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This is the place for Frequently Asked Questions about servant leadership, a free Servant Leadership Primer, and a graphic that condenses Greenleaf's thinking on the evolution of a servant-leader.
Trust me; you will hear the phrase "servant leadership" more frequently in coming years. Businesses as varied as the TORO Company, Southwest Airlines and Starbucks embrace it. Mega-churches conduct sold-out, week-long training sessions on servant leadership. A police chief in Texas uses it as the operating philosophy for his department. Even the IRS has integrated some of its insights. Of course, not everyone means the same thing by it, but that's not all bad.
Robert Greenleaf wanted others to apply the idea of servant leadership to their own situations and continue to evolve the idea. He never insisted on a Gospel of Greenleaf and consistently turned back those who wanted him to be a guru with all the answers.
Still, I've read so many interpretations of this idea—some that actually use it in a manipulative way—that I think it is useful to go back to the basics and try to understand what Greenleaf was talking about in the first place. Then we can agree or disagree, expand or narrow its meaning from common ground.
You can either scroll down or click on one of the subjects below to jump ahead.
Is a servant-leader some kind of saint? How do I know a servant-leader? What does this have to do with business? Is servant leadership a religious concept? What are the characteristics, skills and capacities of a servant-leader? Where can I learn more about servant leadership?
Strictly speaking, "servant leadership" is an overall philosophy and practice followed by servant-leaders, so the first question is not what, but who is a servant-leader?
Robert Greenleaf, the man who wrote the book on the subject, said: "A servant-leader is one who chooses to serve, and serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first..."
That's a great quote, but there is so much more to learn from Greenleaf's writings—and his living.
Is a servant-leader some kind of saint? No. A servant-leader is not a saint, an elitist or an ideal person. Robert Greenleaf was not perfect and did not expect anyone else to be. A servant-leader is not not a martyr, a dysfunctional co-dependent person or someone who only thinks of others and not of personal needs or growth. He or she must first be grounded in deep personal work, seek learning from the outside, pursue reflection on the inside, and have a wide-eyed awareness of the glories and tragedies in this world. This kind of life is not everyone's cup of tea. "Awareness is a disturber," wrote Greenleaf.
How do I know a servant-leader? Greenleaf tells us that, although motives are important, they are not the final test of a servant-leader. The best test is thoroughly pragmatic, based on outcomes—not outputs like mission statements or new programs—but outcomes. "Do those served grow as persons?" asks Greenleaf. "Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, and more likely themselves to become servants?" (Notice he did not include the word "happier.") Then he adds a social dimension to this kind of ethical leadership. "What is the effect on the least privileged in society? Are they helped, or at least not further harmed?"
Everyone knows a person who has been a servant-leader to them, who has had their best interests at heart and demonstrated deep caring through action, even if the action is a movement of listening and empathy. Check your own experience, your own gut, to get a feeling for a true servant-leader.
What does this have to do with business? Greenleaf moved servant leadership beyond an individual philosophy. He wrote that organizations should also function as servants, and trustees should act as servants to their organizations. In recent years, servant leadership has become a grounding philosophy for individuals, businesses, not-for-profit organizations, government agencies, and even entire communities. Moreover, there is a global attraction to this simple but profound idea, as evidenced by ten international Greenleaf Centers.
Is Servant Leadership a Spiritual Concept? Well, of course it is! You will find it in the sacred writings of Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. But you will also find versions of it in secular humanism and in systems that are theistic and non-theistic. You could say that Greenleaf took a religious concept, distilled the spirituality beyond doctrine, and applied it in fresh ways. In a conversation with Newcomb Greenleaf—Bob's son and a respected Buddhist teacher—he mentioned that "servant leadership is a spiritual path."
Greenleaf claimed he got the idea of the servant-leader from Herman Hesse's novel Journey to the East, not from the New Testament. On the other hand, his earliest religious exposure was to old-fashioned Social Gospel Methodism, and in his thirties he became a Quaker. Along the way he was also involved with Unitarians, the Ethical Culture Movement, and even Zen Buddhism. Still, Greenleaf always honored his Judeo-Christian heritage. He told one friend, Bill Bottum, that the image of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples was also in his mind when he wrote his first servant essay, The Servant as Leader.
