In practice I have found this to be largely true. So Greenleaf asserts that servant leaders are not motivated by power nor the urge to succeed for themselves. more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?” The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons?. 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. 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… Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve.

In his publication, The Servant as Leader, Greenleaf said: “.this story clearly says-the great leader is seen as servant first, and that simple fact is the key to his greatness.”Īs defined by Greenleaf, servant leaders are not motivated by the traditional manifestations of power: However, since he was a servant at heart and by nature, that was something that could not have been taken away. Since leadership was bestowed upon Leo by others, it could have been taken away just as easily. When one individual of the group encountered Leo a few years later, he learned that Leo was actually the titular head of the Order that sponsored their quest, yet he had also been their servant and a noble leader. One day, when Leo disappeared, the group fell into chaos. Among them was Leo, a humble servant who performed menial chores and kept their spirits high with his positive attitude and song. The novel portrays the account of a group of knowledge seekers in pursuit of the ultimate truth. Greenleaf, a management expert, described how he conceptualized the idea upon reading Journey to the East by the German writer Hermann Hesse. It wasn’t until the 1970s, however, that servant leadership was associated with leadership roles in business.īack in 1970, Robert K. Therefore, “being” precedes “doing.” Likewise, there is compatibility between the values of servant leadership and a biblical worldview which affirms that by being kind to others, we become compassionate toward others. For example, rather than promote how we should act, it emphasizes what sort of person we should be.

Buddhism is founded upon values of virtue which align tightly with those of servant leadership. There are further examples of servant leadership in ancient scriptures. When his task is accomplished and things have been completed, all the people say, 'We ourselves have achieved it.'' As a catalyst leading agile teams, this resonates with me. He posited that the ultimate ruler is someone who deflects attention: 'The sage is self-effacing and scanty of words. The concept of Servant Leadership was described by a Chinese philosopher named Laozi in the 5th century, B.C.

Servant leadership in diverse contexts