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Ashland university slh presentation
- 1. The Principles of Servant Leadership In Student Life Ashland University Servant Leadership House Dr. Dan Lawson
- 2. What’s happening today? • The origin of servant leadership theory –Greenleaf –The Bible • Current studies in servant leadership • What are we doing at Ashland University?
- 3. Robert Greenleaf • The Servant as Leader – 1970 • Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness – 1977 • Journey to the East - 1956 Greenleaf 1904 – 1990 Hesse 1877-1962
- 4. The Ten Characteristics • Listening • Empathy • Healing • Awareness • Persuasion • Conceptualization • Foresight • Stewardship • Commitment to the growth of people • Building community
- 5. Listening • the servant-leader will reinforce these skills by a deep commitment to listen intently to others. He or she seeks to listen receptively to what is being said (and not said!) Spears, L. C. (2003). Introduction: Understanding the growing impact of servant-leadership. In The servant-leader within: A transformative path (pp. 13-28). New York: Paulist Press.
- 6. Empathy • People need to be accepted and recognized for their special and unique spirit. Spears, L. C. (2003). Introduction: Understanding the growing impact of servant-leadership. In The servant- leader within: A transformative path (pp. 13-28). New York: Paulist Press.
- 7. HealingHealing servant-leaders recognize thatservant-leaders recognize that they have an opportunity tothey have an opportunity to help make whole those withhelp make whole those with whom they come into contactwhom they come into contact Spears, L. C. (2003). Introduction: Understanding the growing impact of servant-Spears, L. C. (2003). Introduction: Understanding the growing impact of servant- leadership. Inleadership. In The servant-leader within: A transformative pathThe servant-leader within: A transformative path (pp. 13-28). New York:(pp. 13-28). New York: Paulist Press.Paulist Press.
- 8. AwarenessAwareness Awareness helps one inAwareness helps one in understanding issuesunderstanding issues involvinginvolving ethicsethics,, powerpower,, andand valuesvalues.. Spears, L. C. (2003). Introduction: Understanding the growingSpears, L. C. (2003). Introduction: Understanding the growing impact of servant-leadership. Inimpact of servant-leadership. In The servant-leader within: AThe servant-leader within: A transformative pathtransformative path (pp. 13-28). New York: Paulist Press.(pp. 13-28). New York: Paulist Press.
- 9. Persuasion • The servant leader seeks to convince others rather than coerce compliance. Spears, L. C. (2003). Introduction: Understanding the growing impact of servant-leadership. In The servant-leader within: A transformative path (pp. 13-28). New York: Paulist Press.
- 10. Conceptualization • Dream great dreams and think beyond the day-to-day realities. –Keep a journal –Find a mentor –Vision quest Spears, L. C. (2003). Introduction: Understanding the growing impact of servant-leadership. In The servant-leader within: A transformative path (pp. 13-28). New York: Paulist Press.
- 11. Foresight • lessons from the past, the realities of the present, and consequence of a decision for the future Spears, L. C. (2003). Introduction: Understanding the growing impact of servant-leadership. In The servant-leader within: A transformative path (pp. 13-28). New York: Paulist Press.
- 12. Stewardship • “holding something in trust for another.”
- 13. Commitment to the growth of people • people have intrinsic value Spears, L. C. (2003). Introduction: Understanding the growing impact of servant-leadership. In The servant-leader within: A transformative path (pp. 13-28). New York: Paulist Press.
- 14. Building Community • true community can be created Spears, L. C. (2003). Introduction: Understanding the growing impact of servant-leadership. In The servant-leader within: A transformative path (pp. 13-28). New York: Paulist Press.
- 15. Where did servant leadership really get started? • whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave (Matthew 20:26,27) Sendjaya, S., & Sarros, J. C. (2002). Servant Leadership: Its origins, development and application in organizations. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 9(2), pp. 57-64.
- 16. Other examples of servant- leadership Max De Pree 1.I serve because I’m the leader. 2.I am the leader because I serve
- 17. Servant first • Servant-leaders see themselves as a servant first. (Greenleaf, 1997) • The stewardship of the people they lead is a critical characteristic of a servant-leader. Block, P. (1993). Stewardship: Choosing service over self-interest. San Francisco: Berrett Koehler. Jesus was deeply secure in his identityFord, L. (1991). Transforming leadership: Jesus' way of creating vision, shaping values, and empowering change. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
- 18. Servant-leadership really works 1. openness and fairness 2. camaraderie/friendliness 3. opportunities 4. pride in work and company 5. pay/benefits 6. security Levering, R. & Moskowitz, M. (2000). The 100 best companies to work for in America. Fortune, 141(1), 82-110.
- 19. Kenosis Philippians 2 • To empty • Not his deity but its prerogatives • Not to be served but to serve • We desire to be like him
- 20. A new model for Servant- leadership Patterson, K.A. (2003), “Servant leadership: a theoretical model”, Dissertation Abstracts International, Vol. 64 No. 02, p. 570, UMI No. 3082719. 1. teachable; 2. concern for others; 3. controlled discipline; 4. seeking what is right and good for the organization; 5. showing mercy in beliefs and actions with all people; 6. focusing on the purpose of the organization and on the well-being of the followers; and 7. creating and sustaining peace in the organization – not a lack of conflict, but a place where peace grows.
