““Servant leaders lead with mind and heart .”

“The servant- leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.” - Robert K. Green leaf. Servant leadership is a philosophy and set of practices that enriches the lives of individuals, builds better organizations and ultimately creates a more just and caring world.

The Servant as Leader

While servant leadership is a timeless concept, the phrase “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:

“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 there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.

“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?“

A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. While traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid,” servant leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.

Servant leadership is a very social leadership style. It places the needs of others in high regard. Servant leaders address the responsibilities and relationships in society, organizations, and companies.

Servant leaders are constructive, persistent, and motivating. They are also the leaders who see complex, big pictures. They permeate all areas of our culture.

Servant leaders are focused on service to others. Servant leadership begins with a vision for providing a resource such as employment, public service or education and requires leaders to be optimists with empathy for people in many types of situations. Servant leaders identify complex problems and are able to implement workable solutions in a timely fashion by planning ahead. To invoke the words of American author Garrison Keillor, they “do good works.”

From initial project-planning stages to final implementation, servant leaders think about how they can best serve their community. The objective of serving others encapsulates every facet of their activities, from establishing healthy communities to building prosperous businesses and worthwhile public entities.

Servant leadership addresses the responsibilities and relationships between parents and children, educators and students, employees and customers, and investors and shareholders. It entails placing the needs of others at the forefront of every organization, institution, business, agency, department, and group.

Differences between servant leadership and other leadership styles

There are major differences between servant leadership and bureaucratic leadership. Servant leaders do the following:

• Serve followers, help them grow as individuals and cultivate future servant leaders
• Value the community, especially its less fortunate members
• Use commitment as a way to facilitate activities

In contrast, bureaucratic leadership style includes:

• Facilitating a strict top-down relationship of authority with followers
• Following a set, easily-reproducible structure
• Managing people who do repetitive tasks, like working on a manufacturing line or stocking shelves

History of servant leadership

This leadership style has a rich history in many cultures. Fifth-century Chinese philosopher and poet Lao-Tzu included passages relating to servant leadership in “Tao Te Ching,” one of the founding texts of Taoism. Ancient Indian teacher and philosopher Chanakya was one of the authors of the “Arthashastra,” which talks about servant traits. The Bible discusses servant leadership in the book of Mark. The Quran also emphasizes the value of servant leadership.

Robert Greenleaf is credited with coining the phrase “the servant as leader” and explaining it in detail through his written essay, “The Servant as Leader,” initially published in 1970. As he described the process, “It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.”

Greenleaf spent nearly four decades as director of management development at AT&T, where he played a central role in launching the company’s groundbreaking vocational situational judgment testing program for executives. When he retired in 1964, Greenleaf was considered one of the nation’s leading experts on corporate leadership development. “I concluded that we in this country were in a leadership crisis and that I should do what I could about it,” he wrote in the preface to a 1970 essay.

Examples of servant leadership

Some of the best-known altruistic leaders throughout society provided exceptional examples of servant leadership before it became a business model.

Ken Blanchard

Management author Ken Blanchard discusses servant leadership in many of his books. According to Blanchard, this style neatly incorporates the following servant traits:

• Selling: These are leaders who may create the roles and objective for others, but they are also open to suggestions and opinions. These leaders sell their ideas to others in order to gain cooperation.
• Participating: Leaders who pass the decision-making to their followers. Although they may participate in the decision make process, the ultimate choices are made by followers.

William C. Pollard

One way to view institutional servant leadership is through what ServiceMaster CEO William C. Pollard frequently referred to as an “inverted pyramid.” From Pollard’s perspective, effective organizations place individual employees at the top of the hierarchy.

Rev. Donald K. Muchow

Muchow was a rear admiral and Chief of Chaplains in the U.S. Navy. He recalled several mentors who taught him the importance of building character through self-improvement while recognizing the diverse cultures and faiths of everyone.

“It is clear to me there are essential elements of leadership that distinguish successful and effective chaplains,” Muchow said. “Above all, a chaplain must have a servant heart. Others have to come first… To be a good leader, you need to be a good servant and follower first.”

