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'Servant leadership' is an approach to leadership development, coined and defined by Robert Greenleaf and advanced by several authors such as Stephen Covey, Peter Block, Peter Senge, Max De Pree, Margaret Wheatley, Ken Blanchard, and others. Servant-leadership emphasizes the leader's role as ''steward'' of the resources (human, financial and otherwise) provided by the organization. It encourages leaders to serve others while staying focused on achieving results in line with the organization's values and integrity.
The modern concept of Servant Leadership started with Robert Greenleaf, who published his essay, "The Servant as Leader" in 1970. This led to further essays from Greenleaf, and further works from others, especially in recent years.
However, the concept is thousands of years older than this. Chanakya or Kautilya, the famous strategic thinker from ancient India, wrote about servant leadership in his 4th century book Arthashastra. He clearly stated that ''"the king [leader] shall consider as good, not what pleases himself but what pleases his subjects [followers]"''. He argued that ''"the king [leader] is a paid servant and enjoys the resources of the state together with the people"''. The concept of servant leadership in the west can be traced back, at least partly, to Jesus, who taught his disciples that ''"You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."'' (Mark 10:42-45)
Servant Leadership is also the main principle concept behind the film, ''The Emperor's Club'', that shows the relation of a teacher and student after years of distinctive differences in their ambitions and philosophies on life. Servant Leadership in the film, teaches how "it is not living that is important, but living rightly". In such a context, ''The Emperor's Club'' clearly defines "right" and brings out its moral implications on a heavily mortalised world.
It differs from other leadership approaches by eschewing the common top-down hierarchical style, and instead emphasizing collaboration, trust, empathy, and the ethical use of power. At heart, the individual is a servant first, making the conscious decision to lead; his drive is to lead because he wants to serve better, not because he desires increased power. The objective is to enhance the growth of individuals in the organization and increase teamwork and personal involvement.
Critics might dismiss Servant leadership as yet another management fad to line consultants' pockets, but its proponents counter that the ideals underlying it are timeless (witness its description in chapter 17 of the Tao Te Ching, ca. 6th century B.C.), and the concept of Servant Leadership has been in development for over 40 years with involvement from AT&T and Harvard Business School.
Another criticism of servant leadership is its ties to religious groups and use to promote a religious agenda. Practitioners of servant leadership often hold an implicit belief that an employee's growth is specifically tied to the leader's spiritual world view. Because of this, some criticize servant leadership for what they perceive to be a lack of respect for the religious diversity of employees and for its patriarchal view of the role of males as the true leaders in any organization.
Some excellent examples of servant leaders in history are Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.
Several companies have based or incorporated servant leadership into their corporate culture, including 7-Eleven, Inc., Herman Miller, Toro Company, TDIndustries, Starbucks Coffee, Men's Warehouse, ServiceMaster, and others.
Numerous universities have had success implementing Servant Leadership programs on their campus.
★ Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI offers an MA in Servant Leadership. The only Master's degree in the world focused specifically on Servant Leadership, this program brings together people who aspire to leadership positions in church, community, and business.
★ Seton Hall University(South Orange, NJ) incorporates a strong servant leadership component into their students' education. The school has its own department dedicated towards the mission- The Center of Vocation and Servant Leadership. [1]
★ uses "educating Servant Leaders...." as a slogan.
★ Concordia University, Seward, a Lutheran Christian university in Nebraska, has incorporated servant leadership into its curriculum, under the slogan "Preparing servant leaders for church and world." Concordia students are required to take a servant leadership practicum in which they perform a 60 hour service project.
★ A servant leadership program was established by the Right Rev. Bishop Bennet Sims, the Episcopal Bishop of Atlanta, after retirement at Emory University in Atlanta. The school was subsequently moved to Hendersonville, North Carolina.
★ In 2004, a servant leadership program was established by the Milwaukee School of Engineering from an endowment by Dr. Richard Pieper, establishing MSOE as the first and only university with a chair position in servant leadership. The Pieper-Endowed Chair in Servant-Leadership is currently held by Dr. Samuel Scheibler.[2]
★ Concordia University, Irvine, a Lutheran Christian university in Southern California and sister school to Concordia, Seward (see above) has recently developed The Office of Servant Leadership, committed to helping others through various service opportunities. Since its implementation in 2006, students have participated in projects like trips to Mexico orphanages, house-building projects, Operation Christmas Child, and more through the Office of Servant Leadership.
★ Gonzaga University (Spokane, WA) has a strong program for a Master's in Organizational Leadership (offered on campus and online) which focuses on the philosophy and practice of Servant Leadership. Gonzaga also offers a PhD in Leadership Studies, which emphasizes servant leadership.
★ The mission statement of Southwest Baptist University includes the phrase, "...preparing students to be servant leaders in a global society." One of the four components of the honors program at Southwest Baptist University is servant leadership. The Master of Business Administration program contains a course entitled, "Organizational Behavior and Servant Leadership."