- 21. Expanding Patterson’s Model Winston, B.E. (2003), “Extending Patterson’s servant leadership model: explaining how leaders and followers interact in a circular model”, paper presented at the Servant Leadership Research Roundtable, Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA, available at: www.regent.edu/acad/cls/2003ServantLeadershipRoundtable/
- 22. Servant-leadership inServant-leadership in Higher EducationHigher Education 1.1. Morale & performanceMorale & performance improvedimproved 2.2. The model worksThe model works 3.3. Employees motivatedEmployees motivated out of a sense ofout of a sense of calling.calling. 4.4. Leader viewed as aLeader viewed as a model leader.model leader. 5.5. Values lead to intent toValues lead to intent to behavebehaveWinston, B. E. (2004). Servant leadership at Herritage Bible College: a single-case study. The Leadership and Organizational Develolpment Journal, 25(7), 600-617.
- 23. What are your questions?What are your questions?
Hinweis der Redaktion
- Today we are going to have an overview of servant leadership theory. Each of you should have received handouts for today’s seminar. Please use these handouts for your notes, as well as a place for you to write your questions. We will have a question and answer period later but please feel free to stop me with your questions as we are working through the material. Today we are going to discuss the subject of servant leadership. We are going to start off talking about the origin of servant leadership theory by taking a look at Greenleaf’s theory and where he got the idea. Then we are going to look at the Bible and discuss some scriptures where Jesus actually introduced the concept of servant leadership to his disciples. As we look at some of these scriptures, I think that we will find that much of Servant-leadership is based upon a biblical world view, perhaps even more so than Greenleaf, himself, realized. Next, we are going to take a look at what is currently happening in the study of servant leadership theory, particularly a servant leadership model introduced by Patterson and Winston at Regent University. Finally, we are going to take a look at the history of servant leadership here at Beulah Heights University and where I see us heading with servant leadership in the future. environment.
- Many credit Robert Greenleaf with the origin of servant leadership theory. In the foreword to the book The Servant-Leader Within, Hamilton Beazley tells us that Robert Greenleaf coined the term servant-leadership in 1970 and applied it to business and educational institutes in his seminal essay, “The Servant as Leader.” In 1977 he published a book entitled Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. He also published other books on the subject of servant-leadership. The Greenleaf Institute published, or republished Seeker and Servant in 1996; On Becoming a Servant-Leader in 1996; and The Power of Servant-leadership in 1998. Greenleaf himself, however, points to Hermann Hesse as the source from whom he first conceived of the idea. Larry Spears, of the Greenleaf Institute, says, “The idea of the servant as leader came partly out of Greenleaf’s half century of experience in working to shape large institutions. However, the event that crystallized Greenleaf’s thinking came in the 1960’s, when he read Hermann Hesse’s short novel Journey to the East – an account of a mythical journey by a group of people on a spiritual quest. In Hesse’s story, the travelers benefit from, and grow dependent upon the service of Leo, the man “who does their menial chores, sustains them with his spirit and his songs, and, by the quality of his presence lifts them above what they otherwise would be” (Greenleaf, 2003, p. 32). Leo, however, disappears, leaving the group in chaos and disarray. They cannot seem to make the journey without their servant. Several years later, the narrator of the story, who was a former member of the disadvantaged traveling group, encounters Leo and discovers that he is the head of the Order, the group that had sponsored the journey so many years earlier. Leo was the guiding spirit, and a great and noble leader. Spears writes, “Leo portrays at once two roles that are often seen as antithetical in our culture: the servant who, by acting with integrity and spirit, builds trust and lifts people and helps them grow, and the leader who is trusted and who shapes others’ destinies by going out ahead to show the way.” It was from this story that Greenleaf developed the idea that service to others precedes leadership. In other words, before a leader can lead, he or she must learn to serve others first. Greenleaf says, "It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead" Greenleaf, R. K. (2003). The servant-leader within: A transformative path (H. Beazley, J. Beggs, & L. C. Spears, Eds.). New York: Paulist Press.
- After careful study of Greenleaf's material, Spears developed a list of ten characteristics of the servant leader, which he considers "of critical importance to the development of servant-leaders". We use these ten characteristics very heavily in our program here at the servant leadership house. They are: 1) listening, 2) empathy, 3) healing, 4) awareness, 5) persuasion, 6) conceptualization, 7) foresight, 8) stewardship, 9) commitment to the growth of people, 10) building community. Spears writes, "These ten characteristics of servant-leadership are by no means exhaustive. However, I believe that the ones listed serve to communicate the power and promise that this concept offers to those who are open to its invitation and challenge". In you handouts, you will find these definitions with some blank lines. Let’s go through and fill in the blanks together.
