SERVANT LEADERSHIP BY ROBERT KIEFNER GREENLEAFPresented by Celeste Dosdos

PA 205

Life of Robert Kiefner Greenleaf

Born 1904 in Terre Haute, Indiana. Died 1990 (86) Spent most of his organizational life in the field of

management, research, development, and education at AT&T (38 yrs)

Founded Center for Applied Ethics in’64, renamed Robert K. Greenleaf Center in ‘85

Taught at Dartmouth College and the University of Virginia

‘70: The Servant as Leader ‘72: The Institution as Servant ‘72: Trustees as Servants

Servant Leadership

Proposed in 1970 Theoretical framework advocating

service to others as primary motivation of a leader

Greatly inspired by Herman Hesse’s Journey to the East (mythical journey by a group of people on a spiritual quest) in the ‘60s

Concept of Servant Leadership Prior to Greenleaf

Arthashastra: “The [leader] shall consider as good, not what pleases himself but what pleases his subjects.” (375 BC : ancient Indian treatise by Chāṇakya)

Jesus Christ: “But the greatest among you shall be your servant.” (Matthew 23:11), “The one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant.” (Luke 22:26)

Some Servant-Leadership Experts after Greenleaf

Larry Spears James Autry James Hunter Ken Blanchard Stephen Covey Peter Senge Jim Collins

Definitions of servant

One who serves, or does services, voluntarily or on compulsion

A person who is employed by another for menial offices, or for other labor, and is subject to his command

A person who labors or exerts himself for the benefit of another, his master or employer

A subordinate helper

Definitions of Service

An act of assistance or benefit; a favor An act of help, aid Work done by one person or group that

benefits another The performance of work or duties for a

superior or as a servant Be of service or be useful

Definitions of Leader

A guiding or directing head One that leads One who is in charge or in command One who has influence or power,

especially of a political nature A person who inspires others A person who is in front or goes first A person who directs the work of others

Servant-Leadership as Defined by Greenleaf

“The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types…The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served.

The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit, or, at least, not be further deprived?”

Servant-Leadership as Defined by Larry Spears, Executive Director of the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership

“…A new kind of leadership model – a model which puts serving others as the number one priority. Servant-leadership emphasizes increased service to others; a holistic approach to work; promoting a sense of community; and the sharing of power in decision-making.” (1996, p. 33)

Ten Attributes of Servant-Leadership

1. Listening2. Empathy3. Healing4. Awareness5. Persuasion6. Conceptualization7. Foresight8. Stewardship9. Commitment to the Growth of People10. Building Community

Servant-Leadership Attribute # 1: Listening

“Only a true natural servant automatically responds to any problem by listening first. (1970, p.10)

Critical communication tool Active demonstration of respect for

others Together with regular reflection is

essential for a servant leader Active, not just passive

Servant-Leadership Attribute # 2: Empathy

“The servant always accepts & empathizes, never rejects.” (1970, p.12)

“Men grow taller when those who lead them empathize,& when they are accepted for who they are…” (1970, p.14)

Servant-Leadership Attribute # 3: Healing

Healing was defined as “to make whole.” (1970, p.27)

Recognizes the shared human desire to find wholeness in one’s self & supports it in other people

Consider their history

Servant-Leadership Attribute # 4: Awareness

“We miss leadership opportunities” (1970, p.19) without awareness

“Sharply awake and reasonably disturbed”

Becoming conscious of one’s self and others (addressing needs & opportunities for improvement)

Servant-Leadership Attribute # 5: Persuasion

Effective servant-leader builds group consensus through “gentle but clear and persistent persuasion, and does not exert group compliance through position power”

“A fresh look is being taken at the issues of power & authority, and people are beginning to learn, however haltingly, to relate to one another in less coercive and more creatively supporting ways.” (1970, pp. 3-4)

Convince and build consensus – quickly

Servant-Leadership Attribute # 6: Conceptualization

“The servant-leader can conceive solutions to problems that do not currently exist.” (1970, pp. 23-25)

Thinking beyond day-to-day realities ‘Dreaming great dreams’ Taking time to strategize

Servant-Leadership Attribute # 7: Foresight

“Prescience, or foresight, is a better than average guess about what is going to happen when in the future.” (1970, p. 16)

Understanding lessons from the past, realities of the present & likely consequences of future decisions

Servant-Leadership Attribute # 8: Stewardship

“Organizational stewards, or ‘trustees’ are concerned not only for the individual followers within the organization, but also the organization as a whole, and its impact on and relationship with all of society.” (1970, p. 31)