Servant leadership quotations

Servant leaders are frequently viewed in terms of how they transformed others, including organizations and entire nations. Through their accomplishments, they empowered others and created lasting change. Here are quotes from high-profile servant leaders:

Max De Pree: “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.”

Ken Blanchard: “Servant leadership is key to surviving and thriving in the 21st century.”

Dr. Albert Schweitzer: “I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.”

William C. Pollard: “Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable.”

Nelson Mandela: “I stand here before you not as a prophet, but as a humble servant of you, the people.”

Mahatma Gandhi: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

Servant leadership style requirements

To be a servant leader, an individual must possess or cultivate certain skills. Characteristics of exemplary servant leaders include the following:

• Listening: Listening intently to what others are saying, as well as understanding their meaning
• Empathy: Understanding people’s intentions and perspective
• Healing: Supporting people emotionally, mentally, and physically
• Self-awareness: Looking inside and being able to be introspective
• Persuasion: Using influence and persuasion to move mountains and get people’s willing cooperation
• Conceptualization: Visualizing the big picture and being able to move beyond day-to-day realities
• Foresight: Knowing what will happen in the future by learning from the past
• Stewardship: Taking responsibility for the actions and performance of your team
• Commitment to team growth: Committing to teaching and training staff and allowing them to learn
• Community building: Building a sense of oneness and wholeness in the organization

Listening leads the list because it is a crucial yet frequently absent trait in natural leaders who are self-oriented rather than devoted to service. “A true natural servant automatically responds to any problem by listening first,” Greenleaf wrote. “True listening builds strength in other people.”

Personal qualities of effective servant leaders

In addition, there are many personal qualities a servant leader must develop throughout his or her career. Here are three examples.

Constructive

Servant leaders are constructive, self-actualizing, transformative types. To borrow a nautical concept, they can turn large ships around. Because they are visionaries – perhaps in spite of their lofty ideals – servant leaders are mindful of what it takes to change direction, chart a different course, and navigate unexplored waters.

Persistent

Servant leaders typically have overcome substantial obstacles in their own lives, often at a young age. Consequently, they possess the determination to meet demanding challenges throughout their careers. This characteristic inspires others to follow them. Whether they’ve overcome physical handicaps, financial setbacks or life-threatening illnesses, servant leaders turn adversity into wisdom and use it to motivate others to perform above their own perceived capabilities.

Motivating

Servant leaders surround themselves with good people, then motivate them to achieve greatness. Because servant leaders often have extremely ambitious plans, they are good delegators. Simply put: servant leaders don’t build dams, canals and bridges—they get them built.

Advantages and disadvantages of servant leadership

Like all styles of management, servant leadership has advantages and disadvantages.

Servant leadership pros

• Servant leaders build strong teams
• Excel at seeing the big picture
• Build excellent relationships and rapport with workers
• Personify a style of leadership that creates a high degree of loyalty from followers
• Bind people together with trust and encourage high levels of engagement
• Define success by their service to followers

Servant leadership cons

• Seen as a long-term strategy that depends on building trust and loyalty in order to get the most from workers, which often takes time
• Not the leadership style of choice in companies that are in need of structure and a high degree of organization to survive
• Not a good style for companies that need to be turned around very fast

Benefits of servant leadership

The Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership points to Ann McGee-Cooper and Duane Trammell as contemporary experts who expand on the theme of inspiring others. The authors of “Focus on Leadership” conclude that servant leaders exhibit these five practices:

• Listening without judgment
• Being authentic, open and accountable
• Building community and showing appreciation
• Sharing power
• Developing people

Servant Leadership and Character The servant-leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. The best test 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? (Greenleaf, 1977/2002, p. 27)

