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Thomas Jefferson Servant Leadership Examples

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Introduction
Servant Leadership is a leadership style that primarily focuses on the people side of leadership. It was developed by Robert Greenleaf in the early 1970s.
Servant leadership theory’s emphasis on service to others and recognition that the role of organizations is to create people who can build a better tomorrow resonates with scholars and practitioners who are responding to the growing perceptions that corporate leaders have become selfish and who are seeking a viable leadership theory to help resolve the challenges of the twenty-first century (Parris & Peachey, 2013, p 378).
President Thomas Jefferson, was a person whose words represented the qualities of servant leadership; before, during, and after his terms in office. While …show more content…

Throughout his presidency, Jefferson utilized many, if not all the nine characteristics of servant leadership during his time in office. Our third president, did not follow the tradition set by President Washington or President Adams, instead he blazed a new pioneering trail of being the first Republican party president. In 2002 Russell and Stone’s (as cited in Parris & Peachey, 2013), the ‘nine main characteristics of servant leadership are: vision, honesty, integrity, trust, service, modeling, pioneering, appreciation of others, and empowerment.” President Jefferson often acted as a visionary; he helped to stimulate a new way of thinking and started to change the way leader should act in high pressure/highly visible …show more content…

There are times that I have experienced with a few servant leaders, where they can get so caught up in helping staff that they get too distracted by trying to be helpful. I have also witnessed that a couple of servant leaders have been taken advantage of, due to their overwhelming desire to help that they don’t see that the employee is playing them and using their kindness as a way to get out of doing the necessary tasks. My mentor, who is a servant leader herself, often gets yelled at by Sr. Leadership for appearing to be unfocused, when in fact she is not, she is just trying to make sure that everyone gets the information/assistance they need to the fullest extent. I have found that it is advantageous, if the servant leader takes extra effort to be clear, concise, and consistent in their communications to avoid appearing distracted by other servant leadership goals/priorities.
There are many advantages to practicing servant leadership to be experienced by all stakeholders. A balance is required of either incorporating other styles when the situation calls for them or there should be a good mixture of leadership styles among the leaders within the organization. This blend of leadership styles allows for all levels of employees to feel they play an important role in the success of the organization while continually

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