Leadership Qualities | Leadership as a Servant

The phrase “Servant Leadership” was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. However, the idea of servant leadership goes far beyond contemporary ideas of leadership and stretches as far back as the times of the Bible and the person of Jesus Christ Himself. While there are many different styles of leadership, servant leadership shifts the focus of the leader. While other styles, such as authoritarian, or leadership through delegation focus primarily on the leader, servant leadership has it roots and primary focus on the people within the organization. From a Biblical standpoint, servant leadership looks like this:

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
New Living Translation (©2007)

Is there truly any benefit of putting people first? Are there any dangers with serving the people you are tasked to lead? This article will explore some of the more important components of servant leadership. However, a clear and more focused discussion of this topic can be found in Return to Greatness: Driving the American Dream.

Leadership | Servants Must Have Confidence

“Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.”
Peter T. Mcintyre

Most leaders shy away from servant leadership because of the word “servant.” To many, this term carries a negative connotation. Servants are typically looked at as those having a master. The servant is the one dictated to, the one told to complete a task. The servant can also be viewed as an individual of menial importance. In order for one to truly grasp the greatness of servant leadership, this old paradigm of thinking needs to be discarded in order to embrace the benefits of putting people first.

Be confident in your leadership and personality. If you know you are the leader, chances are your followers do to. Many leaders rule with an “iron fist” out of an unnecessary fear to show others who is boss. While in certain cases this can prove very effective, the downside is that your followers may or may not see you as approachable, or one in whom they can confide in times of pressure or uneasiness. Use your position of leadership not primarily as a way to get your agenda accomplished, but also as a way to build rapport with your followers. Servant leaders show equal (or about equal) priority in the person as well as his/her production. This quite often builds confidence and calm within your organization, which creates an atmosphere that produces results. Try it!

Leadership | Servants are People Focused

Let’s face it. You may have the greatest ideas to take your organization to the next level. You may even have a clear concise plan on how to turn your intangible vision into reality. However, without the right people, your goals may never be realized. For this very reason, servant leaders place a high priority in the individual, not only on the product. Being a servant leader doesn’t mean you give into the demands or ideas of your followers. Quite the contrary. Being a servant leader means you guide your followers to the desired result by growing and nurturing their skills and abilities. In this light, the word “servant” is not associated with “slave” but “service.” This is where leaders have the opportunity to become personal. Production peaks because people… Leadership Books Return to Greatness Read more of how Henry Ford used the principle of servant leadership to build one of greatest automotive companies of our time and help build the American Dream.

“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”
-Henry Ford

Leadership | Servants Must act Selflessly

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.
-Harry S. Truman

If there is any quote more true about the nature of servant leadership, this would be it. As a lifelong teacher in the school system as well as other capacities, I have found that we as a individuals love recognition. Sometimes regonition so drives us, that we accomplish a great deal, sometimes things we never would have even imagined. Please understand, there is nothing wrong with those who give, or recieve such accolades and I am a firm believer that those who do great things need to be acknowledged. However, in the true spirit of servant leadership, the growth of the people in your organiztion eclipeses the need to be self gratified.

Leadership must understand that growth is recipricol and exponential. A leader is only one person. A leader can only put thier hands, ears, time, and focus in only so many places at one time. A leader who recognizes these limitations is the leader which has acquired much strength. How much more could you accomplish if you surround yourself with others that share your vision of the future? Imagine the progress you would have if you treated those in your leadership team not as pawns, but partners. Adults, within themselves, are sometimes like children. We still seek acceptance and fulfillment. On many occasions, this is tied to our accomplishments, and the recognition we receive for doing them. If you are a confident leader you will acknowledge this reality and develop a leadership team that works for you because they can see that you are there for them. No matter what happens, and how great the accomplishment, it will still be your leadership team, and the members will never cease to thank you, or let others know that thier success is due to your leadership. Try it!

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