★ CEO Netweavers, a non-profit organization in Dallas Texas, has over 300 CEO/COO members whose vision is to transform business and enrich lives through servant leadership.
★ Quincy University, founded in 1860 by Franciscan friars, espouses servant leadership and seeks to promote "responsible stewardship and leadership" as stated in their philosophy. The university is located in Quincy, Illinois.
★ Stewardship
★ Open Source Committee
★ 360-degree feedback
★ List of management topics
★ at MeatballWiki
★ Trevor M. Hall, ed. ''Becoming Authentic: The Search for Wholeness and Calling as a Servant Leader'' (2007) ISBN 978-1-929569-36-6
★ Robert Greenleaf. ''Servant Leadership'' ISBN 0-8091-0554-3
★ Peter Block. ''Stewardship'' ISBN 1-881052-86-9
★ James Autry. ''The Servant Leader'' ISBN 1-400054-73-7
★ Larry Spears, ed. ''Reflections on Leadership'' ISBN 0-471-03686-2
★ Larry Spears, ed. ''Insights on Leadership'' ISBN 0-471-17634-6
★ Larry Spears, ed. ''Focus on Leadership'' ISBN 0-471-41162-0
★ Larry Spears & Michele Lawrence, ed. ''Practicing Servant-Leadership'' ISBN 0-7879-7455-2
★ James Hunter. ''the Servant'' ISBN 0-761513-69-8
★ James Hunter. ''The World's Most Powerful Leadership Principle'' ISBN 1-578569-75-3
★ Bruce E. Winston, ''Be a Leader for God's Sake'' ISBN 0-9725819-0-1
★ Ken Blanchard, ed., ''Lead Like Jesus''
★ The Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership
★ Servant Leadership Resources from the Master of Arts in Leadership program at Trinity Western University
★ Viterbo University's MA in Servant-Leadership
★ Article at Leadership Now
★ San Diego Leadership Initiative
★ "Practicing Servant-Leadership" by Larry Spears
★ Political Servant Leadership
★ Global Dharma Center/Center for Dharmic Leadership a not-for-profit organisation providing (free) articles, research publications and training modules on Culture Development, Individual/Organisation Transformation and, Serving and Leading from a spiritual context.
★ http://www.regent.edu/acad/sls/conferences/roundtable/home.htm Regent University's School of Global Leadership and Entrepreneurship holds a Servant Leadership Research Roundtable each year for folk to gather and discuss current servant leadership research. Online proceedings are available.
| Contents |
| Concept of Servant Leadership |
| Criticisms of Servant Leadership |
| Organizations Implementing Servant Leadership |
| See also |
| Further reading |
| External links |
Concept of Servant Leadership
The modern concept of Servant Leadership started with Robert Greenleaf, who published his essay, "The Servant as Leader" in 1970. This led to further essays from Greenleaf, and further works from others, especially in recent years.
However, the concept is thousands of years older than this. Chanakya or Kautilya, the famous strategic thinker from ancient India, wrote about servant leadership in his 4th century book Arthashastra. He clearly stated that ''"the king [leader] shall consider as good, not what pleases himself but what pleases his subjects [followers]"''. He argued that ''"the king [leader] is a paid servant and enjoys the resources of the state together with the people"''. The concept of servant leadership in the west can be traced back, at least partly, to Jesus, who taught his disciples that ''"You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."'' (Mark 10:42-45)
Servant Leadership is also the main principle concept behind the film, ''The Emperor's Club'', that shows the relation of a teacher and student after years of distinctive differences in their ambitions and philosophies on life. Servant Leadership in the film, teaches how "it is not living that is important, but living rightly". In such a context, ''The Emperor's Club'' clearly defines "right" and brings out its moral implications on a heavily mortalised world.
It differs from other leadership approaches by eschewing the common top-down hierarchical style, and instead emphasizing collaboration, trust, empathy, and the ethical use of power. At heart, the individual is a servant first, making the conscious decision to lead; his drive is to lead because he wants to serve better, not because he desires increased power. The objective is to enhance the growth of individuals in the organization and increase teamwork and personal involvement.
Criticisms of Servant Leadership
Critics might dismiss Servant leadership as yet another management fad to line consultants' pockets, but its proponents counter that the ideals underlying it are timeless (witness its description in chapter 17 of the Tao Te Ching, ca. 6th century B.C.), and the concept of Servant Leadership has been in development for over 40 years with involvement from AT&T and Harvard Business School.
Another criticism of servant leadership is its ties to religious groups and use to promote a religious agenda. Practitioners of servant leadership often hold an implicit belief that an employee's growth is specifically tied to the leader's spiritual world view. Because of this, some criticize servant leadership for what they perceive to be a lack of respect for the religious diversity of employees and for its patriarchal view of the role of males as the true leaders in any organization.
Some excellent examples of servant leaders in history are Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.