When it came to theology, Greenleaf was more interested in the test of personal experience than in doctrines. He once had his own primal religious experience that changed him forever. At the age of fifteen he looked through the 100-inch reflecting telescope atop Mt. Wilson and "shook with awe" at the majesty of creation. For him, this was direct contact with ineffable spirit.
Bob Greenleaf may not have written a fully-developed doctrine of God, but he frequently wrote about spirit. Spirit was the source of the impulse to serve, and he lived with an awareness of spirit on a daily basis. In his own way, he prayed, meditated and grounded his life in this transcendence that was accessed through quiet reflection and intuition; and he tried to be faithful to spirit's demands, which did not always make sense at the time.
Ken Blanchard has said that "servant leadership without a spiritual foundation is just another management technique," and I believe Robert Greenleaf would also agree, even though he argued endlessly about this with friends like Dr. Robert Lynn and retired Episcopal Bishop Simms. Greenleaf simply did not want servant leadership to be seen as a function of only one religious tradition—even Christianity. He also thought the word "God" had become too imprecise to express what he meant, and knew that its use would limit consideration of servant leadership by business organizations and others.
What's interesting is that Greenleaf was a businessman, not a philosopher or a theologian, although he was well- read in those areas. He was a top executive at AT&T when it was the world's largest corporation, and that's where he first developed and practiced the ideas behind
consulted with people and organizations ranging from top religious religious leaders to universities, foundations, and multi-national corporations. At the age of 66, he finally published The Servant As Leader, the first essay of his servant writings. The book Servant Leadership (Paulist Press) did not appear until 1977, when he was 73 years old.
What are the characteristics, skills and capacities of a Larry C. Spears, President and CEO of the Greenleaf Center in Indianapolis, did the world a big favor when he proposed ten characteristics of the servant-leader based on Greenleaf's thinking. They include: Listening, Empathy, Healing, Awareness, Persuasion, Conceptualization, Foresight, Stewardship, Commitment to the growth of people, and Building community. Larry explains each in detail and acknowledges that these are not exhaustive.
In the Servant Leadership Primer in the Appendix of Greenleaf's biography, I outline the skills and capacities of a servant-leader according to Greenleaf. Many of these overlap with Larry's list.
A servant-leader: · Listens · Uses power ethically, with persuasion as the preferred mode · Seeks consensus in group decisions · Practices foresight · Uses language in a way that avoids "closed verbal worlds" · Practices the art of withdrawal · Practices acceptance and empathy · Is a conceptualizer · Nurtures community · Chooses to lead
For more detail on the basic ideas behind servant leadership, check out the short "Servant Leadership Primer." It is based solely on Greenleaf's published writings, various biographical conversations he had near the end of his life, and unpublished letters. You may copy and distribute the Primer as is. The Appendix also includes a graphic that pulls together the values, attitudes, skills and capacities, and habits that Greenleaf considered important to the evolution of a servant-leader. After the book was published one of my two really smart sons pointed out that the Evolution of a Servant-Leader graphic looked like an outline of the digestive system. Don't you hate it when your children are right?
Click here for the free "Servant Leadership Primer." Click here for the graphic "The Evolution of a Servant Leader."
Where can I learn more about servant leadership? Go to the website of the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. There you will find every imaginable resource. At minimum, I suggest you begin by reading Greenleaf's classic essay The Servant as Leader. This, plus his next two essays in the servant series, The Institution as Servant and Trustees as Servants, comprise the first three chapters of Servant Leadership: A Journey Into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness, which Paulist Press has kept in print since 1977.
Also, check out some of the books edited by Larry C. Spears that contain other Greenleaf writings and collections of great essays by top thought leaders like Peter Senge, Max DePree, Stephen Covey, Margaret Wheatley—the list of authors is impressive.
(Photos courtesy of the Greenleaf family and the Robert K. Greenleaf Archives)
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