Servant Leadership

When we talk about leadership, we refer to people who motivate, influence, and build up relationships, based on trust, respect, and integrity. Servant leaders are people who serve first. So what is Servant leadership? Servant leader ship is â€Å"when people lead at a higher level, they make the world a better place, because their goals are focused on the greater good† (Blanchard, 2010, p. 261). For example, educators are visionaries who help attain goals, instill value, and develop potential leaders.Educators assist in strengthening and developing the mind and body, so individuals an apply their talents and become great servant leaders in the areas of healing, educating, and inspiring. Around two thousand years ago, Jesus, an educator, exemplified the fully committed and effective servant leader (Blanchard, 2010, IPPP). John C. Maxwell (2007) mentions that Apostle Paul used Jesus as the ultimate example of servant leadership (p. 1472).The book of Philippians, chapter two vers es two through eleven (Philippians 2:2-11, New King James Version), discussed how Paul encourages his audience to be humble and live selflessly; he reminds them of how Christ was the ultimate leader who made the ultimate sacrifice (Maxwell, 2007, p. 1473). Maxwell (2007) goes on to say that Jesus stepped through six levels as He moved downward toward us; he gave up His divine form, He emptied Himself of any rights, He became a man, He became a servant, He was obedient to the point of death, and He died a terrible kind of death (p. 473). Basically, one could say that Jesus relinquished the glory that He had due to the fact that he was deity and He lacked recognition and glory to/by unbelievers while He was on earth. He also took he form of a servant by becoming as a servant to man and He appeared in the form of man so that He could die for our sins. Jesus illustrated true humility in action by humbling himself and becoming obedient unto death which resulted in the humility that He di splayed in willingly going to the cross to accomplish the will of our Father. According to John C.Maxwell (2007), Jesus displayed humility in coming to earth, emptying Himself and assuming the position of a man, taking the form of a abandonment, and by becoming mortal and dying (crucifixion) (p. 1470). Apostle Paul lams that all effective leaders must live such a selfless life and that Jesus is an example of what servant leadership actually is (Maxwell, 2007, p. 1470). In a 1970 essay Robert Greengage states that servant leaders are servants first and leaders later (Degrade, Tillie, & Neal, 2001). Ken Blanchard states leadership has two parts, â€Å"vision and implementation. The visionary role is the leadership aspect of servant leadership and implementation is the servant aspect of servant leadership (Blanchard, 2010 p. 262). In the visionary role, leaders must communicate the session values and beliefs the organization stands for and how organizational values encompass the indiv idual value of its members (Blanchard, 2010, p. 262). Once people are clear on where they are going, the task of implementation kicks in. It answers the question, â€Å"How do you make the vision happen† (Blanchard, 1991)?The biggest thing leaders need in order to become a servant leader is to get their egos out of the way. Leaders who are self-serving see themselves as the center of the feel good about their self and will either hide and hope that no one notices them ND/or overcompensate and go out to try to control their environment (Blanchard, 2010, p. 274). On the other hand, servant leaders usually have high self-esteem and have no problem giving credit to others. They want to help their people achieve their goals through teaching and coaching individuals to do their best; they achieve this through developing certain characteristics.The ten major characteristics of servant leadership are: listening, empathy, healing relationships, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization , foresight, stewardship, commitment to human resource placement, and commitment to building community (Nab, 2011). Without being knowledgeable of your talents, you cannot move forward without failure. Knowledge is control and great leadership starts with direction. Strengths of Servant Leadership The strengths of servant leadership includes self-awareness, morals, concern for others, and simplicity (Four Needed Strengths, 2011, p. ); all of which has its contributions to organizational development. Self-awareness is vital to servant leadership. Individuals already have the influence of cultural concepts of leadership resent in their lives so being self-aware of those influences will help the individual to combat them. According to Four Needed Strengths (201 1), servant leaders need to take the time to listen not only to themselves but to others as well; they must take the time to peel the layers back of their character to know who they are and what they stand for (p. 1) which takes me to the next strength, morals.Morals tie heavily with self-awareness and any leader needs to have morals and a strong sense of ethics (Four Needed Strengths, 2011, p. 1). The ethics, morals, values, creditability, and integrity that one possesses should drive their actions and how they lead