Servant Leadership: Robert Greenleaf

Leadership Research Paper

BUSI 502 B03

Liberty University

James Tompkins

Part 1 – Literature Review

The servant leadership model was pioneered by Robert Greenleaf in 1977 and later developed by his followers (Spears, 1996). Literature reveals that Greenleaf emphasizes the characteristics of servant leadership managers as having a humble attitude; focusing on retention and development of employees; creating safe environments; placing legitimate needs of their followers above self-interest; listening with open-mindedness; and having empathy, kindness, healing and emotional intelligence while placing the benefits to workers and society above the bottom line (Wong & Davey, 2007) (Spears, 2004). Greenleaf’s optimistic reflections presented

Fischer goes on to point out that while servant leadership has noble tenets, challenges exist because man’s fallen nature can incapacitate the humanistic model that Greenleaf promotes (Fischer, 2017B). The need for recognition, making your career your idol, and becoming a workaholic and thinking that everyone else’s ideas are beneath your own are all dangerous avenues of thought that deter servant leadership according to Dr. Fischer (Fischer, 2017B). One of the major differences between Greenleaf’s servant leadership model and a biblical perspective is the focus on who is being served (Duby, 2009). The servant leader perspective has to change from performing a job for their employer to fulfilling their calling from Christ (Morris, 2007). Dr. David Duby of Liberty University contends in his article that the Greatest Commandment from the Lord Jesus is “to love the Lord with all of your heart, mind, and soul, and to love your neighbor as yourself” which is the basis for servant leadership (Duby, 2009). Blanchard and Hodges define the EGO for the operation of

However, to implement this style genuinely and effectively, leaders should be sure that they either possess or can readily adopt certain attitudes and criteria that meld with the successful application of servant leadership. These major criteria should be paired with a relationship with Christ to truly be effective. Chief among these attitudes are (1) vision, which is the beginning of everything, (2) listening, which is hard work requiring a major investment of personal time and effort, worth every ounce of energy expended, (3) believing that the job involves being a talent scout and a commitment to the staff’s success, (4) believing that it is good to give away power, and (5) striving to be a community builder (Boone & Makhani, 2012). According to Christ’s model, servant leadership involves laying aside anything that normally would be associated with prestige or the world’s idea of success and control; it often involves relinquishing one’s own desires (Coulter, 2003). Servant leadership is demonstrated by empowering and developing people; by expressing humility, authenticity, interpersonal acceptance; and by providing direction and stewardship (Van Dierendonck,