Servant Leadership Style

Instructions:
Servant Leadership Reflection
After reading the two assigned articles and viewing
the Anthony Perez video reflect on your feelings regarding servant
leadership including your past experiences with servant leadership. Do you
believe this is a form of leadership that is effective? Are there
times when it might not be effective?
This paper will be approximately 1 page in length
LINK FOR THE ANTHONY PEREZ VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md6monZNfyQ
FIRST ARTICLE ASSINED:
Practicing Servant-Leadership by
Larry Spears Leader to Leader, No. 34 Fall 2004 As many small trickles of
water feed the mightiest of rivers, the growing number of individuals and
organizations practicing servant-leadership has increased into a torrent,
one that carries with it a deep current of meaning and passion. Robert K.
Greenleaf ‘s idea of servant-leadership, now in its fourth decade as a
concept bearing that name, continues to create a quiet revolution in
workplaces around the world. Since the time of the Industrial Revolution,
managers have tended to view people as tools, while organizations have
considered workers as cogs in a machine. In the past few decades we have
witnessed a shift in that long-held view. In countless for-profit and
nonprofit organizations today we are seeing traditional, autocratic, and
hierarchical modes of leadership yielding to a different way of working–
one based on teamwork and community, one that seeks to involve others in
decision making, one strongly based in ethical and caring behavior, and
one that is attempting to enhance the personal growth of people while
improving the caring and quality of our many institutions. This emerging
approach to leadership and service began with Greenleaf. The term
servant-leadership was first coined by Greenleaf (19041990) in a 1970
essay titled “The Servant as Leader.” Since that time, more
than half a million copies of his books and essays have been sold
worldwide. Greenleaf spent most of his organizational life in the field
of management research, development, and education at AT&T. Following
a 40-year career at AT&T, Greenleaf enjoyed a second career that
lasted 25 years, during which time he served as an influential consultant
to a number of major institutions, including Ohio University, MIT, the
Ford Foundation, the R. K. Mellon Foundation, the Mead Corporation, the
American Foundation for Management Research, and the Lilly Endowment. In
1964 Greenleaf also founded the Center for Applied Ethics, which was
renamed the Robert K. Greenleaf Center in 1985 and is now headquartered
in Indianapolis. Slowly but surely, Greenleaf ‘s servant-leadership
writings have made a deep, lasting impression on leaders, educators, and
many others who are concerned with issues of leadership, management,
service, and personal growth. Standard practices are rapidly shifting
toward the ideas put forward by Greenleaf, as witnessed by the work of
Stephen Covey, Peter Senge, Max DePree, Margaret Wheatley, Ken Blanchard,
and many others who suggest that there is a better way to lead and manage
our organizations. Greenleaf’s writings on the subject of
servantleadership helped to get this movement started, and his views have
had a profound and growing effect on many people. Larry C. Spears has
served as president and CEO of the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for
ServantLeadership since 1990. He has edited or coedited nine books on
servantleadership, including “Practicing Servant-Leadership:
Succeeding Through Trust, Bravery, and Forgiveness,” on which this
article is based. He is senior editor of the Greenleaf Center’s quarterly
newsletter,”The Servant-Leader,” and series editor of the
Greenleaf Center’s contemporary essay series,”Voices of
Servant-Leadership.” What Is Servant-Leadership? The idea of the
servant as leader came partly out of Greenleaf’s half-century of
experience in working to shape large institutions. However, the event
that crystallized Greenleaf ‘s thinking came in the 1960s, when he read
Hermann Hesse’s short novel Journey to the East–an account of a mythical
journey by a group of people on a spiritual quest. After reading this
story, Greenleaf concluded that its central meaning was that the great
leader is first experienced as a servant to others, and that this simple
fact is central to the leader’s greatness. True leadership emerges from
those whose primary motivation is a deep desire to help others. In his
works, Greenleaf discusses the need for a better approach to leadership,
one that puts serving others–including employees, customers, and
community–as the number one priority. Servantleadership emphasizes
increased service to others, a holistic approach to work, promoting a
sense of community, and the sharing of power in decision making. The
words servant and leader are usually thought of as being opposites. When
two opposites are brought together in a creative and meaningful way, a
paradox emerges. So the words servant and leader have been brought
together to create the paradoxical idea of servant-leadership. Who is a
servant-leader? Greenleaf said that the servant-leader is one who is a
servant first. In “The Servant as Leader” he wrote, “It
begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.
Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. 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 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?” At
its core, servant-leadership is a long-term, transformational approach to
life and work–in essence, a way of being–that has the potential for
creating positive change throughout our society. Characteristics of the
Servant-Leader After some years of carefully considering Greenleaf ‘s
original writings, I have extracted the following set of characteristics
central to the development of servant-leaders: 1. Listening. Leaders have
traditionally been valued for their communication and decisionmaking
skills. While these are also important skills for the servant-leader,
they need to be reinforced by a deep commitment to listening intently to
others. The servant-leader seeks to identify the will of a group and
helps clarify that will. He or she seeks to listen receptively to what is
being said. Listening, coupled with regular periods of reflection, is
essential to the growth of the servant-leader. The great leader is first
experienced as a servant to others. Able leaders are usually sharply
awake and reasonably disturbed. 2. Empathy. The servant-leader strives to
understand and empathize with others. People need to be accepted and
recognized for their special and unique spirits. One assumes the good
intentions of coworkers and does not reject them as people, even if one
finds it necessary to refuse to accept their behavior or performance. 3.
Healing. One of the great strengths of servant-leadership is the
potential for healing one’s self and others. Many people have broken
spirits and have suffered from a variety of emotional hurts. Although
this is part of being human, servant-leaders recognize that they also
have an opportunity to “help make whole” those with whom they
come in contact. In “The Servant as Leader” Greenleaf writes:
“There is something subtle communicated to one who is being served
and led if implicit in the compact between servant-leader and led is the
understanding that the search for wholeness is something they
share.” 4. Awareness. General awareness, and especially
self-awareness, strengthens the servantleader. Awareness also aids one in
understanding issues involving ethics and values. It lends itself to
being able to view most situations from a more integrated, holistic
position. As Greenleaf observed: “Awareness is not a giver of
solace–it is just the opposite. It is a disturber and an awakener. Able
leaders are usually sharply awake and reasonably disturbed. They are not
seekers after solace. They have their own inner serenity.” 5. Persuasion.
Another characteristic of servant-leaders is a primary reliance on
persuasion rather than positional authority in making decisions within an
organization. The servantleader seeks to convince others rather than
coerce compliance. This particular element offers one of the clearest
distinctions between the traditional authoritarian 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.” The ability to look at
a problem (or an organization) from a conceptualizing perspective means
that one must think beyond day-to-day realities. For many managers this
is a characteristic that requires discipline and practice. Servant-leaders
are called to seek a delicate balance between conceptual thinking and a
day-to-day focused approach. 7. Foresight. Foresight is a characteristic
that enables the servant-leader to understand the lessons from the past,
the realities of the present, and the likely consequence of a decision
for the future. It is also deeply rooted within the intuitive mind.
Foresight remains a largely unexplored area in leadership studies, but
one most deserving of careful attention. 8. Stewardship. Peter Block has
defined stewardship as “holding something in trust for
another.” Robert Greenleaf ‘s view of all institutions was one in
which CEOs, staffs, and trustees all played significant roles in holding
their institutions in trust for the greater good of society.
Servant-leadership, like stewardship, assumes first and foremost a
commitment to serving the needs of others. It also emphasizes the use of
openness and persuasion rather than control. 9. Commitment to the growth
of people. Servant-leaders believe that people have an intrinsic value
beyond their tangible contributions as workers. As a result, the
servantleader is deeply committed to the growth of each and every
individual within the institution. The servant-leader recognizes the
tremendous responsibility to do everything possible to nurture the growth
of employees. 10. Building community. The servant-leader senses that much
has been lost in recent human history as a result of the shift from local
communities to large institutions as the primary shaper of human lives.
This awareness causes the servant-leader to seek to identify some means
for building community among those who work within a given institution.
Servant-leadership suggests that true community can be created among
those who work in businesses and other institutions. Greenleaf said:
“All that is needed to rebuild community as a viable life form for
large numbers of people is for enough servant-leaders to show the way,
not by mass movements, but by each servant-leader demonstrating his own unlimited
liability for a quite specific community-related group.” These ten
characteristics of servant-leadership are by no means exhaustive, but
they serve to communicate the power and promise that this concept offers
to those who are open to its invitation and challenge. The Growing Impact
of Servant Leadership Many individuals and organizations have adopted
servant-leadership as a guiding philosophy. For individuals it offers a
means to personal growth–spiritually, professionally, emotionally, and
intellectually. It has ties to the ideas of M. Scott Peck (The Road Less
Traveled), Parker Palmer (The Active Life), Ann McGee-Cooper (You Don’t
Have to Go Home from Work Exhausted!), and others who have written on
expanding human potential. A particular strength of servantleadership is
that it encourages everyone to actively seek opportunities to both serve
and lead others, thereby setting up the potential for raising the quality
of life throughout society. An increasing number of companies have
adopted servant-leadership as part of their corporate philosophy or as a
foundation for their mission statement. Among these are the Toro Company
(Minneapolis, Minnesota), Synovus Financial Corporation (Columbus,
Georgia), ServiceMaster Company (Downers Grove, Illinois), the Men’s
Wearhouse (Fremont, California), Southwest Airlines (Dallas, Texas), and
TDIndustries (Dallas, Texas). TDIndustries, one of the earliest
practitioners of servant-leadership in the corporate setting, is a
heating and plumbing contracting firm that has consistently ranked in the
top ten of Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work for in America.
