Application of Servant Leadership Principles Within Organizational Settings
Overview
This paper examines servant leadership as a leadership approach developed by Robert K. Greenleaf in 1970, emphasizing employee welfare and organizational success. The author argues that servant leadership can be effectively implemented in organizations by prioritizing employee needs, demonstrating listening skills, awareness, and empathy, with examples from historical figures like Martin Luther King Jr.
What this essay covers
- Introduction and definition of servant leadership as a philosophical and practical leadership approach that challenges conventional hierarchical structures
- Core characteristics required for servant leadership implementation including listening, awareness, and empathy
- Application strategies and examples including Martin Luther King Jr. as a servant leader model and methods for making servant leadership prevalent in organizations
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Servant Leadership
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Institutional Affiliation
Servant Leadership
Robert K. Greenleaf first formulated 'servant leadership' in 1970. It is a combination of both practical and philosophical notions of being a better leader. However, the fundamental concept of Servant leadership is posing challenging to the conventional hierarchical leadership arrangement as well as questioning the ideas of serving and leading (Martin, 2016). Servant leadership is not a leadership technique, but it is an approach that one adopts over an extended period. Although Randy Gibb and Allison Mason posit that Jesus in Matthew 20 best defines Servant leadership. However, this paper expounds on how Servant leadership could be applied and made ubiquitous within an organization.
In my organization, Servant leadership can be applied by putting employees' needs ahead of ones' desires. Employees need a leader who cares about their needs, and it is what Servant leadership is all about. However, listening, awareness, as well as empathy, are core characteristics a leader must show to foster success (Spears, 2010). Listening to employees' needs leads to positive change through modeling traits seen in the organization. A good example is Martin Luther King Jr.; he was a true Servant Leader. He listened carefully and had a hawk-eyed vision as he comprehended the implications of his ideas. He showed the world the change they needed. Also, as a leader, one should have empathy – they should put themselves in other people's shoes (Milner, 2018).
Conclusively, Servant leadership can be made prevalent within the organization by serving employees genuinely.