UNDERSTANDING SERVANT- LEADERSHIP CONCEPT

By Joshua T. Abu

-          “The true leader serves. Serves people. Serves their best interest, and in doing so will not always be popular, may not always impress. But because true leaders are motivated by loving concern than a desire for personal glory, they are willing to pay the price.” – Eugene B. Habecker, in (The Other Side of Leadership) –

-          “Good leaders must first become good servants.” - Robert Greenleaf -

Introduction:

Upholding a leadership philosophy that sees leadership as service and public officers as servants of the people in a country like ours where politics and by extension public office seeking is often seen as do-or-die affair and where leaders often times cherish brandishing their power and status and using same as a means of self aggrandisement is certainly not an easy task. Servant leadership philosophy seems to be at odds with what we see happening around us today. In all too many arenas, we see many of our leaders holding nothing in trust for those they purport to serve but advancing only their own ideals and hopes. Ironically these same leaders it was who went in heat and rain, day and night to rural and urban centres begging people to vote them to power, but who quickly after getting the mandate of the people turn to load it on them.

Today, it is often difficult to tell if our leaders are serving themselves or the people. It is also all too common to find leaders simply helping themselves to privilege and power. Mismanagement, deceit, greed, and frying-pan-into-fire problem solving all beg the question: “Where are our leaders leading us to? To whom can we look to for the direction we need? (Michael McKinney, “The Focus of Leadership: Choosing Service over Self-Interest, from Leadership Now.com). We are gladdened however by the commitment of Mr. President to show us direction and to also be there to serve us and lead us to the desired destination.

In this piece an attempt is made to explain the concept of servant-leadership, its origin, characteristics, advantages/benefits, as well its limitations/disadvantages so as to further appreciate the import of this philosophy of leadership on governance and service delivery.

Origin and Description of the Servant Leadership Concept:

There seems to be a general agreement that leaders have two basic roles in public life and in business: one of vision and the other of implementation. In the visionary role, leaders are the definer of direction. They must however communicate the mission, values and beliefs the organisation aspires to for its people; what the organisation stands for and how organisational values encompass the individual values of its members.

Once people are clear on where they are going, an effective leader’s role switches to the task of implementation i.e. how will the dream be made to happen? This is where servant-leadership comes into play. The traditional way of managing people is to direct, control and supervise their activities and to play the role of judge, critic and evaluator of their efforts. In the traditional organisation, managers are thought of as responsible and their people are taught to be responsible to their bosses. This form of leadership isn’t today as effective as it once was. Today when people see you as a judge and critic, they spend most of their time trying to please you rather than to accomplish the organisation’s goals and move in the direction of the desired vision. In such a situation all people try to do is to protect themselves rather than to help move the organisation in its desired direction.

The servant-leader on the other hand, feels that once the direction is clear, his or her role is to help people achieve their goals. The servant-leader seeks to help people win through teaching and coaching individuals so that they can do their best. You need to listen to your people, praise them, support them and redirect them when they deviate from their goals. The servant-leader also constantly tries to find out what his or her people need to be successful. Rather than wanting them to please him or her, they are interested in making a difference in the lives of their people and, in the process, impacting on the organisation. The role of the servant-leader is thus to do anything that is necessary to help his or her people win and accomplish their goals.

From the premise, it is clear that servant-leadership is much easier for people with self esteem since such people have no problem giving credit to others. They have no problem listening to other people for ideas. Similarly, they have no problem building other people up since they don’t think that building other people up is going to be threatening in any way to them. Servant-leadership is thus a good way to describe the coaching role that managers are expected to play today to help their people win and develop.

While judging and evaluating people tend to erode their self esteem; servant-leadership builds self esteem and encourages individual growth while obtaining the organisation’s objectives. The servant-leader’s driving motivation is therefore to be of service. The very act of leading people means serving their needs according to the advocates of servant leadership. Consequently, if you want to become a leader, they argue, you need to learn how to serve your prospective followers.

Origin:

As a concept, servant-leadership has a long history and origin. It can be traced back to ancient times, where some kings were regarded as servants of their people. For example, in the East, Chanakaya or Kautiya, who was a strategic thinker from ancient India wrote as far back as 4^th Century in his book Arthashastra that: “The King (leader) shall consider as good, not what pleases himself but what pleases his subjects (followers).” Similarly, in the West, the concept of servant-leadership can be traced back to Jesus Christ, who taught his disciples: “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of 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 slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45).

The term servant-leader was however created and popularised in the early 1970s by Robert Greenleaf. Inspired by the vision of Greenleaf, other contemporary writers have produced appreciable body of literature embracing servant-leadership as a means for renewing institutions and creating a more caring and compassionate society. Servant-leadership focuses on the needs and growth of those being led, and not on the needs of those who are leading. As a concept, servant leadership is a practical selfless philosophy that supports people who choose to serve first, and then lead, as a way of expanding service to individuals and institutions.