With that definition in 1970, retir ed AT&T executive Robert K. Greenleaf (1904-1990) coined the term servant leadership and launc hed a quiet revolution in the way in which we view and practice leadership. Three decades later the concept of servant leadership is increasingly viewed as an ideal leadership form to which untold numbers of people and organizations aspire. In fact, we are witn essing today an unparalleled explosion of interest in, and practice of, servant leadership. We are experiencing a rapid shift in many businesses and not-for-profit organizations—away from the more traditional autocratic and hierarchical models of leadership and toward servant leadership as a way of being in relationship with others. Servant leadership seeks to i nvolve others in decision making, is strongly based in ethical and caring behavior, and enhances the growth of workers while improving the caring and quality of organizational life. The words servant and leader are usually thought of as being opposites. In deliberately bringing those words together in a meaningful way, Robert Greenleaf gave birth to the paradoxical term servant leadership. In the years since then, many of today’s most creative thinkers are writing and speaking about servant leadership as an emerging leadership paradigm for the 21st century. The list is long and in cludes: James Autry,Warren Bennis, Peter Block, John Carver, Stephen Covey, Max DePree, Joseph Jaworski,

• James Kouzes, Larraine Matusak, Parker Palmer , M. Scott Peck, Peter Senge, Peter aill, Margaret Wheatley, and Danah Zohar, to name but a few of today’s cutting-edgeleadership authors and advocates of se rvant leadership. In her groundbreaking ook on quantum sciences and leadership, Rewiring the Corporate Brain (1997), Zohar goes so far as to state that, “Servant-leadership is the essence of quantum thinking and quantum leadership” (

The Institution as Servant

Robert Green leaf recognized that organizations as well as individuals could be servant-leaders. Indeed, he had great faith that servant-leader organizations could change the world. In his second major essay, The Institution as Servant, Greenleaf articulated what is often called the “credo.” There he said:

“This is my thesis: caring for persons, the more able and the less able serving each other, is the rock upon which a good society is built. Whereas, until recently, caring was largely person to person, now most of it is mediated through institutions – often large, complex, powerful, impersonal; not always competent; sometimes corrupt. If a better society is to be built, one that is more just and more loving, one that provides greater creative opportunity for its people, then the most open course is to raise both the capacity to serve and the very performance as servant of existing major institutions by new regenerative forces operating within them.”

Thought Leaders in Servant Leadership

The servant leadership philosophy and practices have been expressed in many ways and applied in many contexts. Some of the most well-known advocates of servant leadership include Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Peter Senge, M. Scott Peck, Margaret Wheatley, Ann McGee-Cooper & Duane Trammell, Larry Spears, and Kent Keith.

The most common division of leadership styles is the distinction between autocratic, participative and laissez - faire leadership styles. The authoritarian style of leadership requires clearly defined tasks and monitoring their execution and results. The decision-making responsibility rests with the executive. In contrast to the autocratic, the practice of a participative leadership style involves employees in decision-making. More extensive tasks are delegated. The employees influence and responsibility increases. The laissez-faire style of leadership is negligible in practice.

Servant leadership can be most likely associated with the participative leadership style. The authoritarian leadership style does not correspond to the guiding principle. The highest priority of a servant leader is to encourage, support and enable subordinates to unfold their full potential and abilities. This leads to an obligation to delegate responsibility and engage in participative decision-making. In the managerial grid model of Blake and Mouton, the participative style of leadership is presented as the approach with the greatest possible performance and employee satisfaction. However, there is the question whether a leadership style can be declared as universal and universally applicable.Situational contexts are not considered.

The servant leadership approach goes beyond employee-related behavior and calls for a rethinking of the hierarchical relationship between leader and subordinates. This does not mean that the ideal of a participative style in any situation is to be enforced, but that the focus of leadership responsibilities is the promotion of performance and satisfaction of employees.

Unlike leadership approaches with a top-down hierarchical style, servant leadership instead emphasizes collaboration, trust, empathy, and the ethical use of power. At heart, the individual is a servant first, making the conscious decision to lead in order to better serve others, not to increase their own power. The objective is to enhance the growth of individuals in the organization and increase teamwork and personal involvement. A recent behavioral economics experiment demonstrates the group benefits of servant leadership. Teams of players coordinated their actions better with a servant leader resulting in improved outcomes for the followers (but not for the selfless leaders)

• This concept is seen as a long-term concept to life 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 developed.
• 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.

