I used to be involved in an organization that I think requires a servant leader. This organization is Big Brothers Big Sisters. Big Brothers Big Sisters is an organization that says they “help children realize their potential and build their futures.” They also “nurture children and strengthen communities.” Basically, it is a mentoring organization for youth that are in difficult home situations (We Are Here to Start Something).
Servant leadership is a type of leadership where the leader has a desire to help others develop, which in turn allows them to help other people develop (PSU WC, L11). The lesson listed ten characteristics of a servant leader that can be applied to a leader involved with Big Brother Big Sister.
One characteristic of a servant leader is listening. This is perhaps the most important characteristic for a servant leader in Big Brothers Big Sisters. The children involved in this organization are facing difficult situations at home and in their lives. Many times, people just need someone to listen to them. This leads into the next important characteristic, empathy. While spending time with the children and listening to their problems, the leader should be empathic. The children need someone to understand them and not to judge them or make them feel bad for some of the situations going on. As Northouse says, empathy requires the servant leader to “stand in the shoes” of the person. A leader in Big Brothers Big Sisters needs to stand in the shoes of the child and understand what they are going through and how that affects his or her life. When the leader does this, they can understand what the child is thinking and feeling (Northouse).
The third characteristic is healing. Healing requires the servant leader to support the follower to overcome personal problems. A leader in Big Brothers Big Sisters is there for this exact reason. They are there to guide the child in his or her life and help them overcome his or her challenges. Awareness, or understanding the impact we have on others, is another important leadership characteristic in Big Brothers Big Sisters. A leader in Big Brothers Big Sisters is essentially a role model for children. They must understand that children will look up to them, respect them, and many times, mimic what they do. For this reason, these leaders need to be especially aware of how their actions influence the children around them (Northouse).
Two final characteristics that are especially evidence in Big Brothers Big sisters are the commitment to the growth of people and building community. Commitment to the growth of people means that leaders treat the follows as a unique person and leaders help each person grow. A leader in Big Brothers Big Sisters is there to help the children grow, mature and reach their full potential. Therefore, the overarching goal of Big Brothers Big Sisters is to help people grow. Finally, building community is important so that leaders can create a welcoming space where everyone feels safe. Big Brothers Big Sisters often times works with schools and other community groups to build community in this way. Building community allows the children to feel connected, which in turn helps them grow and develop (Northouse).
The remaining characteristics can also be applied to Big Brothers Big Sisters, but these six characteristics are especially evident. Big Brothers Big Sisters is an organization that tries to help people grow and develop, which requires many servant leadership characteristics.
References
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications
Penn State World Campus (2013). PSYCH 485 Lesson 11: Servant Leadership. Retrieved
on March 31, 2013, from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/sp13/psych485/003/content/11_lesson/03_page.html
We Are Here To Start Something. (n.d.). Retrieved from Big Brothers Big Sisters website:
http://www.bbbs.org/site/c.9iILI3NGKhK6F/b.5962351/k.42EB/We_are_here_to_start_something.htm