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Servant Leadership Essay

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Servant Leadership
What is it? The phrase “Servant Leadership” was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as a Leader, an essay he first published in 1970 ("What is servant," ). The servant leader serves first, while aspiring to lead second. The servant leader serves the people that he or she leads, implying employees are an end in themselves rather than a means to organizational purpose or bottom-line. Servant leadership is meant to replace a command and control, top-down, model of management. Servant leadership encourages collaboration, trust, foresight, listening, and the ethical use of power and empowerment. A few famous examples of servant leaders are George Washington, Gandi and Caesar Chavez.
Key Principles In a …show more content…

8. Stewardship
Greenleaf’s view of all institutions was one in which CEO’s, staff, directors and trustees all play significant roles in holding institutions in trust for the greater good of society.
9. Commitment to the Growth of People
Leaders believe people have an intrinsic value beyond tangible contributions as workers. As a result, genuine interest in the spiritual, professional and personal growth of all employees is demonstrated.
10. Building Community
Leaders seek to identify a means for building a sense of community among those who work in a given institution.

Differences from Other Styles In the approach on general leadership characteristics, the fundamental difference is authentic leaderships strive to be “real”, whereas servant leaders strive to be “right.” Servant leadership is a style that lays down a set of characteristics that all leaders are supposed to emulate to attain success, and tries to shape the character and personality of the leader. On the other hand, authentic leaders tend to rely on their own unique set of experiences and style that has been learned and developed throughout their career. The main difference between servant and authentic styles, when applying into practice, is the serving of others. One of the primary applications is to give priority to the interest of others. Servant leaders exercise their duty

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