but without them, large shadows will impact how they lead. The next strength is concern for others. Having concerns for others is about putting the need of others before your own needs. Servant leadership is about serving others over self-interest so servant leaders are less likely to practice self-serving behaviors which are behaviors that hurt others.Four Needed Strengths (2011) noted, â€Å"If you want to take servant leadership seriously you must first have concern for the needs of those that you lead with a servant's heart (p. 1). The last strength that I'm going to discuss is simplicity. Since the goal of servant leadership is to serve others that should be the main shared vision for ev eryone who is doing it. According Four Needed Strengths (201 1), by keeping it simple you can navigate back to the shared vision goal; keeping the aim simple and focused (p. 1).Instead of the traditional leadership style of dominating subordinates, servant leadership empowers subordinates and inspires them to perform; it places great importance on teamwork and building relationships. It also contributes to the all-around development of the employees. The servant leader remains patient, is forgiving, and always looks for the good in others (Nab, 2011). Again, this contributes to the all-around development of the employees. Weakness of Just as we have strengths in the belief of servant leadership, there are also weaknesses that we should stay away from.To be a servant leader and have no sense of direction or integrity is purposeless and a weakness. Sadly, a servant leader doesn't always lead by example, and many people are not influence by their purpose, of being a servant leader, you want understand the direction in which you must go as leader. The decision to act with selfishness, in fear, or without compassion is another weakness. It remains to be seen whether mankind can avoid the negative impact of rebellious individuals who refuse to be servant people.Some critics would argue that servant leadership has a too soft approach and unsuited for a competitive environment. They feel that serving leads to a situation where accountability or responsibility gets diluted. Others feel that when the company is faced with issues of downsizing, servant leadership would fall flat on its face because servant adhering thrust on human resource development. All members may not be on board with the commitment to building community among the team members and would prefer personal lives and work separate (Nab, 2011). Servant Leadership Servant Leadership What is it? The phrase â€Å"Servant Leadership† was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as a Leader, an essay he first published in 1970 (â€Å"What is servant,† ). The servant leader serves first, while aspiring to lead second. The servant leader serves the people that he or she leads, implying employees are an end in themselves rather than a means to organizational purpose or bottom-line. Servant leadership is meant to replace a command and control, top-down, model of management. Servant leadership encourages collaboration, trust, foresight, listening, and the ethical use of power and empowerment.A few famous examples of servant leaders are George Washington, Gandi and Caesar Chavez. Key Principles In a publication released by Nova Southeastern University, 10 principle characteristics were identified of servant leadership (â€Å"Leadership development -,† 2007). 1. Listening Listening skills are vital for all leadership styles. Serv ant leaders make a deep commitment to intently listen to others. They seek to identify the will of a group or individual and listen to what is being said. 2. Empathy It is important to understand and have compassion for others.People need to feel accepted and recognized for their unique qualities. Leaders must assume the good intentions and not reject them as people. 3. Healing Learning to heal is a powerful force for transformation and integration. A greatest strength of servant leaders is the potential to heal one’s self and others. 4. Awareness General awareness, especially self-awareness, strengthens the servant leaders. 5. Persuasion Leaders rely on persuasion rather than positional, authoritative, decision making. Seeking to convince others, rather than coerce, is a goal of the leader. 6. Conceptualize Dreaming great dreams† is an ability that must be self-nurtured in a leader. The ability to look at a quandary from a conceptualizing perspective means a leader mus t think beyond everyday realities. Leaders must seek balance conceptualization and day to day focus. 7. Foresight Foresight enables a leader to capitalize on lessons learned from the past, realities of the present and a likely outcome of a decision. 8. Stewardship Greenleaf’s view of all institutions was one in which CEO’s, staff, directors and trustees all play significant roles in holding institutions in trust for the greater good of society. . Commitment to the Growth of People Leaders believe people have an intrinsic value beyond tangible contributions as workers. As a result, genuine interest in the spiritual, professional and personal growth of all employees is demonstrated. 