- Listening: Communication and decision-making are important skills, but the servant leader will reinforce these skills by a deep commitment to listen intently to others. The servant-leader seeks to identify the will of the group and helps to clarify that will. He or she seeks to listen receptively to what is being said (and not said!) Listening also encompasses getting in touch with one’s own inner voice and seeking to understand what one’s body, spirit, and mind are communicating. Listening, coupled with regular periods of reflection is essential to the growth of the servant-leader. (Spears, The Servant-leader Within, p. 16-17) In his book, The Servant as Leader, Greenleaf, said he had a bias about listening. He felt that the true servant automatically responds to any problem by listening first. As a leader, when you listen first, this disposition causes you to be seen as a servant first. He felt that you can become a natural servant through a long arduous discipline of learning to listen. You have to be so disciplined that listening becomes you natural response to any problem. Greenleaf said, “true listening builds strength in other people.” This was something taught in the Bible long ago. In James 1:19 and 20 we find these words, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” I especially like the prayer of St. Francis, “Lord, grant that I may not seek so much to be understood as to understand.” Here are some tips for listening at a deeper level. These come from Ann McGee-cooper and Associates: When engaged in an emotional conversation that you have strong opinions about, consider active listening as important as presenting your ideas and opinions. Listen as much with your eyes (for body language) as you do with your ears. Listen as much for what is not being said as for what is being said. Listen to understand feelings as much as you do for facts. When communication is complex, summarize to make sure your interpretation is accurate. In conflict situations, stop “reloading” (rehearsing what you will say next) and listen carefully [This works great in any relationship when you are having an argument with someone.] Check out assumptions that you may be making as you listen. Don’t “cross examine” others while listening. If you need to clarify through asking questions, consider the spirit in which they are asked.
- In defining empathy, Spears says: “The servant leader strives to understand and empathize with others. People need to be accepted and recognized for their special and unique spirit. One assumes the good intentions of co-workers and colleagues and does not reject them as people, even when one may be forced to refuse to accept certain behaviors or performance. The most successful servant leaders are those who have become skilled empathetic leader” (Spears, The Servant-leader within, p. 17) . Let me ask you, How does it make you feel when someone recognizes you for something you’ve done? Did it make you feel special or perhaps important when someone had such empathy for you that they went out of their way to make you feel welcome and comfortable? My son saw a remarkable example of empathy this past week. He is in the marching band at the high school. All season long, the upper classmen, particularly the seniors, have been hazing and picking on the freshmen. Their treatment of the freshmen has been harsh, brutal, and relentless. They called them “stupid freshmen” and ruthlessly put them down at every opportunity. One of the worse offenders was a trumpet player. He would make the freshmen carry his gear. He told them not to speak in his presence unless he gave them permission to show how stupid they are. He was an absolute bully! As you might know, the band marches at every football game, even the away games. It was the last game of the season, and the last opportunity for the seniors to march in the marching band. It was one of those emotional moments when the seniors realize, “This is the last time I will ever get to do this.” Our bully, the senior trumpet player, forgot his hat. The rule was firm, “No one marches without the complete uniform!” To make matters worse, this senior had a trumpet solo, another of those great “last moments”. The band director wasn’t about to budge on the rule. Someone else would have to play the solo. Without a hat, you don’t march! Just as it is time to take the field in drill formation, a freshman steps forward, gives his hat to the senior, and takes a seat on the sidelines. Which of those two young men do you think was the real leader that night?
- Our next characteristic is “Healing”. This is how Spears describes it: “The healing of relationships is a powerful force for transformation and integration. One of the great strengths of servant-leadership is the potential for healing one’s self and one’s relationship to others. Many people have broken spirits and have suffered from a variety of emotional hurts. Although this is a part of being human, servant-leaders recognize that they have an opportunity to help make whole those with whom they come into contact. In his essay, The Servant as Leader, Greenleaf writes, ‘There is something subtly communicated to one who is being served and led of, implicit in the compact between servant-leader and led, is the understanding that the search for wholeness is something they share.’” (Spears, p. 18). This is something that Jesus did all the time. Not only did he heal people physically, but emotionally and spiritually. The rejected and the outcast came to him to find wholeness, as they still do today. Remember our bully trumpet player? I would like to say that the freshman and the senior shared an emotional embrace and the bully begged the freshman to forgive him for all the harsh treatment of the past season, but it didn’t happen that way. The senior grabbed the hat and fell into step with the band without even a word of gratitude. I can tell you this, however, for the rest of his life, whenever that senior remembers his last trumpet solo and his last chance to march with his high school band, he will always remember the freshman that made it possible. Servant-leaders don’t practice empathy and bring healing to situations just because it makes them look good. In fact, Greenleaf would say they are not even thinking about themselves at all. Instead, they do it because it is the right thing to do. This freshman didn’t have to give his hat to the bully. He could have walked out onto the field with the rest of the band thinking, like I’m sure a bunch of freshmen were thinking, “You get what you deserve, buddy!” But he didn’t do that. He brought healing to a situation that was brutal and vile. The bully trumpet player may not have had an epiphany that night but a healing took place with the rest of the band. The seniors became more compassionate toward the freshmen and an atmosphere of congeniality fell over the group as they collectively realized, as Greenleaf put it, “the search for wholeness is something they share.” And now you know, as Paul Harvey would say, “the rest of the story.”