Servant leaders however, may or may not necessarily hold formal leadership positions as servant leadership tends to encourage collaboration, trust, foresight, listening, and the ethical use of power and empowerment. Robert Greenleaf spoke a lasting vision when he defined servant-leadership with the following questions: “Do others around the servant-leader become wiser, freer, more autonomous, healthier, and better able themselves to become servants?

Robert K. Greenleaf developed the leadership concept based on his years of experience in management development at AT&T, and on his wide consultancy and teaching practice. Servant-leadership is a process, a way of being rather than an activity. It is about the field of “leadership”. It was Robert Greenleaf who perhaps gave us the clearest definition of the servant-leader when he wrote in a short essay titled: “The Servant as Leader” (1970), that:

“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. 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, and more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit, or at least, will they not be further deprived?    

In the same vein, Patterson (Patterson, K.A., 2003: Servant Leadership: A Theoretical Model, Doctoral Dissertation, Regent University (UMI No. 3082719), while presenting the theory of servant-leadership as a logical extension of transformational leadership theory, defined servant leaders as “those leaders who lead an organisation by focusing on their followers, such that the followers are the primary concern and the organisational concerns are peripheral” (Patterson, 2003 p. 5.) Patterson further suggests that servant-leaders are guided by seven (7) virtuous constructs which define servant-leaders and shape their attitudes, characteristics, and behaviour. These constructs include the fact that: “the servant leader (a) demonstrates agapao love, (b) acts with humility, (c) is altruistic (selfless), (d) is visionary for followers, (e) is trusting, (f) empowers followers, and (g) is serving” with the corner stone being agapao love.

Characteristics/Traits of Servant Leadership:

After a careful consideration of Greenleaf’s original writing, Larry Spares, CEO of the Greenleaf Centre has identified ten (10) characteristics that he views are critical to the development of servant-leaders even though they are not exhaustive (Greenleaf, R.K, The Servant-leader within: A Transformative Path, (2003), (H. Beazy, Julie Beggs, & Larry C. Spares, Eds). The ten characteristics are as follows:

1.       Listening: Such leaders have a deep commitment to listening intently to others. Listening, coupled with regular periods of reflections, is essential to the growth of the servant leader.

2.       Empathy: The servant leader consciously strives to understand and empathise with others. As we all know people need to be recognised for their special and unique spirits.

3.       Healing: One of the greatest strengths of servant-leadership is the potential for healing one’s self and others.

4.       Awareness: General awareness and especially self-awareness, strengthens the servant-leader.

5.       Persuasion: Servant-leader relies heavily on persuasion rather than positional authority in making decisions. They seek 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.

6.       Conceptualisation: Servant-leader seeks to nurture his ability to “dream great dreams.” The ability to look at a problem (or an organisation) from a conceptualising perspective means that one must think beyond day-to-day realities. Servant-leader must seek a deliberate balance between conceptualisation and day-to-day focus.

7.       Foresight: Foresight is a characteristic that enables servant-leader to understand lessons from the past, the realities of the present, and the likely consequence of a decision in the future. It is deeply rooted in the intuitive mind.

8.       Stewardship: Holding something in trust for others. Robert Greenleaf’s view of all institutions was one in which CEOs, staff, directors, and trustees all pay significant roles in holding their institutions in trust for great good of society.

9.       Commitment to the Growth of People: Servant-leader believes that people have an intrinsic value beyond their tangible contributions as workers. As such, servant-leader is deeply committed to a personal, professional, and spiritual growth of each and every individual within the organisation.

10.   Building Community: Servant-leader is aware that the shift from   local communities to large institutions as the primary shaper of human lives has changed our perceptions and caused a sense of loss. Servant-leader seeks therefore to identify a means for building community among those who work within a given institution.

Strengths/Benefits of Servant-Leadership Concept:

Servant-leadership as mentioned earlier is a long term, transformational approach to life and work, in essence it is a way of being – that has the potential for creating positive change throughout society. Even though servant-leadership is often compared with transformational leadership approaches, both of which emphasise collaboration, and show concern for their followers, the overriding focus of the servant-leader is on service to their followers.

Limitations/Disadvantages of the Servant-Leadership Concept:

It should be noted however, that the servant-leadership concept is not a quick-fix approach, nor is it something that can be quickly instilled within an institution. Furthermore, servant-leadership can be perceived by some as rather “soft”. This is because listening and empathising too much with others may be construed to lead to indecisiveness or a lack of vision.

On the whole however, the servant-leadership philosophy is in line with the true meaning of democracy as defined by Abraham Lincoln as being “government of the people, by the people and for the people”. The servant-leader puts the interest of those being served above personal interest and listens to them and attempts to do what is in their best interest at all times and by so doing carry the people along. While this style may not always be the best especially in business setting where results are often times seen as more important than the means, it is all the same on the whole more satisfying and empowering in the long run than most others options of leadership.