10. Building Community Leaders seek to identify a means for building a sense of community among those who work in a given institution. Differences from Other Styles In the approach on general leadership characteristics, the fundamental difference is authentic leaderships strive to be â€Å"r eal†, whereas servant leaders strive to be â€Å"right. Servant leadership is a style that lays down a set of characteristics that all leaders are supposed to emulate to attain success, and tries to shape the character and personality of the leader. On the other hand, authentic leaders tend to rely on their own unique set of experiences and style that has been learned and developed throughout their career. The main difference between servant and authentic styles, when applying into practice, is the serving of others. One of the primary applications is to give priority to the interest of others.Servant leaders exercise their duty by fulfilling needs, aspirations and duties of those in their organization. Authentic leaders don’t put much emphasis in responding to the needs or desires of others. Servant leaders’ style recommends listening, persuading, and empathy when approaching difficult situations, even in times of crisis. Authentic leaders are proactive and ada pt their style to the situation. These leaders can be inspiring in one situation and tough about people related issues in another (Nayab, 2010). Strengths/Weaknesses (Nayab, 2011) Strengths 1. Contribution to organizational development.Leaders proactively set the way, and will inspire subordinates to perform by empowering them to follow. Such inspiration leads to collective efforts, creating a synergy. 2. Contribution to the all-around development of the employee. The leader helps employees attain physical and intellectual vitality and fitness, allowing them to lead balance lives. 3. Servant leadership’s value based approach helps organizations in the business environment where values, empowerment, and commitment play a big role in success. Weaknesses 1. The soft approach does not fit well into a competitive environment.Servant leaders may lag behind those other styles better suited for a competitive environment. Accountability and responsibility may get diluted. 2. Does not always work or resolve issues related to employee-organization fit. A primary function of all leaders is to match candidates with organization objectives. Servant leaders put the individual’s goals/needs as the primary concern. 3. Building a sense of â€Å"community† among team members may not fit well for all members. Many wish not to share personal lives or aspirations with others at work. Personal ReflectionServant leadership may apply best in certain situations such as politics or association management. But in its purest theory, I am not convinced servant leadership is a practical leadership style 100% of the time, for any type of business. It does have many qualities that I agree with, and practice a large extent of the time. For example, I view everyone I work with as a customer. I see it as my responsibility to help them achieve success in their role. It is my duty to provide them with every resource needed in order to succeed, and it is their duty to tell me w hat they need.Sometimes, that includes a holistic approach, and sometimes it is as simple as acquiring a printer for them. I tread lightly when personal life problems present themselves, however. I will assist in providing direction for an employee to get the help they need, such as an EAP program, or a Pastor in our ministry development initiative. On the other hand, it is also my duty to provide corrective action, redirection, or other forms of performance feedback when employees stray from goals, objectives, vision, mission or values. As I mentioned, a part of my management style is to serve the needs of subordinates.I can’t deny it isn’t entirely for unselfish reasons. I use it as a motivational tactic to achieve positive outcomes. However, I am sincere in my communications in order to build trust. Good managers put the needs of others ahead of their own. However, good managers cannot put subordinate needs ahead of customers, organizational needs or stakeholder nee ds. Blending all styles of leadership and adapting to unique situations or people will produce positive outcomes in the long run. However, it is my opinion holding true to only one style of leadership may cause problems for the organization, or an individual manager.References: 1. What is servant leadership?. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. greenleaf. org/whatissl/ 2. Leadership development – Servant Leadership. (2007, August 1). Retrieved from http://www. nova. edu/studentleadership/development/servant_leadership. html 3. Nayab, N. (2010, June 8). Servant leadership vs. authentic leadership: What are the differences?. Retrieved from http://www. brighthub. com/office/home/articles/73574. aspx 4. Nayab, N. (2011, May 25). Servant leadership theory – strengths and weaknesses. Retrieved from http://www. brighthub. com/office/home/articles/73511. aspx? cid=parsely_rec Servant Leadership Servant leadership is both a leadership philosophy and set of leadership practices. Traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the â€Å"top of the pyramid. † By comparison, the servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible. While servant leadership is a timeless concept, the phrase â€Å"servant leadership† was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970.In that essay, Greenleaf said: â€Å"The servant-leader is servant first†¦ It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions†¦The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them th ere are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.