Servant-Leaders Are the Best Leaders during Times of Change by Dr. Keith What ki

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Servant-Leaders Are the Best Leaders during Times of Change by Dr. Keith

What kind of leader do I want to follow during a time of change? I want to follow a servant-leader. Why? Because servant-leaders do not use organizational change as the excuse for building their own power and position. They do not make changes based on personalities, factional politics, and competition between rivals. Instead, servant-leaders focus on meeting the needs of the organization and those it serves. Servant-leaders listen, consult, and analyze information so that the organization can adapt and remain relevant to changing needs. Hard decisions may have to be made, but if so, they will be made by giving priority to the needs of employees, customers, business partners, and the communities in which the servant leaders operate. Who is a servant-leader? A servant-leader is any leader who is focused on identifying and meeting the needs of others, rather than trying to acquire power, wealth, and fame for oneself. Servant-leaders love people, and enjoy helping them. That gives them a lot of meaning and satisfaction in their lives and their work. One of the best things about servant-leaders is that they don't bring a lot of ego baggage with them. They don't worry about their own personal status or prestige. They just focus on the problem or opportunity at hand. That makes it a lot easier for people to work with them and follow them through the change process. There's an old saying that "it's amazing how much we get done around here when nobody cares who gets the credit" That's what servant-leaders are like. They are focused on the work, not the credit. Fortunately, there are millions of servant-leaders around the world, quietly taking care of their families and communities, and moving their organizations forward. Sadly, there aren’t enough servant-leaders in the world. That may be because the dominant model of leadership in our society is the power model. According to the power model, leadership is about acquiring and wielding power. It is about clever strategies, and how to make people do things. It is about how to attack and win. Unfortunately, there are a lot of problems with the power model. First, the power model of leadership focuses on having power, not on using it wisely. Power is an end in itself. Second, the power model of leadership pro-motes conflict between power groups or factions. People are taught that leadership is about power, so they establish themselves in power groups that compete with other power groups. These power groups become so focused on their rivalries with each other, that they can't focus on solving problems or seizing opportunities. Things don't get done. Third, the power model defines success in terms of who gains more power, not in terms of who accomplishes the most for his or her organization or community. There are two more problems with the power model, and that is the impact that it has on the leaders who use it. First, people who seek power often become irrelevant as leaders. They focus on what they want, instead of what other people need, and they lose touch with the people they are supposed to be serving. Second, people who seek power can never get enough of it. It becomes a kind of disease. They always want more, and more, and more. This easily results in spiritual corruption and an unhappy life of self-torment.

Servant-leaders live another model of leadership—the service model. The service model is not about acquiring power, it's about making a difference. So servant-leaders do not ask, "How can I get power? How can I make people do things?" Servant-leaders ask, "What do people need? How can I help them to get it? What does my organization need to do? How can I help my organization to do it?" Thus, rather than embarking on a quest for personal power, servant-leaders embark on a quest to identify and meet the needs of others. One way to contrast a power-oriented leader and a service-oriented leader is this: Power-oriented leaders want to make people do things. Servant-leaders want to help people do things. That's why servant-leaders are usually facilitators, coordinators, healers, partners, and coalition-builders. There is another big difference between the power model and the service model of leader-ship. The power model assumes a hierarchy. Only a few people have power— those at the top of the hierarchy—so it is assumed that only they can be leaders. In the service model, the hierarchy doesn't matter. That's because anybody in a family, organization, or community can be of service. Anybody can identify and meet the needs of others. Anybody can respond to the call to be a servant-leader. Perhaps the simplest way to explain the difference is this: The power model is about grabbing. The service model is about giving. Now, we live in a real world. We know that power abhors a vacuum. Somebody is going to exercise power, and it makes a difference who that somebody is. Certainly, a servant-leader can accumulate and exercise power. A servant-leader can even become angry and do battle. However, for the servant-leader, power is only a tool, one among many tools. It is only a means, not an end. So a servant-leader accumulates power or becomes angry on behalf of others. A servant-leader acts in response to the way others are treated, not in response to the way he or she is treated. Servant-leaders can be many different types of leader, depending on their personalities and the specific circumstances. What they have in common is this. They go into a group or organization and ask, is there a gap or missing link or blockage of some kind that is making it hard for this group to achieve the change that it needs to achieve? If so, can I identify what that gap or missing link or blockage is? If I can identify it, can I do something about it? If I can't do any-thing about it, can I find someone who can? Since the missing link or gap or blockage will not always be the same, the servant-leader does not always perform the same role or service in each case.

