...How Global, Corporate, and Community Values Servant Leadership Cathy R. Palmer Charleston Southern University Introduction Leadership is all about harnessing people power for the attainment of a desired goal and thus the concept of leadership cannot be restricted to the Organizational context. It pervades through all realms of society, whether it be in politics, religion or the corporate world. I am conducting a case study on the Values of Servant Leadership globally, corporate, and community. I will be taking into consideration the state of global affairs, the state of U.S. corporate affairs, small businesses, and the society around us, what is true value of servant leadership, both to corporate world and to the community at large? Global Affairs Management is no longer constrained by national borders. There is significant importance from globalization, and the world has definitely become the global village. Managers in organization of all sizes and types around the world have to confront the challenges of operating in the global market. Managers face challenges due to an array of environmental factor while doing business. He must effectively plan, organize, lead, control and manage cultural difference to be globally successfully. Creativity is the first step on the road to innovation, and has become vital for an organization to survive given the complexity of global change. Creativity is the ability to produce new ideas through imagination and...
Words: 1609 - Pages: 7
...Social Change Model and Servant Leadership Theory: Comparisons and Contrasts Introduction Leadership is essential for all successful organizations. However, the form of leadership that is practiced by various leaders is vital in determining how the activities of the organization are managed. There are many different forms of leadership practiced in differing environments. Servant leadership and social change models are some of the most common leadership theories used in pursuit of organizational success. This paper will describe in detail the servant leadership and social change models and contrast their methods of leadership. Also I will seek to explain how they could be applied in the leadership role of any given organization. Servant leadership Robert K. Greenleaf introduced the concept of Servant Leadership in his book “Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness”. In the description of servant leadership, Greenleaf describes servant leadership as: a natural feeling where the leader feels that they should serve the people first (Greenleaf, 2002) . Greenleaf describes a servant leader as a leader who puts the needs of his or her people first before other personal needs associated with the role. A servant leader will strive to ensure that they prioritize other people’s needs first and ensure that their welfare is paramount. According to Greenleaf, The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that...
Words: 3582 - Pages: 15
...leader is seen as servant first…” – Robert K. Greenleaf I could not say it any better than what Mr. Greenleaf said. Before even taking this class, I have been interested in the thoughts and theories of Robert Greenleaf who started the beginnings of Servant Leadership. Servant Leadership is the theory of leadership that I want to model my leadership style around. This short quotation, a fragment of a sentence from an essay written in 1970, captures the essence of servant-leadership theory. A simple, yet profound and powerful concept, it has spawned countless journal articles, books and multimedia productions in the 35 years since its introduction. So what is servant leadership? The very notion of a servant as leader, or “servant-leadership” as it has come to be known, is purposefully oxymoronic and arresting in nature. The theory’s originator, Robert K. Greenleaf, intentionally sought a descriptor that would give people pause for thought, and challenge any long-standing assumptions that might be held about the relationship between leaders and followers in an organization. Although aware of the negative historical connotations associated with the word ‘servant’, he felt it a necessary choice to turn established conceptions about the organizational pyramid on their head, and jump-start insight into a new view of leadership. Larry Spears, Executive Director of the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership, succinctly defines servant-leadership as: …A new kind...
Words: 2319 - Pages: 10
...Servant Leadership at Work An analysis of servant leadership and how it applies to my work environment: identify what servant leadership is, what the differences are, and how it applies to personalities in the work environment. Questions: What is servant leadership? How does servant leadership apply to personalities in management? What are the positive attributes of servant leadership in a manager? What values are important in servant leadership? How effective is servant leadership in an organization? Servant Leadership at Work Spears (1996) explains servant leadership as one which is based on teamwork and community; one which seeks to involve others in decision making; one which is strongly based in ethical and caring behavior; and one which is enhancing the growth of people, while at the same time improving the caring and quality of our many institutions. The term “servant-leadership” was first coined in the 1970 essay by Robert K. Greenleaf entitled, The Servant as Leader (Stone). According to Dennis and Bocarnea (2005), “servant leaders are those who serve with a focus on the followers, whereby the followers are the primary concern and the organizational concerns are peripheral. The servant leader constructs are virtues, which are defined as the good moral quality in a person, or the general quality of goodness, or moral excellence”. This, I believe, is a very good description of servant leadership. What this says is that we must apply good moral qualities...