- Let’s turn our attention now to the characteristic of awareness. Back again to Spears, he says, “General awareness, and especially self-awareness, strengthens the servant leader. Awareness helps one in understanding issues involving ethics, power, and values. It lends itself to being able to view most situations for a more integrated, holistic position. As Greenleaf observed; ‘Awareness is not a giver of solace – it is just the opposite. It is a disturber and an awakener. Able leaders are usually sharply awake and reasonably disturbed. They are not seekers after solace. They have their own inner serenity.’” (Spears, p. 18) The thing that I want to stress is the understand that the servant-leader has that involves ethics, power, and values. Remember our story of the bully trumpet player? Most, if not all of the other freshmen where completely unaware of the leadership opportunity presented to them by simply giving the senior his or her hat. If the truth were known, this freshman probably did not think to himself, “I have a real servant-leader opportunity here.” He probably did it just because his inner core of ethics told him it was the right thing to do. That is, perhaps the thing that sets servant-leaders apart from others, the awareness of what is right and when to do it. Greenleaf, himself, used Jesus as an example to explain the characteristic of awareness. In the Gospel of John, chapter 8, we find the story of the woman caught in adultery. John makes it very clear that the teachers of the law and the Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus in order to have a basis for accusing. It is interesting that they bring the woman but not the man. They announce to the crowd that the laws of Moses command the woman should be stoned to death. Then they asked Jesus for his decision. Greenleaf says, “Jesus must make a decision; he must give the right answer, right in the situation, and one that sustains His leadership toward his goal.” He goes on to tell us that Jesus “assumes the attitude of withdrawal that will allow creative insight to function.” He stoops down and begins to write on the ground with his finger. When he stood up, he demonstrated the remarkable insight of awareness. He said “If any one of you are without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
- Characteristic number 5 is persuasion. Spears writes, “Another characteristic of servant-leaders is a reliance on persuasion, rather than one’s positional authority, in making a decision within an organization. The servant leader seeks to convince others rather than coerce compliance. This particular element offers one of the clearest distinctions between the traditional authoritarian model and that of servant-leadership. The servant leader is effective at building consensus within groups. The emphasis on persuasion over coercion finds its roots in the beliefs of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) – the demoninational body to which Robert Greenleaf belonged. (Spears p. 17-18) This is where Greenleaf’s own biblical worldview had an impact upon how he regarded leadership. I remember as a kid my father would tell me to do something and I, being a typical kid, would ask, Why? After a kid asks why enough times, the parent looses all presence of mind and eventually response, “Because I said so!” At least, that is the answer my father would give. I can remember thinking, “I’ll never say that to my kid.” Well guess what, when I tell my son to do something like clean up his room and he asks, why, do you know what I say? “Because I said so.” I pull out my credentials and show him, “I’m you father, I brought you into this world and I’ll take you out. I put food in your mouth and clothes on your back. If it weren’t for me you’d be a wild kid out chasing cars and biting tires.” Then I regain my presence of mind and remember the servant-leadership characteristic of persuasion. So I attempt to reason with him and explain why he should clean his room. I tell him, “Son, if you don’t clean your room, your mother is going to get really mad, and when mom is not happy, no one is happy.” Perhaps the better example of persuasion is the one the Greenleaf uses. John Woolman, a young Quaker in eighteenth-century America, devoted 30 years of his life toward convincing other Quakers that it was wrong to own slaves. By 1770, nearly 100 years before the Civil War, not a single Quaker on the American continent owned a slave. He simply traveled on horseback or on foot asking Quaker slave owners, “What does the owning of slaves do to you as a moral person? What kind of institution are you binding over to your children?” A few more people like that in the 1850’s might have helped us avoid a bloody civil war.
- When we talk about conceptualization, we are really talking about the ability to dream great dreams. Spears says it is the ability to think beyond the day-to-day realities. He writes, “For many leaders, this is a characteristic that requires discipline and practice. The traditional leader is consumed by the need to achieve short-term operational goals. The leader who wishes to also be a servant-leader must stretch his or her thinking to encompass broader-based conceptual thinking.” (Spears, p. 18) Have any of you seen the stage play, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat? One of the songs in the musical is called, “Any Dream Will Do.” The emphasis of the musical is that your dreams sustain you through the daily cares and struggles of life. The Bible describes Joseph as a dreamer, but it was his ability to dream great dreams and conceptualize the dreams of others that made him a great leader. The illustration that Spears gives is a board of trustees for an organization. Rather than get involved in the day-to-day operations of an organization, the purpose of a board is to provide the visionary concepts for the organization. I have known executives in large companies who schedule at least one day per month to spend on conceptualization, dreaming, or visualizing the future for the organization. Ann McGee-Cooper gives three suggestions to help develop the characteristic of conceptualization. 1). Keep a journal. Write for fun as much as learning. Don’t let it become just another task on your check list, make it something enjoyable. Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar, just write. Eventually your intuitive nature will emerge. This is one of the reasons why we have provided each of you with a journal. Use them!. 2) Find a mentor whom you respect and consider to be wise and mature. Spend time with that person, ask good questions, and listen carefully. 3) Go on a vision quest. Remember the executives that schedule one day per month just to think? This is what they are doing. The vision quest is an outward expression of an inward desire to grow. Here is where you will recognize the three journeys that are unique to our Servant-leadership program, the inward, outward, and upward journeys. It is the vision quest where you ask yourself the questions like, Why am I here? What does God have me? How can I best serve this group or organization? You don’t have to wait for one day a month. I personally think this should be a part of your daily quite time. McGee-Cooper says this includes separation, solitude, seeking or listening to God, submitting to the word or sign that he gives you, and service, which is when you bring the vision back to the people or organization. I find that when you spend time alone with God, He gives you what you need to accomplish the vision.