Building on trust on other people & their capacity to perform their tasks in the organization

Servant-Leadership Attribute # 9: Commitment to the Growth of People

“The secret of institution building is to be able to weld a team of such people by lifting them up to grow taller than they would otherwise be.” (1970, p. 14)

Appreciating & encouraging others

Servant-Leadership Attribute # 10: Building Community

“All that is needed to rebuild community as a viable life form…is for enough servant-leaders to show the way.” (1970, p. 30)

Camaraderie

“If a good society is to be built, one that is more just and more caring, and where the less able and more able serve one another with unlimited liability, then the best way is to raise the performance as servants of institutions, and sanction natural servants to serve and lead.”

Robert K. Greenleaf

Reflection Point

In relation with the attributes of a servant-leader, do Filipinos manifest a form of servant leadership?

Some Paradoxes of Servant-Leadership

1. Great Enough to be Without PrideTeam gets the credit, you get the blame

2. Compassionate Enough to DisciplineMust not be soft – set high expectations and follow through

3. Right Enough to Say, “I’m Wrong”Leaders make mistakes too, admit you are human

4. Wise Enough to Admit You Don’t KnowFind out quickly, but do not mislead

5. Busy Enough to ListenBeware the busy manager – they do not lead

6. Constantly seek opportunities for improvement7. No job too big, no job too small

All members of the organization make significant contributions

Critiques on Servant-Leadership

1. Due to its focus on the individual, gears toward unresolved cases of individual goals and values in conflict with the organizational goals and values >> Org. goals remaining unfulfilled owing to employees not giving the appropriate attention, priority or urgency

2. Commitment to team building by the servant-leader may be too interfering for some of the members

3. Organizations with servant-leadership styles would fall down when market pressures force the organization to downsize

1. “If a leader must challenge the status quo to be a leader, it would not be inconsistent to imagine him challenging individuals also as any good coach would do. But can a servant challenge his master?” (McCrimmon)

2. Management (guidance, supervision, administration) is different from leadership, and most of the functions of a manager is different from a leader. Given the term servant management, “What kind of role model for developing leaders is provided by a manager who is only a nurturer of others, a servant type?”

Reflection Point

Some critics argue that servant leadership is an end itself, not achieving other goals. Do you agree or disagree?

Reflection Point

What were your first thoughts on hearing the term servant leader? Were they validated or disproven after reading Greenleaf's concept of it? 

Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership

Located in Westfield, IN Mission & Vission:

o “The Greenleaf Center promotes the awareness, understanding, and practice of servant leadership by individuals and organizations.

o Across our global community, servant leadership is embraced as a guiding principle, thus building a more just, caring, and sustainable world with hope and prosperity for future generations.”

Programs & Serviceso Hosts annual conference & Leadership Instituite

for Educators (LIFE) conferenceo Sponsors Speakers Bureauo Publishes books & materials (essays, videos &

DVDs Logo

o Variation of a Mobius stripo Servanthood merging to leadership, & back to

servanthood in a fluid & continuous patterno To serve & lead others

Organizations Practicing Servant-Leadership

Reflection Point

In the Philippine public sector, would a servant leader be more effective than an ordinary leader (with respect to the term servant-leader)?

Reflection Point

After learning Greenleaf's concept of servant leadership, do you consider yourself a servant leader? If not, would you want to become one?

Summary on Servant Leadership

1. Relates with being a person for & with others

2. Life-long transformational approach3. A paradox4. Becoming aware of one’s self & of other

people5. A universal principle6. “Faith is the choice of the nobler

hypothesis.” (1970, p.28)

A fresh critical look is being taken at the issues of power and authority, and people are beginning to learn, however haltingly, to relate to one another in less coercive and more creatively supporting ways.

Robert K. Greenleaf

Sources

Critique of Servant Leadership (Mitch McCrimmon, Ph. D) Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership

(http://www.greenleaf.org) Leading by serving first: Explanation of Servant-Leadership by

Robert K. Greenleaf (Ietze Oostinga MA MGM) Modern Servant Leader

(http://modernservantleader.com/featured/servant-leadership-companies-list/)

Servant leadership: a journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness (Robert Greenleaf)

Servant-Leadership: An Introduction to the Power of Leadership Through Service (Benjamin Lichtenwalner)

Servant Leadership for Great Workplace (Jeff Miller Ph. D.) Servant Leadership: The Leadership Theory of Robert K.

Greenleaf (Carol Smith)