Example of Servant Leadership

Example of Servant Leadership

Example of Servant Leadership

The following essay is on the example of a servant leader that will include the example of a successful leader, the advantages of using servant leadership, the disadvantages of using servant leadership, a discussion of how a servant leader has the increased or decreased likelihood of being a successful leader and a description of an activity that was witnessed and how it aligns with the research that was done on servant leadership activities.

The example of a successful leader was Jesus Christ, and there are many examples of how he served throughout the bible. Jesus Christ is identified as the first authentic servant leader in history. (Sendjaya& Sarros, 2002). (John 13:1-17 New International Versions (NIV) The gospel of John talks about, how Christ washed the feet of his disciples and how he advised them as their teacher, he provided them with an example on how to treat one another and their followers. In the book of Matthew Christ states “26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (20:26-28, New International Version) Christ teachings focus on demonstrating humility, compassion, wisdom, focus, and peacemaking (Kilroy, 2008).

The popularity of the teachings of Jesus became popular when the writings of Greenleaf came about in 1970. Greenleaf’s writing were based on his faith, and the experiences he had working at one of the largest telephone companies in the world (Greenleaf, 1977; Spears, 1995). Greenleaf had speculated that an individual could simultaneously be both a leader and a servant. Greenleaf had stated in his writings that Jesus Christ among other biblical figures, are the greatest servant leaders (Greenleaf, 1977). The servant leadership philosophy became very popular after these writings by Greenleaf and since then, there has been many additional books, research articles and lectures that have been written. The article, written by Kenneth E. Goodpastor, Work, Spirituality, the Moral Point of View, describes the concept of “Servant Leadership” as the buzz phrase that has continued throughout corporate America today.

The servant leadership philosophy of Robert K. Greenleaf, was based on his faith, and his experiences while working at a well-known telephone company. (Greenleaf, 1977; Spears, 1995). Greenleaf perceived that there is one individual that could simultaneously be both a leader and a servant. Though the foundation of the concept is associated to Greenleaf, he states Jesus Christ, amongst other biblical front