- Vision leads us to the characteristic of foresight. Conceptualization and foresight are closely related. It is hard to define but easy to identify. Spears says, “Foresight is a characteristic that enables the servant leader to understand the lessons from the past, the realities of the present, and the likely consequence of a decision for the future. It is also deeply rooted in the intuitive mind” (Spears p. 18) This is one of many places where our Servant-leadership program is unique because we incorporate the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. We know that each of the sixteen personality types will approach foresight from a different perspective. For this reason we feel that it is important to know your personality type and how you will approach the characteristic of foresight. For some, like the NFs and NTs, the intuitive mind is very active and foresight comes very easy and natural to then. But, even if you are a sensing on the MBTI you can still learn how you can use your sensing preference to identify patterns that will give you clues about what to expect. George Bernard Shaw once said, “Some people see things as they are and say why, I dream of things that never were and say why not?” As a servant-leader you should not only ask why are things the way they are, but why not make things better? Daniel Kim from the Greenleaf Center for Servant-leadership believes that foresight is the central ethic of leadership. He says the leader must become good at the characteristic of foresight for the good of the organization. For example, there is a heavy downpour of rain in the mountains. We know that because of the rain in the mountains, there will be flooding in the valley. Even in the midst of the downpour, we can foresee the impending flood in the low lands. Kim says this is the ethical responsibility of the leader to know the underlying structures, foresee what is coming, and help to guide people to a better future. Sometimes foresight is based on your perception of what is happening around you, and sometimes it is based upon past experiences. This was the case in the story of David and Goliath. David’s past experience with the lion and the bear gave him the foresight to know that he could beat Goliath. Past victories can give you a glimpse at future success.
- Both conceptualization and foresight have to do with the servant-leader looking out for the good of the people or the organization. That implies that there is a responsibility on the part of the servant-leader to be a good steward of the authority entrusted to him or her. Peter Block, author of Stewardship and the Empowered Manager, defines stewardship as “holding something in trust for another.” Greenleaf considered anyone in a leadership position, such as CEO, trustees, or even staff, as someone who plays a significant role in holding the institution or organization in trust for the greater good of society. In other words, as a servant-leader, you ask yourself, what am I doing as a leader in this group or organization the makes the world a better place to live? Again, there is a component here that makes our Servant-leadership House unique. We feel strongly about giving back to the world and the community in which we live. As a result, community service is a component of our Servant-leadership program. Each student is required to participate in a group project or in an individual project that performs some type of community service each semester. We allowed our students to define the community service component for the house. Here is what they decided, “Community service is to be conducted with a non-profit organization that relies heavily on the goodness of volunteers to aid in providing services. These services should meet the needs of a community that would otherwise not be met and/or serve the impoverished inhabitants of a community in search of the overall enhancement of the community. Here is a check list of questions to determine if a service project qualifies. Will participating in this service help me to further understand the benefits of service for those served, for myself, and for the service organization? Will participating in this service help me to increase my personal awareness of social issues and injustices? Will participating in this service help me to foster a sense of lifetime civic responsibility? Will I understand my social responsibilities and rights as I relate to this world? As a part of the community service component on the characteristic of stewardship, we include orientation, meaningful service, and structured reflection. The last one is important. We don’t want students to simply perform a service project and forget about it. We want them to spend some time reflecting and thinking about the service they performed and why it is so meaningful. Nicole Dyer, former director of our Community Service program said, “In essence, our goal is to build bridges that will connect the human capital of our communities and transform the world in which we live.”
- Nearly everything a servant leader does is for the benefit of other people or the organization. Spears tells us, “Servant-leaders believe that people have an intrinsic value beyond their tangible contributions as workers. As such, the servant-leader is deeply committed to the growth of each and every individual within his or her organization.” (Spears p. 19) We all have heard of Thomas Jefferson, he signed the Declaration of Independence, he penned a great many laws and statutes that lead to the Constitution of the United States of America, but how many have heard of George Wythe? The truth is, without George Wythe, Tomas Jefferson would not likely have become the person he is known to be. George Wythe was Thomas Jefferson’s mentor. Wythe was a lawyer in Williamsburg. His house still stands there today. He also signed the Declaration of Independence and was a member of the Constitutional Convention. Jefferson studied law in Wythe’s office and the influence o mentor to protégé moved Jefferson toward his place in history. The point is, Wythe had a commitment to Jefferson’s growth and, as a servant-leader, you too must have a commitment to the growth of people. In my own personal life goals, I have made a commitment to help at least ten people surpass the limits of my ability as a leader. In other words, I want to see other people become a better leader than I am and to achieve more than I will ever achieve in my lifetime. It might even be one of you. I have had the proverbial benefit to stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before me and I believe it is my responsibility to help others stand on my shoulders, so to speak. I think each generation must make a commitment to help the next achieve so much more. For this reason I have made a commitment to myself and God that I will always be in a mentoring relationship with one or more people throughout the rest of my life. Remember what I said earlier, the Servant-leader does not do this to get recognition or to make people obligated to them, the Servant-leader does this because it is the right thing to do.
