Religion in and of itself is about servant leadership, and that approach transcends all beliefs regardless of the one that we choose for ourselves. I realize that we have all kinds of people attending the World Campus and that mixed within those various cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds are people with various faiths and beliefs, including some who choose to have nothing to believe in at all. I respect those differences in points of view and I’m not here to convince anyone to believe in one way or the other, however when attempting to identify an example of servant leadership that would resonate well; I could not find a better example than the leadership of a church. Mine is a pastor and is a Christian, but I imagine the servant leadership qualities can be found at most places of worship.
Servant leadership as defined by Northouse (2013) “begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choices brings one to aspire to lead…. The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant – first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served” (p. 220). For most churches, the highest priority need is the need to follow the Word, but that is not the only focus that a church leader has.
For our purposes we will compare the Ten Characteristics of a Servant Leader as per Northouse (2013) and how they correlate to the Church leaders themselves.
- According to Northouse (2013), the first characteristic of servant leadership is listening, which is “communication between leaders and followers” (p. 221). While we often think of our religious leaders as preachers who stand at a pulpit and spread God’s word, in practice, that is just a small part of their time. Church leaders are very much listeners as they are often asked to pray or spend time with members of their congregation as a means to help guide those through trouble.
- Empathy, the second characteristic of servant leadership (Northouse, 2013), is the ability to understand the troubles that followers may be going through. For the church leader, displaying empathy takes place when helping a grieving family confront the death of a loved one or by praying and spending time with those inflicted with a disease or a challenging situation.
- Healing, according to Northouse (2013), is the “means to make whole” (p. 222) and is the third characteristic. In my faith, physical healing outside of our common medical capabilities is left up to God, however a church pastor helps their congregation heal through issues by providing counseling and guidance, and they request healing from God through their prayers. In this regard, they identify with Northouse’s (2013) example in that they “care about the well-being of their followers” and they “support followers by helping them overcome personal problems” (p. 222).
- A church leaders is always aware of the issues taking place in the world that impact the church in religious and non-religions ways, and in many cases, they will tie these events back to a sermon or two. In this case, the leader identifies with the fourth (of the ten) characteristic of servant leadership which is to have awareness (Northouse, 2013).
- People may have differing points of view on the church leader’s power of persuasion, but having the ability to persuade is a key ingredient to a pastor’s success in leading a church, and persuasion just happens to be the fifth characteristic of a servant leader (Northouse, 2013).
- Conceptualization, according to Northouse (2013), is the “ability to be a visionary for an organization, providing a clear sense of its goals and direction” (p. 222). The direction of a church, such as what subset of the religion to follow (Baptist, Presbyterian, etc …), which charities to support, or how church resources are allocated are all determined by the leader, and in most cases, the only focus of the church pastor is the “big picture” that Northouse (2013) discusses. Church leaders use conceptualization to navigate themselves through complex issues facing the church such as individual and family needs as well as organizational needs that are a part of running the business side of the institution.
- Foresight may be the trickiest characteristic to correlate a church experience to, as according to Northouse (2013), foresight “encompasses a servant leader’s ability to know the future” (p. 222). For my religion (Christianity), there are few leaders who don’t know what’s coming, as in our belief; the future is clearly stated in the bible. In that regard I would suggest they have foresight, even if its not of their own discovery.
- The eight’s characteristic (of the ten) of servant leadership is stewardship, and like the prior example, can be a peculiar attribute to link to all church leaders. Stewardship is much like trust, except its not earned over time, rather it is accompanied by title. Some church leaders have abused this responsibility and have cast a negative light on leaders and places of worship (of all faiths); however most church leaders take this responsibility greatly and accept ownership of their decisions and actions. In this, they build trust and maintain a congregation with which to lead.
- Committing to the growth of followers is the ninth characteristic of servant leadership, and Northouse (2013) described this as “treating each follower as a unique person with intrinsic value that goes beyond his or her tangible contributions to the organization” (p. 222). A pastor’s responsibility is to “tend to their flock,” which is to help their church members grow both spiritually, but also as human beings in personal and professional situations. Church leaders invest time to ensure that the church as a whole is progressing and growing, as individuals and as a collective group.
- Maybe the easiest church attribute to identify with (the Ten Characteristics of Servant Leadership) is the building of community. Churches themselves are about the community. They are the community of the church (the members), the community of their religion, and the physical community in which they serve. Northouse (2013) described building community as “a collection of individuals who have shared interests and pursuits and feel a sense of unity and relatedness” (p. 222). When I think of that definition I can’t help but picture a church community in the background.
We can all agree to disagree with regards to what to believe or even to believe at all. What we should all be able to agree on is that the purpose of the church (synagogue, mosque, temple, etc …) is to serve those partaking in the activities and that the purpose of those places of worship is to provide servant leadership.
Reference
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.