Servant Leadership Essay

Leaders are responsible for providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. Their main focus is to create relationships based on trust, thus making employees feel a part of the plan, not just hired as indentured servants. Therefore, collaborative goals are developed to foster mutual respect and dignity for all. In chapter eight, the authors, Kouzes, and Posner both believe Leaders should take the initiative to foster collaboration, and encourage others. The authors state, “Leaders nurture self-esteem in others. They make others feel strong, capable, and confident to take both initiative and responsibility (Kouzes, and Posner, 2012). This is something I have never received from my leaders. Therefore, I have never thought it was

Defining the term “servant leader” or “servant leadership” is a difficult task. Many have attempted to define this concept but I think the Business Dictionary does the best in capturing the essence of servant leadership. It states, “Servant leadership stresses the importance of the role a leader plays as the steward of the resources of a business or other organization, and teaches leaders to serve others while still achieving the goals set forth by the business.” The Army’s stated mission is to fight and win our Nation’s wars, by providing prompt, sustained, land dominance, across the full range of military operations and the spectrum of

Servant leadership theory’s emphasis on service to others and recognition that the role of organizations is to create people who can build a better tomorrow resonates with scholars and practitioners who are responding to the growing perceptions that corporate leaders have become selfish and who are seeking a viable leadership theory to help resolve the challenges of the twenty-first century (Parris & Peachey, 2013, p 378).

Traits commonly listed as characteristics of servant leadership include a makeup of providing accountability, supporting and resourcing, engaging in honest self-evaluation, fostering collaboration, communicating with clarity, and valuing and appreciating (Irving/Longbotham pg 8).

To be a successful servant leader one must have a true honest desire to want others around them to be successful. The major strength of the servant leader is their contribution of the organization they are leading. I believe this type of leadership really aligns

“The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.” - Robert K. Greenleaf. This is Robert Greenleaf’s definition of servant leadership. If members of the scholarship selection committee were to walk around my high school Delphos Jefferson and Vantage Career Center my peers, teachers, and school administrators would describe be as a servant leader for many different reasons.

To awaken vitality in others . . leaders have to cross a certain boundary between themselves and their associates. Sometimes it's not easy, because most of us have been raised to believe that it's important to maintain a buffer of "safety and good sense" between ourselves and the people who choose to follow our leadership. Perhaps the greatest risk we take as leaders is losing the interpersonal

Servant leadership begins when a leader is selfless and understands the nature of being a servant. The term servant leadership was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in “The Servant as Leader” essay which was published in 1970. The mindset of a servant leader is one who wants to give back to others first and believes in selfless service. The ability to lead and aspire to be selfless is a skill every leader does not have. Over time, servant leaders like Nelson Mandela and Angela Merkel have been seen in their perspective countries. From childhood to young adults, both Mandela and Merkel has should servant leader qualities in their demographics.

Servant Leadership is defined as a leadership that is based on serving others altruistically. Servant leaders put the wellbeing of their followers ahead of their own needs in order to see them grow to their fullest potential. The leader makes sure that their followers grow as persons, become wiser, healthier, freer, and more likely to become servant leaders themselves (Northouse, 2013).

Servant leadership was a term that was first used by Keifner Greenleaf(1970) in his first essay, The Servant as Leader (as cited by Crippen, C., 2005). Greenleaf based his

Organizational consultant S. Chris Edmonds defines servant leadership as “a person's dedication to helping others be their best selves at home, work, and in their community." I totally agree with this philosophy, as I believe an employee will benefit his team and company the most if he can perform the best he can.

Simply, servant leaders hold a view as a servant first and leader second (Owens & Hekman, 2012). Moreover, servant leaders emphasize personal responsibility for the organization and all internal and external stakeholders (Peterson, Galvin, & Lange, 2012). As stated, expressing a genuine concern and care for people are a basis of servant leadership. In addition, servant leadership also focuses on the growth of

Transformational and servant leadership are rooted in the study of charismatic leadership. An early conceptual model of "charismatic leadership" has been closely linked with the work of Max Weber, who described the leader as a charismatic person who exercised power through followers' identification with and belief in the leader's personality. Both transformational and servant leadership are both inspirational and moral.

Servant leaders are constructive, persistent, and motivating. They are also leaders who see complex, big pictures. (St. Thomas University Online, 2015). This makes them very engaging and full of energy which is a good trait as mentioned by Jack Welch in his 4 Es.

Many people want to attain and hold influential positions in society whether it would be in the field of science, politics, education, or in public service. However, many people tend to forget how servitude is one of the main life highways to travel in order to arrive at that successful destination called “Leadership.” Nevertheless, there was one man who knew how powerful the concept of servitude was in order to grasp the reigns of successful leadership. Socrates was a phenomenal philosopher, scholar, teacher, and servant. Socrates leadership style was unique in regards to letting students communicate among one another in an articulate theological reasoning process by questioning and probing at one’s belief system in order to