12 Principles of Servant Leadership

The following 12 characteristics of Servant Leadership have been identified by Larry Spears, CEO of the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. He views them as being critical to the development of servant leaders. These are by no means exhaustive. However, they serve to communicate the power and promise this concept offers.

1. Listening

Traditionally, leaders have been valued for their communication and decision making skills. Servant leaders must reinforce these important skills by making a deep commitment to listening intently to others. Servant leaders seek to identify and clarify the will of a group. They seek to listen receptively to what is being done and said (not just said). Listening also encompasses getting in touch with one’s inner voice, and seeking to understand what is being communicated.

2. Empathy

Servant leaders strive to understand and empathize with others. People need to be accepted and recognized for their special and unique spirit. One must assume the good intentions of employees /partners and not reject them as people, even when forced to reject or call into question their behavior or performance.

3. Healing

Learning to heal is a powerful force for transformation and integration. One of the great strengths of servant leadership is the potential for healing one’s self and others. In The Servant as Leader, Greenleaf writes, ― There is something subtle communicated to those being served and led if, implicit in the compact between the servant leader and led is the understanding that the search for wholeness is something that they have.”

4. Awareness

General awareness, and especially self - awareness, strengthens the servant leader. Making a commitment to foster awareness can be scary one never knows what one may discover. Greenleaf observed, ―Awareness is not a giver of solace –it’s just the opposite.”

Do others believe you have a strong awareness for what is going on? Servant leaders have a strong sense of what is going on around them. They are always looking for cues from their opinions and decisions. They know what’s going on and will rarely be fooled.

5. Persuasion

Servant - leaders rely on persuasion, rather than positional authority in making decisions. Servant - leaders seek to convince others, rather than coerce compliance. This particular element offers one of the clearest distinctions between the traditional author itarian model and that of servant - leadership. The servant - leader is effective at building consensus within groups.

6. Conceptualization

Servant-leaders seek to nurture their abilities to "dream great dreams." They have the ability to look at the organization, and any issues within the organization, from a conceptualizing perspective. This means the leader must think beyond day -to-day realities. Servant - leaders must seek a delicate balance between conceptualization and day - to - day focus.

7. Foresight

Foresight is a characteristic that enables servant - leaders to understand lessons from the ast, therealities of the present, and the likely consequence of a decision in the future. It is deeply rooted in the intuitive mind.

8. Stewardship

Servant leaders are often characterized by a strong sense of stewardship. Stewardship stems from medieval times when a steward would be assigned to hone the skills and development of the young prince to prepare him for his reign. A steward in an organization is responsible for preparing it for its destiny, usually for the betterment of society. When we describe a leader as having a strong sense of stewardship, we refer to a desire to prepare the organization to contribute to the greater good of society not unlike preparing the prince to serve the greater good of the kingdom.

9. Growth

Do employees believe that you are committed to helping them develop and grow? Servant leaders have a strong commitment to the growth of people. They believe that all employees have something to offer beyond their tangible contributions. Servant leaders work hard to help employees develop in a number of ways. Servant - leaders need to connect to others’ developmental needs and actively find ways to help them reach their true potential as employees.

10. Building Community

Do employees feel a strong sense of community? Servant leaders have a strong sense of community spirit and work hard to foster it in an organization. They believe the organization needs to function as a community and work hard to build community within. Servant - leaders are aware that the shift from local communities to large institutions as the primary shaper of humanity has changed our perceptions and caused a sense of loss. Servant - leaders seek to identify a means for building community among those who are part of the organization.

11. Calling

Do employees believe that you are willing to sacrifice self -interest for the good of the organization ? Servant leaders have a natural desire to serve others. This notion of having a calling to serve is deeply rooted and values -based. The servant leaders desire to make a difference for others within the organization and will pursue opportunities to make a difference and to impact the lives of employees, the organization an d the ommunity — never for their own gain.

