Servant-Leadership in a Power Thirsty Society

Servant-Leadership in a Power Thirsty Society

Sara Willard

Azusa Pacific University

I. Introduction

        Some of the biggest leaders in the world today are those who understand what it means to have served first. In this paper I will examine what it means to be a servant leader in a power thirsty society through ten different, developmental characteristics and how I plan on developing this in my own life and business.

“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?” – Robert K. Greenleaf

        The central meaning behind Greenleaf’s theory of the servant-leader is that a great leader holds experience as a servant to others, and that this service is central to his or her greatness as a leader to others. True leadership emerges from those whose primary motivation is a deep desire to help others (Spears, 2005). I just obtained a new position as the digital marketing coordinator for a large company in the retail industry. However, I started from the bottom and built up within the company and I feel that by using servant-leadership, I can bring a different type of leadership and cohesiveness to the organization as a whole.

II. Background

        The term servant-leadership was first coined in a 1970 essay by Robert K. Greenleaf (1904-1990), entitled The Servant as Leader (Spears, 2005). Greenleaf was a lifelong student of how things were accomplished within organizations. He spent a chunk of his life working for AT&T and as a consultant for a platform of major institutions. His overall want behind his theory of the servant-leader was to build a better, more caring society (Liden, 2014).

        The servant-leader concept continues to grow in its constant impact and influence among today’s society. A servant-leader, as Greenleaf puts, “has a social responsibility to be concerned about the ‘have-nots’ and those less privileged,” (Northouse, 2016. p. 226). The practice of servant-leadership has been witnessed for the past twenty-four years (Spears, 2005). Many would say that the concept is actually finally aligning with what Robert Greenleaf had initially intended. There are ten characteristics that play a central role the development of servant-leaders and they are:

Listening: Leaders are valued for their communication and decision-making skills. The deep listening to their followers reinforces these traits. A servant-leader should identify the will of the group and help clarify it.

Empathy: A servant-leader strives to understand and empathize with others. Individuals are special and unique, they should be recognized for those and that’s what a servant-leader does.

Healing: When it comes to transformation and integration, learning to heal is a very powerful force. A servant-leader is someone who can heal one as well as, others. Many people are emotionally broken and servant-leaders hold the opportunity to “help make whole”. Greenleaf has written, “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.”