The other day I listened to a friend of mine share experiences of her grade 5 classroom. She lamented how difficult it is to teach today, and gave examples of how much students have changed. One of her friends replied, ‘we would never have said anything like that to one of our teachers!” As I thought about it, I realized she was right; I would have never done the things that some of my students do, but then again things have changed. The education system has change and continues to change. It only makes sense that the role of the teacher needs to change as well. Teachers are no longer seen as all-knowing, nor can teachers run their classrooms as dictatorships, as children at a very young age are taught by their parents and teachers to question and think critically, so they are less likely to accept the status quo and follow along like sheep. As a result, teachers need to begin to rethink the way they run their classes and more importantly rethink how they lead. Instead of putting themselves above their students, some would suggest that teachers need to assume the role of the servant-leader. While many may not see themselves as servants to their students, others would argue that the role of a teacher is inherently one of servitude. This dilemma begs the question, are teachers servant-leaders?
In order to try and answer such a question it is necessary to first understand what it means to be a servant-leader. Robert K. Greenleaf (1977) suggests that “the servant-leader is servant first. It begins with the feeling that one wants to serve. Then the conscious choice brings one to lead…The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being met” (p. 22). This is ...
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...The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational strategies, Issues and Ideas, 78 (6), 257-259.
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Herman, D. V. & Marlowe, M. (2005). Modeling meaning in life: The teacher as servant leader. Reclaiming Children and Youth: The Journal of Strength-based Interventions, 14 (3), 175-178.
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Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leadership. In J. T. Wren The leader's companion: Insights on leadership through the ages (pp. 18-23). New York: The Free Press.
The importance of servant leadership should not be underestimated and it can be simplified and embodied in one timeless phrase: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. When applied to leadership the result can be phenomenal. Those who wish to serve do so with their hearts, it is not forced nor is it with resentment. The servant leader serves out of acceptance and ownership of their ability and duty.
Servant-leadership is a way of life that evolves and matures with the passage of time. This way of life transforms spiritual people, with strong and stable emotions, into someone who has a deep understanding of truth and the world around them.
Servant leadership consists of leaders helping their followers become leaders themselves. The use personal skills such as empathy, compassion and listening to help their followers succeed. It is not necessarily the most popular form of leadership but, it has been proven successful b those leaders who implement it in their work practices. Servant leaders typically have a strong bond with their team. They are the base and the foundation of their teams.
Servant leadership is defined as a philosophy that one carry outs to supplement the lives of others and shape organizations to become better. In order to become a servant leader, you have to first become a servant. One must be want to serve first. There’s a difference between servant leadership and an authentic leadership style. The impression of servant leadership can be traced back to have started two thousand years
Servant leadership is becoming a more “sought-after” concept in today’s society, but what exactly is servant leadership? Does it mean different things to different people? Although the three books, The Servant as Leader, The Servant, and Lead Like Jesus, all center around servant leadership, each author takes a different perspective on the meaning of being a servant leader. Robert Greenleaf addresses leadership from a straight-forward stance; saying that a good leader must be a servant-first by finding the will within themselves to put the needs of their group before their own. James Hunter discusses servant leadership through a story involving everyday people that the reader can relate to. He uses Jesus as a guide to explain how to initiate character development that will, in turn, fashion servant leadership. Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges offer a new perspective on servant leadership by bringing Jesus into the picture on an even deeper level than Hunter. They explain that by knowing Jesus Christ and developing an intimate personal
3). Through the service of others, servants as leaders create positive changes in the lives of others that lead those served to act more autonomously (Block, Blanchard, Wheatley & Autry, 2006). The goal of a service leader is to help others achieve their highest level of functioning. Those served are then motivated to become service leaders as well (Block, Blanchard, Wheatley & Autry, 2006). Thus, servant leadership focuses on commitment to helping the individual served grow in their abilities. In turn this gives the served individual confidence in their work and personal abilities which then transforms into a desire to help others do the
Servant leadership is both a leadership philosophy and set of leadership practices. Traditional leadership generally involves the
I’ve always known to be the best follower but not necessarily a leader. Prior taking this course, my philosophy of leadership was anyone who is in charge of a group in order to give out instructions or order. This type of leadership has been adopted by various cultures around the world for centuries. Thank to new emerging leadership styles such as contemporary, followers actually have the opportunity to voice their opinion. I’m hoping to learn new skills that will eventually help me in the professional realm and as well as my community. I found servant leadership to be the most important type of leadership. Komives, Lucas, and McMahon (1998) mentioned that people who dedicate themselves to building communities so they become better places for others (p.170). This is the type of leader I’m striving to
Servant leadership was a term that was first used by Keifner Greenleaf(1970) in his first essay, The Servant as Leader (as cited by Crippen, C., 2005). Greenleaf based his essay on his belief that a servant leader is a servant first, and explained that it would begin with the natural urge to serve and then the leader would make a conscious choice to become a leader, in doing so he makes the choice to ensure that others needs are met first (2005 ). As a servant leader develops he should always keep aware of those who he serves and strive to ensure that they are becoming healthier, wiser, freer, have an increase in autonomous, and are become more like servants themselves (2005). Leaders and organizations can use the principles of servant leadership to frame decisions, and service that include focus on the community, care of others and quality services (Waterman, R., 2011). Watermen states that working to higher purpose increases standards, integrity and should lead the followers through supports, shared visions and bring followers together in toward a common purpose to provide service to others.
Servant leadership has gained attention among leadership authors over the last twenty years. Even Collins and his team had to address the impact of servant leadership qualities in the actions of their Level 5 Leaders (Collins, 2001, Kindle loc. 531). While servant leadership has enjoyed increasing popularity among secular writers, Blackaby and Blackaby suggest a growing trend among Christian leaders to give greater emphasis to secular leadership theories at the expense of principles such as servant leadership (2011, p. 19). To better assess the significance of servant leadership to the biblical narrative, the author will evaluate the history of five prominent biblical leaders for evidence of qualities or leadership principles typical of servant leadership.
Wilkes, C. G. Jesus on Leadership: Timeless Wisdom on Servant Leadership. Carol Stream, Illnois: Tyndale House, 1998.
Young, D. S. (1999). Servant Leadership for Church Renewal: Sheperds By the Living Springs. Scottdale: Herald Press.
Stone, A. G., Russell, R. F., & Patterson, K. (n.d.). Transformational versus servant leadership: A difference in leader focus. Retrieved from http://www.regent.edu/acad/sls/publications/conference_proceedings/servant_leadership_roundtable/2003pdf/stone_transformation_versus.pdf
Chung, Y. (2011). Why servant leadership? Its uniqueness and principles in the life of Jesus. Journal Of Asia Adventist Seminary, 14(2), 159-170.
Melchar, David and Susan Bosco. “Achieving High Organization Performance through Servant Leadership.” The Journal of Business Inquiry 9.1 (2010):74-88. http://www.uvu.edu/woodbury/jbi/volume9/journals/achieving_high_organization_performance_through_servant_leadership.pdf