- There was once a time when people lived in small villages and everyone knew all of the people that lived around them. It was kind of like the “Little House on the Prairie” books where people depended on each other and you lived in community. However, as we moved away from an agrarian society and into the industrial age, people moved into large institutions for work and they began to live in large cities. Society changed and people found themselves living in places where they literally did not know the people living around them. Spears says, “The servant-leader senses that much has been lost in recent human history as a result of the shift from local communities to large institutions as the primary shaper of human lives. This awareness causes the servant-leader to seek to identify some means for building community among those who work within a given institution. Servant-leadership suggests that true community can be created among those who work in businesses and other institutions. Greenleaf said, ‘All that is needed to rebuild community as a viable life form for large numbers of people is for enough servant-leaders to show the way, not by mass movements, but by each servant-leader demonstrating his or her unlimited liability for a quite specific community-related group.’” (Spears, p. 19) I personally think that community is something that people crave. The popularity of the television show “Friends” was a testimony to the need that people have to live in community with one another. They want to hear someone say, “I’ll be there for you.” Before Friends there was the television program “Cheers.” The theme song said it, “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and their always glad you came. You want to go where people go whose troubles are all the same. You want to go where everybody knows you name.” You see, God designed us to need each other. He made us to live in community, first with him, but also with each other. This is another interesting dynamic that makes our servant-leadership program unique. That is the fact that it is a live in a servant-leadership house. The students live in a community for the purpose of encouraging one another, working with one another on service projects, and showing the campus how effective servant-leadership can be. Read the stories of the early church in the biblical book of Acts. It says they lived together in community so that they each could bear one another’s burdens.
- So far we have been talking about Greenleaf’s model of servant-leadership and the work that has come out of the Greenleaf Center for Servant-leadership. Remember, though, that Greenleaf says he got the idea from Hesse’s story “Journey to the East”. Recently there has been some new research on the subject of servant-leadership. Two authors, Sen Sendjaya and James Sarros from Monash University published an article in 2002 in the “Journal of Leadership and Organization Studies in which they say that the philosophical foundations for servant-leadership actually began with Jesus. They talk about a story in the gospels where the disciples of Jesus were arguing over which of them would have the highest level of authority over the others. This must have been a pretty common dispute among the disciples because all four of the gospels have stories about the disciples fighting over which of them would be the second in command next to Jesus. Two of them, the brothers James and John, has their mother go and talk to Jesus about letting her sons have the first and second place of authority next to Jesus. When the others heard about this they got really mad at James and John. So Jesus said to them in Matthew 20: 25-28, “You know that the 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 your slave – 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.” Sendjaya and Sarros write, “ Contrary to the popular opinion of the day, Jesus taught that a leader’s greatness is measured by a total commitment to serve fellow human beings.” They go on to talk about the fact that not only did Jesus teach about servant-leadership on several occasions but he also demonstrated servant-leadership by washing the disciples’ feet in John 13. In that day, washing someone else’s feet was the most demeaning task anyone could perform. In the absence of a servant to perform that task, it was the responsibility of the lowest ranking guest to perform that duty. Obviously none of the disciples would do it so Jesus did it as an example of servant-leadership.
- Max De Pree has written several books on the subject of leadership. He tells the story of arriving at the local tennis club just after the high school tennis team had left. They, of course, had not bothered to pick up after themselves in the locker room. Without thinking about it, he just started gathering up the towels and tossing them into the hamper. A friend asked a question that De Pree says he has pondered many times since. “Do you pick up towels because you’re the president of the company or are you the president because you pick up the towels? He says there are two premises that can be derived from this little incident. 1) I serve because I’m the leader. (I pick up the towels because I am the president, and 2) I am the leader because I serve. (I am the president because I pick up the towels.). De Pree said, “It is through the act of serving that the leader leads people to become what they are capable of becoming.” Another story is one that I cannot tell you the origin. It was told to me so I pass it on to you because I think it illustrates the point of servant-leadership so well. The story is about some boys who started a food fight in the lunch room of the school one day. As you might expect, there was food everywhere, on the floor, on the walls, and even hanging from the ceiling. Obviously it was a noisy ordeal as food was being thrown about. Suddenly, everyone grew silent when they realized the principle of the school was standing in the doorway of the lunch room. Everyone froze in place with that “caught with your hand in the cookie jar” look on their face. The principle stood there, silent, for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, he turned, walked to the mop closet and took out a bucket and scrub brush. He carefully hung his suit coat on the back of a chair, rolled up his sleeves and started scrubbing the food off of the walls. Not a word was spoken, but slowly, one by one, the offending boys each picked up a bucket, broom, or mop and joined the principle in cleaning up the mess. His actions spoke with more authority than any words could, and the students learned a great lesson in servant-leadership.
