Northhouse (2013) servant leadership questionnaire was designed to critique the seven behaviors characteristics of a servant leader. In addition, the questionnaire results can assist the leader in assessing areas in which the leader would have strong servant leadership behaviors. Furthermore, the questionnaire results can inform the leader what areas that might need some improvement. After completing the questionnaire, I received scores in the high (23-28) to moderate (14-22) ranges. The results are listed below with each behavior characteristics.
1. Emotional Healing – 25
2. Creating Value – 17
3. Conceptual Skills – 25
4. Empowering – 24
5. Helping subordinates grow and succeed – 22
6. Putting subordinates first – 22
7. Behaving Ethically - 23
I was surprise by the questionnaire results that were in the moderate range. I would have preferred for those scores to be in the high range. Creating value, helping subordinates grow and succeed, and putting subordinates first, are behaviors I work on daily. These questionnaire results will help me do my utmost to improve these behaviors characteristics. Northhouse (2013) described servant leadership with emphasis on leaders striving to be attentive, empowering followers, and assisting followers in developing their full individual competences (Northhouse, 2013).
Servant Leadership can help me
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become a more effective leader and following the characteristics of servant leadership can aid me in my quest to become proficient in my personal leadership style. Keith (2009) discussed three basic principles that can assist me which are; go to work to serve others, listen to associates, and develop associates. Keith (2009) description of the principles is designed to help leaders control stress, sustain mental health and assist the leader in finding innate happiness. Inquiring about the associates’ hopes, needs, wants and dreams will assist the leader in identifying the associates’ requirements. Furthermore, with top-quality training and coaching, the leader’s confidence with the associates’ abilities will increase. Therefore, this could set free the associates’ vigor and intelligance (Keith, 2009). Lastly, Hunter et al.
(2013) analysis on servant leadership delivered practical perceptiveness on why servant leadership is an effectual leadership behavior. The authors’ study revealed servant leadership stimulated positive followers’ behaviors and reduce employment turnover. Servant leadership is a vital component to a work atmosphere that encourages the benefit of servicing others, in which followers want to remain at their place of employment. Associates’ outcomes are vital to any corporation that attempts to decrease turnover expenditure and enrich employee performance, teamwork, and customer service (Hunter et al.,
2013).
Servant leadership, as defined by Kretiner and Kinkicki (2015, p.486), is putting the needs of others, including employees, customers, and community ahead of one’s own needs. This management style requires selflessness and humility from management so the organization can focus on serving key stakeholders. There are ten characteristics of a servant-leader as identified in the text
The Servant Leader discusses the importance of leaders who adopt a service oriented attitude in which they care for the needs of others before their own. A servant leader need not be an actual servant or have ever been a servant to become a servant leader. Rather, a servant leader is born with or adopts an “others first” disposition. Climbing through the ranks may help to create a servant leader, though it is not necessary. When leaders choose to see that the needs of their followers or their organizations are the highest priority they become servants.
Servant leadership is a philosophy and set of practices that augments the lives of individuals, builds better organizations, and creates a more just and caring world, they put the team first, and themselves second (MindTools, 2015). Servant leaders are able to demonstrate their traits through interaction with followers and other leaders within the organization. The characteristics of servant leaders include their commitment to the growth of people, stewardship, and building community, and provide leaders with the opportunity to experience change and to invite followers to change (Savage-Austin & Honeycutt 2011). Servant leadership encourages leaders and followers to ‘raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality’, and set their leadership focus: follower’s first, organizations second, their own needs last (Sendjaya, Sarros, & Santora, 2008). The servant leader focuses on the needs of others to include team members.
Servant leadership is a philosophy and practice of leadership defined by Robert Greenleaf, Greenleaf work for AT&T for many years studying management and education. All along, Greenleaf felt that the power centered authoritarian leadership way used a lot in the United States was not working. Servant leaders achieve results for their group by giving priority attention to the needs of their colleagues and those they serve. Leaders who use this philosophy are usually humble stewards of the organization the take part in.
