Can Leaders Serve Followers Or Can Followers Only Serve the Leader?

Most of the time, people define a leader as a strong and powerful person, while those who lead by using soft power, the ability to form the preferences of others through appeal and attraction - a concept developed by Joseph Nye of Harvard University, are seen as weak leaders. Interestingly, I found a scholastic journal that clarifies this ambiguous leadership situation. It made me realize that there is a leadership style that suits people who lead their followers by using the soft approach, and that one may see this in people who are of a giving personality. Can you imagine how good it must be to work with someone who is approachable and giving? This week, I will take my readers on an exploration of Servant Leadership, with a focus on the article, “Servant Leadership: An Ancient Style with 21st Century Relevance,” by Gandolf et al (2017). After we finish this week, I hope that my blog will be a tool to encourage anyone who wonders if someone can a good leader even if they are a type of pleaser. Let’s see if this leadership style may fit you.

Leader with others in mind 

What is the origin of Servant Leadership? 

This style of leadership has existed for a long period of time in human society. Some believe that Servant Leadership is a Christian influence, while other scholars believe that it was developed and influenced by many cultures around the world. For example, the traditional tribal leadership of the Bedouin-Arab culture that sets the need of family and guests above themselves can be seen as Servant Leadership. In the Jewish and Christian cultures, the teaching of Jesus Christ exemplifies Servant Leadership. Sendjaya and Sarros (2002) said that the Servant Leadership concept comes from the perspective of the Jesus’s leadership style.

In 1970, Robert Greenleaf connected the concept of Servant Leadership to the modern business organization. According to Spears, there are ten significant characteristics of servant leadership, as developed by Greenleaf (Spears, 2004 as found in Gandolf et al. 2017). They include:
• Listening
• Empathy
• Healing
• Awareness
• Persuasion
• Conceptualization
• Foresight
• Stewardship
• Commitment to growth of people
• Building communication

From among the below, who would you consider to be a servant leader?

a. Hitler
b. Martin Luther King Jr.
c. Stalin

Answer: Martin Luther King Jr.

What is Servant Leadership and what is it not? 

To go further into this section, we will keep in mind that Martin Luther King Jr. is our servant leader of focus. So that we can better discuss him as an example, it will help for us to define the qualities of Servant Leadership, and what it is not.
1. Servant Leadership is challenging: because it is easier to command the follower to do, instead of trying to encourage them.
2. Servant Leadership aids in the development others: servant leaders have the ability to develop individuals, yet they trust the followers to do their job in order to reach their height potential.
3. Servant Leadership is different from transformational leadership: a servant leader emphasizes their followers’ moral and development, whereas the transformational leader pays attention to the development of charisma.
4. Servant Leadership does not follow the traits like Great Man theory: there is no specific characteristic in servant leaders, except that they have to have a heart to serve others.
5. Servant leaders do not represent as weak ones: weakness is a misconception built around the servant leaders. Despite the tendency that they always try to go above a beyond their ability to serve their followers goals in order to bring out their followers’ potential and to work with their maximum ability to serve their organization.

Now let’s listen to a Martin Luther King Jr. speech about the servant leader, and then you may better understand Servant Leadership.

Is Servant Leadership just an abstract concept or does it really work? 

Concepts of Servant Leadership include the following:
1. Servant Leadership engages the highest level of interaction between leaders and followers.
2. Servant Leadership employs engagement in the workplace.
3. Servant Leadership involves moral perspectives.
4. Servant Leadership is a combination of personal humility and concentrated professional will.

Let’s listen to Dr. Hans Finzel and his perspective toward Servant Leadership in regard to the concept and application of servant leadership.

How to assess leaders in a Servant Leadership approach? 

Even though Servant Leadership has a long history, there has been a lack of agreement on how to measure its effectiveness. From 1999 to 2011, six different instruments were designed to measure the effectiveness of Servant Leadership. Unfortunately, each individual instrument cannot measure all aspects of Servant Leadership, it can only pinpoint the effective dimensions of Servant Leadership that impact the follower and leader. For example, the latest instrument focuses on eight dimensions of the relationship between leaders and followers.
1. Empowerment: a motivational concept focused on influence and encourages the followers.
2. Accountability: holding people and the groups accountable for outcomes in their power and responsibility.
3. Standing back: supporting the interest of followers, caring it as a priority, and recognizing the accomplishments of the people who deserve the credit.
4. Humility: the ability to realize their limitations and seek the contributions of others in order to overcome their limitations.
5. Authenticity: expressing and being true to oneself both privately and publicly.
6. Courage: daring to take risks to get new approaches to solutions.
7. Forgiveness: the leader’s ability to understand and experience the feelings of others, understand where people come from, and the ability to let the negative feeling go when confronted with offenses, arguments, and mistakes.
8. Stewardship: the willingness to take responsibility as a caretaker and role model.

Now! It is time to take a moment to yourself to consider if this leadership style fits you. If it does, then go out there and serve your people and organization to make things better!



References:

Finzel, H. (2015, February 8 ). Servant Leadership. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oR9lvb4vYQ

Gandolfi, F., Stone, S., & Deno, F. (2017). Servant leadership: An ancient style with 21st century relevance. Revista De Management Comparat International, 18(4), 350-361. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.libproxy.troy.edu/docview/2011218218?accountid=38769 https://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-perry/martin-luther-king-jr-a-t_b_427417.html

Kennedy, B. (2013, January 23). Martin Luther King Drum Major Servant Speech. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA7w5uDECyo