Words: 2017 - Pages: 9
...Servant Leadership Research and Application Paper Annette Fuqua Grand Canyon University: LDR 630 August 21, 2013 Introduction: In a leadership role, one has to make many difficult decisions along with being able to communicate with different cultures. The way one handles a problem could make or break an organization. There are many leadership models that will allow one in a leadership role to handle any problem that may arise in a professional manner. In this paper, I will be reflecting and analyzing on a situation that I had to handle while in a supervisors role. In handling the situation, I will be applying three different leadership models Emotional and Social Intelligence, Valued Based Leadership, and Servant Leadership to handle the same situation. Although, three different leadership models were utilized in the end I will ex-simply that one can utilize any of the models to resolve the situation that will have positive effect for everyone, while maintaining the professionalism that is needed and should be exhibited by any organization. My primary focus will be on servant leadership. By doing this could only allow any organization to grow and be very profitable. The perception of the word leadership is appropriate when speaking about anti-emotional and anti-constructive. As a society in whole we are accustomed to taking any means necessary to prevail in the lead of others. One can observe the different styles of leadership which entails looking out for themselves...
Words: 2861 - Pages: 12
...Richardson Servant Leadership vs. Traditional Leadership CA 233 Introduction to Leadership Professor Caroline Heckman Leadership has been thought to be a trait, ability, a skill, a behavior, a relationship and an influenced process. There are general descriptions of leadership that can be broken down into many forms. While the traditional style of leadership still exist and is very prevalent, there are several modern leadership styles that have been created throughout the years. One modern style of leadership is servant leadership. This may actually sound like an oxymoron because how can you be a servant and leader at the same time. However, this leadership has been found to very effective in some settings. There has been a rise in new forms of leadership style due to people feeling that the traditional style of leadership just doesn’t work anymore. Traditional leadership has evolved to so many different forms of leadership one that will be discussed specifically is servant leadership. First, I will compare the basis of each type of leadership. I will then compare how both styles of leaders interact to their team and how their team respects them. Lastly, I will also explore the pros can cons of each leadership style. Leadership has evolved throughout the years and it is important to recognize the effectiveness of new forms of leadership. This paper will compare and contrast the values, attributes, interaction and team moral of traditional and servant style leaders...
Words: 2690 - Pages: 11
...Servant Leadership: Developing and Empowering Gerald A. Thomas MSL6040-12C-5: Current Issues in Leadership Professor Janice Spangenburg 08 November 2013 Servant leadership is a foreign concept to most companies and organizations, however, that’s not the case in the United States Air Force. The Air Force prides itself in maintaining its core values; “Integrity First,” “Service Before Self” and “Excellence in All We Do.” Today, we will focus on “Service Before Self” and “service” is the key word in the previous sentence. If leaders truly embrace this kind of thought process, there would be fewer concerns for the organizations they lead. Subordinates would believe that they are cared for, that the leaders assign value to them, and the leaders are there to ensure they have every opportunity to succeed. Superiors would believe that they have entrusted the right person to take care of the people, the job, and the company as a whole. When we serve or become the servant like Christ is to us and like He was to the people of the time period when He walked among us, then and only then, will we understand the true meaning of servant leadership. In all actuality, a servant leader is just that; a leader who serves his subordinates, the company and the community as well. According to Larry C. Spears (n. d.), “Servant leadership involves feeling responsible to the world and actively contributing to the well-being of people and communities. Ethics are the hallmark of the servant...