- Greenleaf says, Servant-leaders see themselves as a servant first as opposed to those who see themselves as a leader first who serves out of promptings of conscience or in conformity with normative expectations. It is not just about doing the acts of service but actually being a servant. Jesus set the stage for this attitude in Luke 22:27 when he said, “I am among you as one who serves.” Here is someone who Christians believe had all authority in heaven and on earth, yet he gave up that authority and came to take on the role of a servant, even to the point that he was willing to sacrifice his life for those who follow him There is also an element of stewardship in the idea of servant-leadership. The origin of the word steward was someone who was appointed to be responsible to manage the business affairs of a household for a wealthy person. In our contemporary setting this might be someone like a trustee. In 1993, Block wrote the book Stewardship: Choosing service over self-interest. He held that the concept of stewardship was essentially the willingness to be accountable for the well-being of the larger community by operating in the service of those around us. The stewardship of the people they lead is a critical characteristic of servant-leaders. As stewards, servant-leaders regard their followers as people who have been entrusted to them to be elevated to their better selves and to be what they are capable of becoming. Sendjaya and Sarros tell us, It is important to note that the servant-leader’s deliberate choice to serve and be a servant should not be associated with any form of low self-concept or serf-image, in the same way that choosing to forgive should not be viewed as a sign of weakness. Instead, it would take a leader with an accurate understanding of his or her self-image, moral conviction, and emotional stability to make such a choice” (Sendjaya & Sarros, p. 61). Again, we can look at the example of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. Ford (1991) points out that it was not weakness that compelled Jesus to be a servant I this case. Instead, it was Jesus’ strong self-image that moved him to make a deliberate offering of himself. Ford says, “He operated out of a sense of being deeply secure in his identity.”
- Servant-leadership isn’t just some ethereal concept that we are trying to get students to practice, it actually works in some of the best Fortune 500 companies in the world. Levering and Moskowitz wrote an article for Fortune magazine in 2000 where they identified Servant-leadership principles in three of the top five best places to work in America. They said there are six criteria that identify these companies: 1. openness and fairness 2. camaraderie/friendliness 3. opportunities 4. pride in work and company 5. pay/benefits 6. security Some of the companies on the list are Southwest Airlines, TDIndustries, and Synovus Financial. Jack Lowe, CEO and Chairman of TDIndustries says “when people become grounded in servant leadership, trust grows and the foundation for organizational excellence is established” (Sendjaya & Sarros, p. 62). Synovus Financial is a multi-billion dollar financial services firm. They have a commitment to family-oriented policies such as flexible work hours, leave for new parents, work/life balance, and advancing women in their careers. Jimmy Blanchard, the Chairman and CEO, says, “The heart of the servant-leader brings order, brings meaning to employees. When employees feel order and meaning and that they are a part of a team that stands for something good, that there is a higher calling than just work to get a paycheck, that they are improving mankind, there is an energy level that explodes and great things happen” (Sendjaya & Sarros). Southwest Airlines is known as one of the most distinguished organizational cultures in America. The company has also been recognized as one of the most admired companies in the world and the most admired airline in the world year after year. Servant-leadership principles provide the foundation for altruism, defined as the constructive, gratifying service to others, and one of the core values of Southwest’s culture. All of this is to let you know that servant-leadership does work and it works well in corporate America. William Pollard, Chairman of The ServiceMaster, recognized by Fortune magazine as the best service company among the Fortune 500 from 1992 to 2002, says the real leader is not the “person with the most distinguished title, the highest pay, or the longest tenure… but the role model, the risk taker, the servant; not the person who promotes himself or herself, but the person who promotes others” (Sendjaya and Sarros).
- Going back again to the Bible, Philippians 2 has that great Christological hymn that describes the kenosis of Jesus. Kenosis is a theological term that refers to Jesus relinquishing his divine form to become human. The word is actually a Greek word that means to empty. Philippians 2 verse 7 says that Jesus “made himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant…” A literal translation of this verse says “He emptied himself.” In the NIV Study Bible the footnote identifies an interpretation of this verse that suggests Jesus emptied himself, not of his deity, but its prerogatives – the high position and glory of deity. I have a good friend from South Africa who is an expert on South African forms of leadership. I’ve heard him talk about the African use of masks. In Africa they make a mask in the image of the god that they are going to worship. The idea is that when they go before that god the god will not see them but rather an image of himself. In this way, they believe that when the god sees an image of himself, he will accept them and not get angry with them. So, the idea for them is to take on the image of the god and hide the image of themselves. My friend notes, however that Jesus does the exact opposite. Rather than have us come to him, he comes to us, taking on our form and image so that he might enter our world as a servant-leader to serve our needs. This is someone who, by Christians beliefs, has ultimate power, position, and glory, yet he gave that up to become a servant, even to the point of suffering a horrible death. Philippians 2:7 emphasizes the servant identity of Jesus. In Matthew 20:28 Jesus says of himself that he did not come to be served but to serve. In so doing, he revolutionized the way people believe and interact with God. Because of his servant-leadership, we desire to be like him and to follow his example. In short, we wan to put off our old image and put on the image of Christ as a servant-leader. We are about to look at some new and recent work being done in the study of servant leadership that describes how the leader has such love for the followers that he or she has a deep desire to serve them. Because of the leader’s actions of service, the follower develops a love for the leader and desires to emulate the leader’s service and become like the leader.
