’t wait for leaders to come along. They actively seek out people with leadership potential and expose them to career experiences designed to develop that potential.” (Kotter, 2001, p.
...spects of what makes up an effective leader, it is clear that there cannot be one clear- cut and dry definition of what a leader is. A leader is a make up of many different attributes and qualities. An effective Leader encompasses all of the attributes which go along with facilitating ideas and allowing an organization to grow and flourish, as well as inspiring and motivating those he or she oversees to do the same. A Leader has the ability and almost the reflex action to surface when it is time for a difficult task to be accomplished or a difficult decision to be made. Leadership may be a type of management but a manager is not always a leader. “Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible.”
The importance of servant leadership should not be underestimated and it can be simplified and embodied in one timeless phrase: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. When applied to leadership the result can be phenomenal. Those who wish to serve do so with their hearts, it is not forced nor is it with resentment. The servant leader serves out of acceptance and ownership of their ability and duty.
purpose for this book is dual. First goal is clearly defining servant leadership and second one is
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.
Many definitions exist on what leadership is. Despite the many differences in definitions, they all describe the leader as someone who influences others. Leaders transform individuals around them allowing them to work to their full potential. In order for a leader to be successful they must be knowledgeable, self- confident, and effective communicators. These characteristics will create a positive workplace environment that results in an increase in productivity. Leadership is not defined by titles or salary. Leaders must acquire their skills and continue to improve on them through learning. Good leaders provide a vision and help motivate others to make that vision happen. The leader must be effective and successful in creating a strong institution.
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
In order to be able to understand what makes an effective leader, it is first essential to understand what leadership is. There are many varying perceptions about the concept of leadership. Different types of leadership focus on different principles that range from the character traits of the leader to the change the leader brings. However, at its core all types of leadership consist of the following components: a process between the leader and followers, influence, and a
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
The servant-leadership concept continues to grow in its influence and impact. In fact, it has been witnessed of an unparalleled explosion of interest and practice of servant-leadership. In several ways, it can truly be said that the times are only now beginning to catch up with Robert Greenleaf’s visionary call to servant-leadership. The purpose of this literature review paper is to understand the effectiveness of Greenleaf’s “servant-leadership” philosophy. Through motivation to lead, a need to serve, and empowering and developing people. This is caused by displaying and expressing a positive attitude, humility, a trust for others, fairness, and social responsibility that focuses on helping organizations become stronger on a corporate
In order to try and answer such a question it is necessary to first understand what it means to be a servant-leader. Robert K. Greenleaf (1977) suggests that “the servant-leader is servant first. It begins with the feeling that one wants to serve. Then the conscious choice brings one to lead…The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being met” (p. 22). This is ...
The servant-leadership theory does not place the leader above the followers. It rather puts the attention of the leader on emphasizing the concerns of the followers, empathizing with them and nurturing them (Northouse, 2013). This theory focuses on the followers first. The leader must empower those he/she is serving so that the person can reach their full potential. The leader focuses on the greater good of the group. Northouse (2013) explains that Greenleaf identified 10 characteristics that are central to the development of servant-leadership. The ten characteristic include listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, and building community. Following these characteristics we can begin to explain the servant leadership role in a relationship.
To be a leader you need to be able to inspire others, get people motivated, and set an example to other people. A leader needs to do all of these because if one of these aspects fails people don’t look at the leader...
As a servant leader the upmost important characteristic is being selfless and self-aware. As a servant leader one uses the knowledge of people’s legitimate needs to build influence and authority with them (Hunter, 2012). Also by being a selfless leader one is treating and acting in a manner that they would want others to act and putting their wants and needs aside to create a strong bond while listen to the concerns of others. The 10 essential practices of servant leadership are listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of the people, and building a community (Mueller, 2011). Just think if all the leaders in the world used servant leadership with the core being selflessness how much more peaceful of a world we would live in. People often get themselves a negative persona with the public when they are serving themselves before others. In a world that is so self-absorbed the principle of being selfless and self-aware, especially in a position of authority is simply
Servant Leadership means to serve others and to lead. It puts everyone else first teaching to put others before yourself, with this leading qualities emerge. Just being or having leadership qualities doesn’t always work. Most leadership models show possessive towards the better for themselves, some work out while others don’t, mostly I think because the unwillingness to see others before yourself is a hard concept for some to understand and use. You can be a great leader but if you don’t understand servant qualities or serve for the benefit of others your probley not much liked. Most I don’t think know what Servant Leadership is or means, I didn’t until this course opened it up to me.
Servant leadership can be implemented in profit and bottom-line organization. For the success of any company that implements servant leadership, they must first walk the walk they are presenting. First, an individual must want to serve. A business must ensure that others such as customers needs are a priority. I truly believe in a business or service a company must ensure the growth and the well being of the customer are satisfied. If the company is putting the need of the customer first the leadership is developing their followers or employees, which allow the employee the performance at a high level. This leadership empowers and make the individual feel as a partner rather than just an employee. According to Coetzer, Bussin, & Geldenhuy