Servant leadership requires a divine understanding of self, the task at hand, and the environment. A servant leader is someone who is a servant first, and wants to contribute to the well-being of people in the community. A servant leader looks to the needs of the community and asks them how they assist with solving problems and promoting personal development. Servant leaders place their main focus on people, because only happy, driven people are able to reach their goals and fulfill their expectations. Greenleaf and Spears both believe that servant leaders are those who think of others first and do what they think will better the community. “The servant-leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve. Then …show more content…
He is the true definition of a servant leader. We all try to live a certain way so that we live right by him and we want to be a servant leader too. We want to love others so much that we would sacrifice everything for them to have a chance at a better more fulfilling life. That’s what Jesus did. He gave his life to give us the ones we have known. He took away all our sins. He did not once think of himself he only thought of us. Jesus was a kind, loving, caring, generous, giving, and courageous man. He stood up for what he believed and he did not force anyone to follow him he spoke his truths and persuade them to follow. He is the true image of what a servant leader should …show more content…
I like them both but would most defiantly have to go with the biblical model. I say this one because like I stated before Jesus is the true definition of a servant leader. He set the way for what we see and explain to be as a servant leader so why not stay with the way I’ve always seen it. I do like all of Greenleaf and Spears characteristics though. They are very similar to those that were portrayed by Jesus and there are not many differences. To sum up, I think Spears did a great job with his characteristics but I think Jesus and the biblical model is the ultimate model for a servant leader. To conclude, servant leaders are those who work to make a difference in the lives of others. They want to make an impact somewhere and hope to help others grow and become successful. Not all people act as servant leaders but most of us all have the characteristics within to become a true servant
Several traits and abilities contribute to the making of the servant leader and are discussed with equal importance in the essay. However there are some that seem to stand out more than others, not only as advice to leaders but also as advice in living a high quality life.
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.
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
Servant leadership is a philosophy and practice of leadership defined by Robert Greenleaf, Greenleaf work for AT&T for many years studying management and education. All along, Greenleaf felt that the power centered authoritarian leadership way used a lot in the United States was not working. Servant leaders achieve results for their group by giving priority attention to the needs of their colleagues and those they serve. Leaders who use this philosophy are usually humble stewards of the organization the take part in.
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 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.
Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leadership: a journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. New York: Paulist Press.
The notion of a servant as a leader or “servant-leadership” has come to be known, and is purposefully in nature. It is a unique style of leadership ideology which flows against the grain of self-interest human behavior. The main idea of servant-leadership should be typical a hierarchy where employees serve their bosses. In contrast, leaders serve their people. This is the the foundation for leaders to lead others effectively. According to Greenleaf (1998), “the need for a better approach to leadership, one that puts serving others—including employees, customers, and community—as the number one priority. Servant-leadership emphasizes increased service to others, a holistic approach to work, promoting a sense of community, and the sharing of power in decision making.” Servant-leadership’s management philosophy help leads and inspire others to achieve superior organizational
Servant Leadership is a way of life, serving others first, it is not just a leadership technique. “Servant leadership is a leadership philosophy which addresses the concerns of ethics, customer experience, and employee engagement while creating a unique organizational culture where both leaders and followers unite to reach organizational goals without positional or authoritative power” (Carter & Baghurst, 2014, p.1). As stated by Ann McGee-Cooper “anyone could lead perfect people, if there were any.” The challenge “is to learn to develop the imperfect people who we all are” (as cited in Spears, 1995, p.59). A leader who adopts the Servant Leadership philosophy looks like a part of the team, patient and caring, not someone directing
Wilkes, C. G. Jesus on Leadership: Timeless Wisdom on Servant Leadership. Carol Stream, Illnois: Tyndale House, 1998.
In short, leaders who are servant oriented must encourage the development of employees to be responsible for their actions and reward them for taking on leadership roles in the areas of their work and for their personal development. By maintaining an open atmosphere that empowers employees, a servant leader is, in effect, showing that those who work for the organization are more than simply inferior and replaceable people. It can engender a feeling of belonging and value and they are vital to the success of the company, school or
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.