Servant leadership can be thought of as an inverted triangle where the leader is supporting the organization at the point. As a result of this leadership style, leaders are more in tune with their teams. They have more insight on their team and the inner workings of their organizations.
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
The servant-leadership theory does not place the leader above the followers. It rather puts the attention of the leader on emphasizing the concerns of the followers, empathizing with them and nurturing them (Northouse, 2013). This theory focuses on the followers first. The leader must empower those he/she is serving so that the person can reach their full potential. The leader focuses on the greater good of the group. Northouse (2013) explains that Greenleaf identified 10 characteristics that are central to the development of servant-leadership. The ten characteristic include listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, and building community. Following these characteristics we can begin to explain the servant leadership role in a relationship.
Servant leadership, as defined by Spears (2010) “Servant leadership seeks to involve others in decision making, is strongly based in ethical and caring behavior, and enhances the growth of workers while improving the caring and quality of organizational life”. Spears (2010) goes on to describe ten pillars of servant leadership: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, and building community. Listening is not only listening with purpose to the employee but also communicating the views and goals of the organization to the employee. Empathy is about understanding and accepting employees as well as recognizing employee efforts. Healing aids in helping employees on an emotional level, employees go through turbulent times throughout their career; therefor the servant leader is a liaison within the relationship. Awareness, self-awareness strengthens the leader values and ethics, awareness aids the leader in looking at problems from a more integrated approach. Persuasion is seeking to convince rather than coerce employees or persuading employees rather than using an authoritarian approach. Conceptualization is looking beyond day-to-day problems and dreaming big, while day-to-day operations are important for the organization, leaders must keep their eye on the bigger
Servant leadership is a leadership philosophy, which addresses the concerns of ethics, customer experience, and employee engagement while creating a unique organizational culture, where both leaders and followers unite to reach organizational goals without positional or authoritative power Baghurst,T., Carter,D. (2014). Servant leadership is the number one reason for “moral and ethical” culture that must be implemented in a productive marketplace. Servant leaders must have a humble and non over-bearing persona. Employees are trained to become leaders by servant leaders. Employees must develop a productive relationship with managers.
Introduction Through identification and ongoing assessment of her leadership style and ability, this leader is able to develop and understand her own strengths and limitations in order to grow and develop into a more effective leader. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of servant leadership, contingency, and path-goal styles of leadership to gain an understanding of current leadership models, identify this author’s style of leadership, and explore why leadership is important to organizations, society, and this author. A Personal Model of Leadership 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 autonomy, and become more like servants themselves (2005).
The quality of any organization that uses servant leadership improves, because of the organization’s continuous efforts on development. These efforts help create more efficient, content, empowered and innovative teams to generate more profitability (Schmidt, 2013). Starbucks’ employee satisfaction rate has increased and they have markedly grown since 2014 with their attempt to build a community by offering the free college tuition (Business Wire,
Servant Leadership is a way of life, serving others first, it is not just a leadership technique. “Servant leadership is a leadership philosophy which addresses the concerns of ethics, customer experience, and employee engagement while creating a unique organizational culture where both leaders and followers unite to reach organizational goals without positional or authoritative power” (Carter & Baghurst, 2014, p.1). As stated by Ann McGee-Cooper “anyone could lead perfect people, if there were any.” The challenge “is to learn to develop the imperfect people who we all are” (as cited in Spears, 1995, p.59). A leader who adopts the Servant Leadership philosophy looks like a part of the team, patient and caring, not someone directing
van Dierendonck, D., & Nuijten, I. (2011). The servant leadership survey: Development and validation of a multidimensional measure. Journal of Business and Psychology, 26(3), 249-267. doi:10.1007/s10869-010-9194-1
Servant Leadership means to serve others and to lead. It puts everyone else first teaching to put others before yourself, with this leading qualities emerge. Just being or having leadership qualities doesn’t always work. Most leadership models show possessive towards the better for themselves, some work out while others don’t, mostly I think because the unwillingness to see others before yourself is a hard concept for some to understand and use. You can be a great leader but if you don’t understand servant qualities or serve for the benefit of others your probley not much liked. Most I don’t think know what Servant Leadership is or means, I didn’t until this course opened it up to me.