12. Nurturing the Spirit-

JOY!! The servant leader is someone who understands the deep human need to contribute to personally meaningful enterprises. The servant -leader nurtures the individual’s spirit through honest praise and supportive recognition. Criticisms and suggestions are not personal or harsh. The joy of the work is celebrated through means that acknowledge the value of employees ’ commitment to worthwhile activities. The servant leader reminds employees to reflect on the importance of both the struggles and successes in the organization and learn from both.

Qualities of the Servant Leader

1: Values diverse opinions

2: Cultivates a culture of trust

3: Develops other leaders

4: Helps people with life issues

5: Encourages

6: Sells instead of tells

7: Thinks you, not me

8: Thinks long-term

9: Acts with humility

Leading With Others in Mind

At first blush, you may think a servant leader literally takes on the role of a servant. Taken to an extreme, that definition would look like this:

As you pull into work, the leader meets you at your car, opens your door, and welcomes you to the office. Maybe the leader gets you coffee mid-morning and drops by in the afternoon to see if you need anything. When you need assistance on a project, or maybe just someone to do the grunt work, there your leader is, waiting for you. No, that isn’t servant leadership.

  ““Servant leaders lead with others in mind.” -Skip Prichard

 Servant leadership is a blend and balance between leader and servant. You don’t lose leadership qualities when becoming a servant leader.

A servant leader is one who:

1. Values diverse opinions.

A servant leader values everyone’s contributions and regularly seeks out opinions. If you must parrot back the leader’s opinion, you are not in a servant-led organization.

 “Servant leaders regularly seek out opinions.” -Skip Prichard

 2. Cultivates a culture of trust.

People don’t meet at the water cooler to gossip. Pocket vetoes are rejected.

 “Servant leaders cultivate a culture of trust.” -Skip Prichard

3. Develops other leaders.

 The replication factor is so important. It means teaching others to lead, providing opportunities for growth and demonstrating by example. That means the leader is not always leading, but instead giving up power and deputizing others to lead.

 “Servant leaders give up power and deputize others to lead.” -Skip Prichard

4. Helps people with life issues (not just work issues).

It’s important to offer opportunities for personal development beyond the job. Let’s say you run a company program to lose weight, or lower personal debt, or a class on etiquette. None of these may help an immediate corporate need, but each may be important.

 “Servant leaders care about people’s lives, not just their jobs.” -Skip Prichard

5. Encourages.

The hallmark of a servant leader is encouragement. And a true servant leader says, “Let’s go do it,” not, “You go do it.”

 

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“The hallmark of a servant leader is encouragement.” -Skip Prichard

 6. Sells instead of tells.

A servant leader is the opposite of a dictator. It’s a style all about persuading, not commanding.

 

“Servant leaders sell and persuade where others command and control.” -Skip Prichard

 7. Thinks “you,” not “me.”

There’s a selfless quality about a servant leader. Someone who is thinking only, “How does this benefit me?” is disqualified.

 “Servant leaders think ‘you’ not ‘me’.” -Skip Prichard

8. Thinks long-term.

A servant leader is thinking about the next generation, the next leader, the next opportunity. That means a tradeoff between what’s important today versus tomorrow, and making choices to benefit the future.

 “Servant leaders sacrifice some today to develop more for tomorrow.” -Skip Prichard

9. Acts with humility.

The leader doesn’t wear a title as a way to show who’s in charge, doesn’t think he’s better than everyone else, and acts in a way to care for others. She may, in fact, pick up the trash or clean up a table. Setting an example of service, the servant leader understands that it is not about the leader, but about others.

“Servant leaders act with humility.” -Skip Prichard

“The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.” - Robert K. Greenleaf. Servant leadership is a philosophy and set of practices that enriches the lives of individuals, builds better organizations and ultimately creates a more just and caring world.

What kind of leader are you?????????