- There has been some interesting new work in the area of servant-leadership lately. In 2003, Patterson introduced a new model of servant leadership follows a proposition that servant leaders do what they do without concern for the organization’s outcomes because it is the right thing to do for their followers. Her model explains the leader-to-follower interaction through the use of seven variables, beginning with the leaders’ agapao “Agapao” is an ancient Greek term that implies a ‘moral’ or respectful consideration and treatment of others. It is this approach of considering others with a sense of value and humaneness that is in the forefront of the servant leader. Patterson summarizes agapao as a collection of seven values: teachable; concern for others; controlled discipline; seeking what is right and good for the organization; showing mercy in beliefs and actions with all people; focusing on the purpose of the organization and on the well-being of the followers; and creating and sustaining peace in the organization – not a lack of conflict, but a place where peace grows. It is the leader’s agapao love for others that affects the leader’s behaviors of humility and altruism toward the followers. The leader’s humility and altruism affect the leader’s seeking of the follower’s vision or purpose and the leader’s trust in the follower. The leader empowers the follower based on the alignment of the follower’s vision and the organization’s vision, as well as the level of trust that the leader has in the follower, which then leads to the leader’s service to the follower. In a presentation at the 2003 Servant leadership Roundtable, Dr. Bruce Winston, dean of the School of Leadership Studies at Regent University says, “Patterson’s model is useful in that it explains the ‘how’ of servant-leadership and is an improvement over the work of Greenleaf (1977), Spears (1996).…” He says, “The work of prior authors seemed to focus on the ‘what’ of servant-leadership rather than the ‘how’ of servant leadership. Patterson established a key difference between servant-leadership and transformational leadership by pointing out Bass’ (2000) comment that transformational leaders do what they do ‘for’ employees in order to gain greater personal efforts by the employees toward the completion of the organizational goals whereas servant leadership seems to focus on the well-being of the employees only” (p. 2). Again, we see that servant-leadership is about putting people first.
- Dr. Bruce Winston was so impressed with Patterson’s model of servant-leadership that he followed up with an expansion of her model to illustrate follower service to leader. As you can see in this diagram, his expansion of Patterson’s model, illustrates that the flow of service comes full circle. As you will recall with Patterson’s model, It is the leader’s agapao love for others that affects the leader’s behaviors of humility and altruism toward the followers. The leader’s humility and altruism affect the leader’s seeking of the follower’s vision or purpose and the leader’s trust in the follower. The leader empowers the follower based on the alignment of the follower’s vision and the organization’s vision, as well as the level of trust that the leader has in the follower, which then leads to the leader’s service to the follower, perhaps expressed in some of the examples we saw earlier. Winston’s addition to the model illustrates how followers provide service to leaders by using some of the same variables Patterson uses. He suggests that because of the service the leader provides for the follower, the follower develops agapao/love for the leader. The follower’s agapao love/concern (the same variable as Patterson uses) for the leader results in commitment to the leader and an increase in the follower’s self-efficacy as a result of the leader’s trust and empowerment. In other words, if the leader thinks so highly of the follower, the follower begins to see himself or herself through the eyes of the leader, thereby increasing his or her self-efficacy. The interaction of commitment to the leader and the organization with increased self-efficacy in the follower results in an increase in internal motivation since the follower is working in an area that is in line with the follower’s vision, purpose, and self-concordance. Winston’s model proposes that this increased intrinsic motivation allows the follower to become more altruistic (again, the same variable as Patterson uses) towards the leader, which results in more service to the leader. As you can see, the expanded model comes full circle to produces a circular model that explains how the leader affects the follower and, in turn, how the follower affects the leader to accomplish what the leader wants. This cycle is perpetuated repeatedly in the organization. Each time, the leader seeks to serve the follower more and the follower has an increase desire to serve the leader and the organization.
- Our Servant Leadership House is unique because we are one of only a few living/learning houses like this in the nation and, to my knowledge, we are the only one to apply Servant-leadership principles in the way that we do. We are unique in the way that we involve the inward, outward, and upward journeys. The inward journey is about you, yourself and your leadership abilities. The outward journey is the practice of community service and servant-leadership principles. The upward journey is the spiritual dimension. We provide spiritual pages in a journal developed specifically for the Servant Leadership House. We even provide the students with a Leadership Study Bible. We are also unique in fact that each student is in a small group with a peer-facilitator. Not only do these students get the chance to learn from faculty and staff, but they get to share and learn from each other. There are a few other places where servant-leadership is being used in higher education. In 2004, Dr. Bruce Winston conducted a single case study on the effects of servant-leadership at Heritage Bible College using the variables in the Patterson/Winston model of servant-leadership in the previous slide. The new president was determined to put servant leadership into practice at Heritage. Winston’s study examined the attitudes of employees at H.B.C. toward their leader to determine if the leader was a servant leader and if the variables of the two models helped explain the process by which leaders and followers serve each other in the organization. By the way, the case study did show that the model works. Here is what the study revealed. The study concluded that the president of Heritage is a servant leader and that the general morale and performance of the organization has improved during his tenure. The data supports the use of the Patterson/Winston model of servant-leadership. Employees felt that their job was more of a “calling”. In the analysis of motivation the greater antecedent of behavior is the employee rather than the leader. The leader’s ontological characteristics caused employees to see the leader as a model leader. These responses seem to imply that values (ontology) may lead to intent to behave and that within a framework of environmental constraints lead to leader behaviors. Winston, B. E. (2004). Servant leadership at Herritage Bible College: a single-case study. The Leadership and Organizational Development Journal, 25(7), 600-617.