Words: 3177 - Pages: 13
...Servant leadership By bagula aganze yves Cornerstone university professional & graduate studies Abstract This paper reviews the existing literature regarding values in leadership. It identifies issues relating to both personal values and organizational values. The literature indicates that values affect leader behavior, as well as organizational performance. The paper also provides an overview of servant leadership theory and extrapolates applications of the values in leadership literature to three aspects of servant leadership: trust; appreciation of others; and empowerment. Values constitute the foundation of servant leadership. Fundamentally, leader values may be the underlying factors that separate servant leaders from all other leadership types. The first followers of Jesus assumed that leadership meant power and glory, positions of honor. One day two of them explicitly requested positions of authority at Jesus' left and right. Jesus used the occasion to clarify to the disciples that greatness is not defined as “lording it over others” but as serving others, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve. . .” (Mark 10:45). Jesus modeled the style of leadership he taught when he washed the disciples' feet and called them to play the servant role for others (John 13:12-17). If the term “servant-leadership” had been born in reflection on the nature of Christian ministry , that should not have surprised us...
Words: 786 - Pages: 4
...ABSTRACT Servant leadership is an ever expanding field that is gaining more attention from business leaders. It is similar to some earlier models in that it focuses on the leader and the behaviors of the leader; it deviates in that the leader puts the follower’s needs before their own. They do this by providing nurturing and support in hopes of developing the follower to realize their full potential. At the heart of servant leadership is the central idea of truly putting follower’s needs before those of the leader. The purpose of this paper is to examine and analyze the elements of Servant leadership. The goal is to explore the characteristics, theories, and models of servant leadership. The idea of servant leadership originated in the 1970’s...
Words: 2227 - Pages: 9
...Servant Leadership Comparison Paper Natalie Duel-Gonzalez Indiana Wesleyan University References Advanced Micro Devices, inc.(2010)Annual Report. Retrieved from http://www.amd.com/us/aboutamd/corporate- responsibility/Pages/information.aspx Robbins, S.P. & Coulture, M. (2009). Management (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Russell, R. (2000). The role of values in servant leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 22(2), 76-83 Russell, R.,& Stone, G.(2002). A Review of servant leadership attributes: developing a practical model. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 3(23). Doi:10.1108/01437730210424084 Servant Leadership is a theory for organizational leadership. This idea or concept was founded by Robert Greanleaf back in the 1970's. (Robbins & Coutire, 2000) Servant Leadership is different because it develops employees to bring out the best in them; these leaders facilitate personal growth amongst their employees. Their focus is to meet the needs of those they are working with. These leaders listen to their employees and find a solution to their needs and build a sense of community amongst everyone. “Greenleaf envisioned a servant leader as one who facilitates achievement of a shared vision via the personal development and empowerment of followers. This concept of servant leadership emphasized the interests, development, and empowerment of followers in order to achieve a shared...
Words: 528 - Pages: 3
...customer, their truthfulness or if they are motivated to excel. The customer believes that their mission statement, it’s a slogan because it’s too short, making people wonder about Wal-Mart’s servant leadership values. Moreover, the Wal-Mart marketing strategy uses Newspaper advertising to promote their low prices. According to Point, Wal-Mart is increasing their efforts to buy local store and gain those customers. Their mission statement misleads people to think that they don’t enforce servant leadership practice within an organization because Walmart kills mom and pop shops. “In order for Walmart to better use their mission as a communication tool, the company should give more information about the business and address more stakeholders”. In contrast, World Vision has a strong mission statement which identifies the importance of servant leadership values to their customers and sponsors with their Christianity heritage. The Christian organization serves all people in need by partnering up different associations. World Vision identified servant leadership values to their organization by about and accepting people regardless their background. World Vision is committed to their employees by welcoming into Christianity heritage, yet not enforcing anything but the values of servant leadership. For instance, they don’t preach their religion or must to believe their belief because they treat everyone the same. Their mission statement, it’s so powerful that automatic people give their...