The founder, Jack Lowe Sr., came upon “The Servant as Leader”
in the early 1970s and began to distribute copies of it to his employees.
They were invited to read through the essay and then to gather in small
groups to discuss its meaning. The belief that managers should serve
their employees became an important value for TDIndustries. Thirty years
later, Jack Lowe Jr. continues to use servant-leadership as the company’s
guiding philosophy. Even today, any TDPartner who supervises even one
person must go through training in servant-leadership. In addition, all
new employees continue to receive a copy of “The Servant as
Leader,” and TDIndustries has developed elaborate training modules
designed to encourage the understanding and practice of
servant-leadership. Servant-leadership has influenced many noted writers,
thinkers, and leaders. Max DePree, former chairman of the Herman Miller
Company and author of Leadership Is an Art and Leadership Jazz, has said,
“The servanthood of leadership needs to be felt, understood,
believed, and practiced.” And Peter Senge, author of The Fifth
Discipline, has said that he tells people “not to bother reading any
other book about leadership until you first read Robert Greenleaf ‘s
book, Servant-Leadership. I believe it is the most singular and useful
statement on leadership I’ve come across.” Servant-leadership is
also increasingly in use in both formal and informal education and training
programs. This is taking place through leadership and management courses
in colleges and universities, as well as through corporate training
programs. A number of undergraduate and graduate courses on management
and leadership incorporate servant-leadership within their syllabi.
Several colleges and universities now offer specific courses on
servant-leadership. In the world of corporate education and training
programs, many management and leadership consultants now employ
servant-leadership materials as part of their ongoing work with
corporations. Through internal training and education, organizations are
discovering that servant-leadership can truly improve how business is
developed and conducted, while still successfully turning a profit. A
Growing Movement Interest in the philosophy and practice of
servant-leadership is now at an all-time high. Hundreds of articles on
servant-leadership have appeared in various magazines, journals, and
newspapers over the past decade. Many books on the general subject of
leadership have been published that recommend servant-leadership as a
more holistic way of being. And there is a growing body of literature
available on the understanding and practice of servant-leadership. The
Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership (http://www.greenleaf.org/) is an
international nonprofit educational organization that seeks to encourage
the understanding and practice of servant-leadership. The Center’s
mission is to fundamentally improve the caring and quality of all
institutions through a servant-leader approach to leadership, structure,
and decision making. Life is full of curious and meaningful paradoxes.
Servant-leadership is one such paradox that has slowly but surely gained
hundreds of thousands of adherents over the past 35 years. The seeds that
have been planted have begun to sprout in many institutions, as well as
in the hearts of many who long to improve the human condition.
Servant-leadership is providing a framework from which many thousands of
known and unknown individuals are helping to improve how we treat those
who do the work within our many institutions. Servant-leadership truly
offers hope and guidance for a new era in human development, and for the
creation of better, more caring institutions. Print citation: Spears,
Larry C. “Practicing Servant-Leadership” Leader to Leader. 34
(Fall 2004)7-11

SECOND ARTICLE ASSIGNED:
Ten Characteristics of a Servant-Leader
1. Listening: Leaders have traditionally been valued for their communication and
decisionmaking skills. Although these are also important skills for the servant-leader,
they need to be reinforced by a deep commitment to listening intently to others. The
servant-leader seeks to identify the will of a group and helps to clarify that will. He or
she listens receptively to what is being said and unsaid. Listening also encompasses
getting in touch with one’s own inner voice. Listening, coupled with periods of reflection,
are essential to the growth and well-being of the servant-leader.
2. Empathy: The servant-leader strives to understand and empathize with
others. People need to be accepted and recognized for their special and unique spirits.
One assumes the good intentions of co-workers and colleagues and does not reject
them as people, even when one may be forced to refuse to accept certain behaviors or
performance. The most successful servant-leaders are those who have become skilled
empathetic listeners.