Organizations Implementing Servant Leadership
Several companies have based or incorporated servant leadership into their corporate culture, including 7-Eleven, Inc., Herman Miller, Toro Company, TDIndustries, Starbucks Coffee, Men's Warehouse, ServiceMaster, and others.
Numerous universities have had success implementing Servant Leadership programs on their campus.
★ Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI offers an MA in Servant Leadership. The only Master's degree in the world focused specifically on Servant Leadership, this program brings together people who aspire to leadership positions in church, community, and business.
★ Seton Hall University(South Orange, NJ) incorporates a strong servant leadership component into their students' education. The school has its own department dedicated towards the mission- The Center of Vocation and Servant Leadership. [1]
★ uses "educating Servant Leaders...." as a slogan.
★ Concordia University, Seward, a Lutheran Christian university in Nebraska, has incorporated servant leadership into its curriculum, under the slogan "Preparing servant leaders for church and world." Concordia students are required to take a servant leadership practicum in which they perform a 60 hour service project.
★ A servant leadership program was established by the Right Rev. Bishop Bennet Sims, the Episcopal Bishop of Atlanta, after retirement at Emory University in Atlanta. The school was subsequently moved to Hendersonville, North Carolina.
★ In 2004, a servant leadership program was established by the Milwaukee School of Engineering from an endowment by Dr. Richard Pieper, establishing MSOE as the first and only university with a chair position in servant leadership. The Pieper-Endowed Chair in Servant-Leadership is currently held by Dr. Samuel Scheibler.[2]
★ Concordia University, Irvine, a Lutheran Christian university in Southern California and sister school to Concordia, Seward (see above) has recently developed The Office of Servant Leadership, committed to helping others through various service opportunities. Since its implementation in 2006, students have participated in projects like trips to Mexico orphanages, house-building projects, Operation Christmas Child, and more through the Office of Servant Leadership.
★ Gonzaga University (Spokane, WA) has a strong program for a Master's in Organizational Leadership (offered on campus and online) which focuses on the philosophy and practice of Servant Leadership. Gonzaga also offers a PhD in Leadership Studies, which emphasizes servant leadership.
★ The mission statement of Southwest Baptist University includes the phrase, "...preparing students to be servant leaders in a global society." One of the four components of the honors program at Southwest Baptist University is servant leadership. The Master of Business Administration program contains a course entitled, "Organizational Behavior and Servant Leadership."
★ CEO Netweavers, a non-profit organization in Dallas Texas, has over 300 CEO/COO members whose vision is to transform business and enrich lives through servant leadership.
★ Quincy University, founded in 1860 by Franciscan friars, espouses servant leadership and seeks to promote "responsible stewardship and leadership" as stated in their philosophy. The university is located in Quincy, Illinois.
See also
★ Stewardship
★ Open Source Committee
★ 360-degree feedback
★ List of management topics
★ at MeatballWiki
Further reading
★ Trevor M. Hall, ed. ''Becoming Authentic: The Search for Wholeness and Calling as a Servant Leader'' (2007) ISBN 978-1-929569-36-6
★ Robert Greenleaf. ''Servant Leadership'' ISBN 0-8091-0554-3
★ Peter Block. ''Stewardship'' ISBN 1-881052-86-9
★ James Autry. ''The Servant Leader'' ISBN 1-400054-73-7
★ Larry Spears, ed. ''Reflections on Leadership'' ISBN 0-471-03686-2
★ Larry Spears, ed. ''Insights on Leadership'' ISBN 0-471-17634-6
★ Larry Spears, ed. ''Focus on Leadership'' ISBN 0-471-41162-0
★ Larry Spears & Michele Lawrence, ed. ''Practicing Servant-Leadership'' ISBN 0-7879-7455-2
★ James Hunter. ''the Servant'' ISBN 0-761513-69-8
★ James Hunter. ''The World's Most Powerful Leadership Principle'' ISBN 1-578569-75-3
★ Bruce E. Winston, ''Be a Leader for God's Sake'' ISBN 0-9725819-0-1
★ Ken Blanchard, ed., ''Lead Like Jesus''
External links
★ The Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership
★ Servant Leadership Resources from the Master of Arts in Leadership program at Trinity Western University
★ Viterbo University's MA in Servant-Leadership
★ Article at Leadership Now
★ San Diego Leadership Initiative
★ "Practicing Servant-Leadership" by Larry Spears
★ Political Servant Leadership
★ Global Dharma Center/Center for Dharmic Leadership a not-for-profit organisation providing (free) articles, research publications and training modules on Culture Development, Individual/Organisation Transformation and, Serving and Leading from a spiritual context.
★ http://www.regent.edu/acad/sls/conferences/roundtable/home.htm Regent University's School of Global Leadership and Entrepreneurship holds a Servant Leadership Research Roundtable each year for folk to gather and discuss current servant leadership research. Online proceedings are available.
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