Words: 1555 - Pages: 7
...Norwegian School of Leadership and Theology Life Essay Course Name: VEL1010E Value-based Leadership in Organizations Name of Student: Prakash Lamichhane Title of Essay: Leadership Theory and Practice Number of Words: 1728 Date:26/09/14 Leadership is seen in every organizational structure. There is no universal definition of leadership. Many have defined the term in various ways. Leadership in simple terms means leading people towards goal but it is a understanding in a nutshell. What is leadership? Leadership is not merely having a vision (Maxwell,2001), also is a process and having influences in a group towards common goals (Northhouse,2013). Leadership is a influence upon relation within followers and leaders to seek changes which takes to common goal (Rost 1993). Weathersby (1999, p.5) suggests: “Leadership focuses on the creation of a common vision. It means motivating people to contribute to the vision and encouraging them to align their self-interest with that of the organization. It means persuading, not commanding”. Hence leadership can be a process, an influence which works in a group with vision to achieve relevant goals. Purpose of the essay: This paper is written to compare and contrast situational, transformational and servant leadership theory and practices and the area of their strength and weakness. There are several leadership models or approaches that have emerged with the passage of time. Transactional, situational, transformational and servant among many....
Words: 1747 - Pages: 7
...Leadership Without Easy Answers and The Power of Servant Leadership: A Comparison of Leadership Theories The world is changing. Business now engages billions in international currencies, and the constant movement of supplies and services, and particularly oil, chemical, and dangerous goods is essential. This traffic requires good collaboration between government branches like shipping, defense, agriculture, organizations, and corporations involved, as well as individuals and the community. Furthermore, expectations of a long-term career mean that leadership is a necessary discipline. Leadership as never just an academic discipline: it is a mix of the theory, tools, and applications that will give an individual the best chance of developing a winning reputation for themselves and the organization they work for. In a modern business environment the skill of building great relationships within and without the organization gives a strategic edge. Organizations are not only looking for renewable contracts, lower turnover of staff, and greater return on investment, they are also looking for individuals with vision who can understand what work is, and make it better. Who act with courage, competence, and commitment and yet remain themselves. The Power of Servant Leadership by Robert K. Greenleaf: The slogan “Servant Leadership” was presented by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay, he said: "The servant-leader...
Words: 2944 - Pages: 12
...What Is Servant Leadership? Servant leadership is a philosophy and set of practices that enriches the lives of individuals, builds better organizations and ultimately creates a more just and caring world. While servant leadership is a timeless concept, the phrase “servant leadership” was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay, Greenleaf said: “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. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.” “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?“ A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. While traditional...
Words: 2310 - Pages: 10
...ETHICS AND LEADERSHIP Strengths of Servant and Transformational Leadership Greenleaf indicated that a great leader is first a servant to those being served and whose desire it is to help others, i.e. employees, communities and customers as well as sharing decision making and power. This is to make sure that others needs are first being taken care of or considered before the leader. The servant leader helps to grow others and this could in-turn help them to become servants and grow others. This will also help to create a positive impact in societies as well as have a transforming influence to others. Larry Spears (2004) extracted ten (10) strengths of servant leadership from Greenleaf’s writings that is essential for servant leaders. 1. Firstly, leaders need to be good listeners. Listening will help leaders to identify the needs of followers and as well as to clarify the needs to ensure that followers needs are addressed accordingly. 2. Leaders need to show empathy to those being served. Empathy will show that the leader understands and feel for others. This helps followers to feel that their concerns are being recognized by the leader and that the leader will give attention to their concerns. 3. Healing is identified as a great strength of servant leaders in that they have the ability to restore hurt of others such as emotional or broken spirits. In cases such as this servant leaders take the opportunity to console followers. 4. The fourth...
Words: 871 - Pages: 4
