A servant leader places emphasis on helping followers develop into leaders and leader has desire to serve others so they can develop to meet organizational needs (PSU, 2013). This type of leadership is characterized by empathy, healing, commitment to growth of others, persuasion and building a community among others (PSU, 2013). The leader is someone who is self-less and does things for others. In a sense they place the needs of others before their own.
When describing types of servant leaders, religious figures, philanthropist may be at the top of the list. However, I think there is another career that can exhibit this, a coach. Coaches are some people that can have a lasting impact on individuals. They are respected individuals that can have a positive change in someone’s life. I believe a good coach doesn’t just care about their win percentage, but also care about developing model citizens and thus exhibit some aspects of servant leadership. A coach that exemplifies this well is Duke Head Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski. I believe he exemplifies a servant leader by being one to listen to his players, feeling empathy for them, showing commitment to growth of players as well as build a positive community. In accomplishing those tasks, he has also built Duke Basketball into a perennial powerhouse.
Coach Krzyzewski is described as a leader who maximizes his players’ leadership capacity within a team setting (Stone, Russell, & Patterson, 2004). The leadership they gain through Coach K enables them to become good leaders in other organizational settings outside of the team (Stone et al., 2004). This is one of the reasons Coach K is highly respected as he doesn’t just develop basketball players, but develops men. He cares about the development and growth of his players both on and off the field (Stone et al., 2004). Additionally to developing young men to be better members of the community, he was very empathetic and resourceful for his team. Being far away from home, Coach K represents the father figure to some of his players (Sidle, 2007). He listened when they need the opinion of someone and provides advice as needed (Sidle, 2007). He is a guide and role model for all of them to follow. His leadership and personality allows him to bring cohesion to the team that sets them up for success. His players have great respect for him which allows him to further establish himself as a leader of developing men.
Duke is very fortunate to have a person that is not only a good basketball coach, but also have a positive impact in their community. He does this for the betterment of individuals, not for personal gain or fame. Despite having numerous acclaims, his greatness is the impact he has had on the lives of his players. This is why I believe Coach Mike Kryzewski is an example of a servant leader.
References
PSU World Campus (2013). PSYCH 485 Lesson 11: Servant Leadership. Retrieved on March 28, 2013, fromhttps://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/sp13/psych485/003/content/11_lesson/03_page.html
Sidle, C. (2007). The five intelligences of leadership. Leader to Leader, (43), 19.
Stone, A. G., Russell, R. F., & Patterson, K. (2004). Transformational versus servant leadership: A difference in leader focus. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 25(4), 349-361. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01437730410538671