3. Healing: The healing of relationships 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 one’s relationship to others. Many people have
broken spirits and have suffered from a variety of emotional hurts. Although this is a part
of being human, servant-leaders recognize that they have an opportunity to help make
whole those with whom they come in contact. In his essay, The Servant as Leader,
Greenleaf writes,”There is something subtle communicated to one who is being served
and led if, implicit in the compact between servant-leader and led, is the understanding
that the search for wholeness is something they share.”
4. Awareness: General awareness, and especially self-awareness,
strengthens the servant-leader. Awareness helps one in understanding issues involving
ethics, power and values. It lends itself to being able to view most situations from a
more integrated, holistic position. As Greenleaf observed: “Awareness is not a giver of
solaceit is just the opposite. It is a disturber and an awakener. Able leaders are
usually sharply awake and reasonably disturbed. They are not seekers after solace.
They have their own inner serenity.”
5. Persuasion: Another characteristic of servant-leaders is a reliance on
persuasion, rather than on one’s positional authority, in making decisions within an
organization. The servant-leader seeks to convince others, rather than coerce
compliance. This particular element offers one of the clearest distinctions between the
traditional authoritarian model and that of servant-leadership. The servant-leader is
effective at building consensus within groups. This emphasis on persuasion over
coercion finds its roots in the beliefs of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)–the
denominational body to which Robert Greenleaf belonged.
6. Conceptualization: Servant-leaders seek to nurture their abilities to
dream great dreams. The ability to look at a problem or an organization from a
conceptualizing perspective means that one must think beyond day-to-day realities. For
many leaders, this is a characteristic that requires discipline and practice. The traditional
leader is consumed by the need to achieve short-term operational goals. The leader
who wishes to also be a servant-leader must stretch his or her thinking to encompass
broaderbased conceptual thinking. Within organizations, conceptualization is, by its very
nature, the proper role of boards of trustees or directors. Unfortunately, boards can
sometimes become involved in the day-to-day operations–something that should
always be discouraged–and, thus, fail to provide the visionary concept for an institution.
Trustees need to be mostly conceptual in their orientation, staffs need to be mostly
operational in their perspective, and the most effective executive leaders probably need
to develop both perspectives within themselves. Servant-leaders are called to seek a
delicate balance between conceptual thinking and a day-to-day operational approach.
7. Foresight: Closely related to conceptualization, the ability to foresee the
likely outcome of a situation is hard to define, but easier to identify. One knows foresight
when one experiences it. Foresight is a characteristic that enables the servant-leader to
understand the lessons from the past, the realities of the present, and the likely
consequence of a decision for the future. It is also deeply rooted within the intuitive
mind. Foresight remains a largely unexplored area in leadership studies, but one most
deserving of careful attention.
8. Stewardship: Peter Block (author of Stewardship and The Empowered
Manager) has defined stewardship as “holding something in trust for another.” Robert
Greenleaf’s view of all institutions was one in which CEO’s, staffs, and trustees all
played significant roles in holding their institutions in trust for the greater good of
society. Servantleadership, like stewardship, assumes first and foremost a commitment
to serving the needs of others. It also emphasizes the use of openness and persuasion,
rather than control.
9. Commitment to the growth of people: Servant-leaders believe that
people have an intrinsic value beyond their tangible contributions as workers. As such,
the servant-leader is deeply committed to the growth of each and every individual within
his or her organization. The servant-leader recognizes the tremendous responsibility to
do everything in his or her power to nurture the personal and professional growth of
employees and colleagues. In practice, this can include (but is not limited to) concrete
actions such as making funds available for personal and professional development,
taking a personal interest in the ideas and suggestions from everyone, encouraging
worker involvement in decisionmaking, and actively assisting laid-off employees to find
other positions.
10. Building community: The servant-leader senses that much has been
lost in recent human history as a result of the shift from local communities to large
institutions as the primary shaper of human lives. This awareness causes the
servantleader to seek to identify some means for building community among those who
work within a given institution. Servant-leadership suggests that true community can be
created among those who work in businesses and other institutions. Greenleaf said, “All
that is needed to rebuild community as a viable life form for large numbers of people is
for enough servant-leaders to show the way, not by mass movements, but by each
servant-leader demonstrating his or her unlimited liability for a quite specific communityrelated group.” These ten characteristics of servant-leadership are by no means
exhaustive. However, they do serve to communicate the power and promise that this
concept offers to those who are open to its invitation and challenge.

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