† â€Å"The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived? â€Å" Advantages †¢This concept is seen as a long-term concept to live and work and therefore has the potential to influence the society in a positive way.†¢The exemplary treatment of employees leads to an excellent treatment of customers by employees of the company and a high loyalty of the customers. †¢There is a high employee identification with the enterprise. †¢An excellent corporate culture is develo ped. †¢Leaders of a company define themselves by their significance to the people. †¢Servant Leadership can be used as a principle to improve the return on investment of staff, in all economic sectors. Managers who empower and respect their staff get better performance in return. Disadvantages†¢Servant Leadership is seen as a long-term application and therefore needs time for applying. †¢Lack of authority: Servant leadership can actually lead to a minimization of the authority of the subject manager and the overall management function in the business. When employees see their manager catering to their needs in an extreme manner, they are less likely to view him as an authoritative figure. If top management wants front-line mangers to push employees to better performance, it is difficult for the servant manager to step back into this role as a more dominant figure.†¢Demotivating: Servant leadership may lead to demotivation of employees, who then produce fewer results over time. It is comparable to a parent-child relationship in which the parent bails the child out of trouble by constantly stepping into to fix things or to do the work for the child. When employees believe their manager will step in to take care of any needs they have or to resolve issues that arise, they are more tempted to sit back and exert less effort in producing quality and put less thought into resolving issues or conflicts.†¢Limited vision: Leaders at all levels of a business are distinct from regular employees by their role of developing vision and providing direction. A manager needs to have some level of detachment from his employees so he can explore new opportunities, brainstorm ideas, resolve problems and formulate a picture on where his department, store or business is headed. Only by having this separation from employees can managers focus on vision and then step in to articulate the vision by providing direction to employees. Servant Leadership Servant Leadership What is it? The phrase â€Å"Servant Leadership† was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as a Leader, an essay he first published in 1970 (â€Å"What is servant,† ). The servant leader serves first, while aspiring to lead second. The servant leader serves the people that he or she leads, implying employees are an end in themselves rather than a means to organizational purpose or bottom-line. Servant leadership is meant to replace a command and control, top-down, model of management. Servant leadership encourages collaboration, trust, foresight, listening, and the ethical use of power and empowerment.A few famous examples of servant leaders are George Washington, Gandi and Caesar Chavez. Key Principles In a publication released by Nova Southeastern University, 10 principle characteristics were identified of servant leadership (â€Å"Leadership development -,† 2007). 1. Listening Listening skills are vital for all leadership styles. Serv ant leaders make a deep commitment to intently listen to others. They seek to identify the will of a group or individual and listen to what is being said. 2. Empathy It is important to understand and have compassion for others.People need to feel accepted and recognized for their unique qualities. Leaders must assume the good intentions and not reject them as people. 3. Healing Learning to heal is a powerful force for transformation and integration. A greatest strength of servant leaders is the potential to heal one’s self and others. 4. Awareness General awareness, especially self-awareness, strengthens the servant leaders. 5. Persuasion Leaders rely on persuasion rather than positional, authoritative, decision making. Seeking to convince others, rather than coerce, is a goal of the leader. 6. Conceptualize Dreaming great dreams† is an ability that must be self-nurtured in a leader. The ability to look at a quandary from a conceptualizing perspective means a leader mus t think beyond everyday realities. Leaders must seek balance conceptualization and day to day focus. 7. Foresight Foresight enables a leader to capitalize on lessons learned from the past, realities of the present and a likely outcome of a decision. 8. Stewardship Greenleaf’s view of all institutions was one in which CEO’s, staff, directors and trustees all play significant roles in holding institutions in trust for the greater good of society. . Commitment to the Growth of People Leaders believe people have an intrinsic value beyond tangible contributions as workers. As a result, genuine interest in the spiritual, professional and personal growth of all employees is demonstrated. 