The Modern Servant Leadership Movement: The modern servant leadership movement was launched by Robert K. Greenleaf, who was born and raised in Indiana. He worked for AT&T from 1926 to 1964. Toward the end of his career, he was AT&T's Director of Management Research. It was his job to figure out how leaders and managers at AT&T could become most effective. After Greenleaf retired, he reflected and decided that there had to be a better model than the power model of leadership. In 1970 he published an essay entitled The Servant as Leader, in which he coined the phrase "servant-leader" and launched the modern servant leadership movement in America. Hundreds of thousands of people have read that essay since it was first published. Greenleaf understood the difference between the power model and the service model. He com-pared leaders who are "leader first:' and those who are a "servant first." 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 . . . . 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? There are a number of key practices that help servant-leaders to be effective in the daily world of work. For example, they are aware of their own strengths and weaknesses. They are good at listening to colleagues and customers, so they know what people need, and can focus on providing it. They develop their colleagues, coach and mentor them, and unleash their energy and intelligence. They have foresight, and act on that foresight, for the long-term benefit of their organizations. Servant-leaders are sustained in their work by the personal meaning that comes from serving others. That personal meaning is an intrinsic motivator, a source of mental health, and a key to being deeply happy. These are tremendous advantages not available to other kinds of leaders. How do we get more servant-leaders? Through education and training, and modeling the values, characteristics, and practices of servant-leaders. We will also get more servant-leaders if we, the people, are committed to following servant-leaders instead of power-oriented leaders. Greenleaf hoped that people would decide to follow servant-leaders, instead of power-oriented leaders, leaders, so that in the future, “the only truth viable institutions will be those that are predominantly servant-led.” That’s a future that would be very good, indeed for all of us.

After reading Dr. Keith's article, discuss whether you want to follow a servant leader in times of crisis or ever, and why? (Please respond with a minimum of 800 words) Thank you

Explanation / Answer

In simple words servant leadership is the philosophy which is defined by set of practices that build better organisation and enriches the lives of the individuals. In this concept the servant leader philosophy leader is servant first. He naturally wants to serve first. This person is different from that who is leader first. The servant leader primarily focuses on the growth and the well being of the community and the people around them. They put the needs of the people first and then they perform as highly as possible.

Yes i would like to relate the philosophy with my own experience. I personally believe that the person who rose from the down level can understand the issue of lower level people very well. Like when I promoted in my job I understand the issue of my juniors because I went through those situations and I know very well how to tackle with those situations. But on other hand my boss was appointed in the organisation at high level so he was not aware about the problems at the lower level. He never understands whenever we discuss this issue with them.

I would definitely like to apply this philosophy at time of crisis. Because this is the only measure when we can get positive output in our organisation. For this we must have these seven key practises.

As a hireling pioneer, you're a "worker first" – you concentrate on the requirements of others, particularly colleagues, before you consider your own. You recognize other individuals' points of view, give them the help they have to meet their work and individual objectives, include them in choices where fitting, and fabricate a feeling of group inside your group. This prompts higher engagement, more trust, and more grounded associations with colleagues and different partners. You are a worker pioneer when you concentrate on the requirements of others before you consider your own. It's a more drawn out term way to deal with initiative, as opposed to a method that you can embrace in particular circumstances.

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