10. Building Community Leaders seek to identify a means for building a sense of community among those who work in a given institution. Differences from Other Styles In the approach on general leadership characteristics, the fundamental difference is authentic leaderships strive to be â€Å"r eal†, whereas servant leaders strive to be â€Å"right. Servant leadership is a style that lays down a set of characteristics that all leaders are supposed to emulate to attain success, and tries to shape the character and personality of the leader. On the other hand, authentic leaders tend to rely on their own unique set of experiences and style that has been learned and developed throughout their career. The main difference between servant and authentic styles, when applying into practice, is the serving of others. One of the primary applications is to give priority to the interest of others.Servant leaders exercise their duty by fulfilling needs, aspirations and duties of those in their organization. Authentic leaders don’t put much emphasis in responding to the needs or desires of others. Servant leaders’ style recommends listening, persuading, and empathy when approaching difficult situations, even in times of crisis. Authentic leaders are proactive and ada pt their style to the situation. These leaders can be inspiring in one situation and tough about people related issues in another (Nayab, 2010). Strengths/Weaknesses (Nayab, 2011) Strengths 1. Contribution to organizational development.Leaders proactively set the way, and will inspire subordinates to perform by empowering them to follow. Such inspiration leads to collective efforts, creating a synergy. 2. Contribution to the all-around development of the employee. The leader helps employees attain physical and intellectual vitality and fitness, allowing them to lead balance lives. 3. Servant leadership’s value based approach helps organizations in the business environment where values, empowerment, and commitment play a big role in success. Weaknesses 1. The soft approach does not fit well into a competitive environment.Servant leaders may lag behind those other styles better suited for a competitive environment. Accountability and responsibility may get diluted. 2. Does not always work or resolve issues related to employee-organization fit. A primary function of all leaders is to match candidates with organization objectives. Servant leaders put the individual’s goals/needs as the primary concern. 3. Building a sense of â€Å"community† among team members may not fit well for all members. Many wish not to share personal lives or aspirations with others at work. Personal ReflectionServant leadership may apply best in certain situations such as politics or association management. But in its purest theory, I am not convinced servant leadership is a practical leadership style 100% of the time, for any type of business. It does have many qualities that I agree with, and practice a large extent of the time. For example, I view everyone I work with as a customer. I see it as my responsibility to help them achieve success in their role. It is my duty to provide them with every resource needed in order to succeed, and it is their duty to tell me w hat they need.Sometimes, that includes a holistic approach, and sometimes it is as simple as acquiring a printer for them. I tread lightly when personal life problems present themselves, however. I will assist in providing direction for an employee to get the help they need, such as an EAP program, or a Pastor in our ministry development initiative. On the other hand, it is also my duty to provide corrective action, redirection, or other forms of performance feedback when employees stray from goals, objectives, vision, mission or values. As I mentioned, a part of my management style is to serve the needs of subordinates.I can’t deny it isn’t entirely for unselfish reasons. I use it as a motivational tactic to achieve positive outcomes. However, I am sincere in my communications in order to build trust. Good managers put the needs of others ahead of their own. However, good managers cannot put subordinate needs ahead of customers, organizational needs or stakeholder nee ds. Blending all styles of leadership and adapting to unique situations or people will produce positive outcomes in the long run. However, it is my opinion holding true to only one style of leadership may cause problems for the organization, or an individual manager.References: 1. What is servant leadership?. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. greenleaf. org/whatissl/ 2. Leadership development – Servant Leadership. (2007, August 1). Retrieved from http://www. nova. edu/studentleadership/development/servant_leadership. html 3. Nayab, N. (2010, June 8). Servant leadership vs. authentic leadership: What are the differences?. Retrieved from http://www. brighthub. com/office/home/articles/73574. aspx 4. Nayab, N. (2011, May 25). Servant leadership theory – strengths and weaknesses. Retrieved from http://www. brighthub. com/office/home/articles/73511. aspx? cid=parsely_rec