Janusz Korczak, the sine quo non of servant leadership
Recently, I came across a biography of Dr. Janusz Korczak and I was deeply taken by his story, his courageous act, and was touched by his passion to help children. Dr. Korczak devoted all his life to help children. He also wrote many books about children; the most important one was the Child in a Family, which is a part of four piece cycle of How to Love a Child (Culture.pl, n.d.). Dr. Korczak truly believed that his purpose was to serve the poor and the children which makes him a servant leader by definition. “[Servant Leadership] begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first” (Greenleaf (1970), cited in Northouse (2016), p. 226). During World War II, while people were trying to survive and save themselves, Dr. Korczak focused on trying to provide for the children in his orphanage. He fiercely fought for food and basic conditions of existence for the children which were hard to come by during the war (Neilsen & Webb, 2007). He put the children’s needs first, which essentially is the sine quo non of servant leadership (Northouse (2016), p. 234). Several people offered to help Dr. Korczak escape, however, he always consciously declined. By being by the children’s side throughout this impossible time, Dr. Korczak showed that he put their needs first. Furthermore, Dr. Korczak realized that amidst all the heartache, his presence kept the children’s good spirit going, much like the present of Father John that Northouse (2016) brought up as an example in our text book (p.234). Dr. Korczak understood the importance of the emotional healing aspect of servant leadership. He was sensitive to the children’s concerns and well-being to a fault, as he insisted to be by their side to the end.
On August 5, 1942, during the Grossaktion, which is the final stage of exterminating the population of the Warsaw ghetto, Korczak refused to abandon his two hundred children (Culture.pl, n.d.). So, together with the two hundred children and other orphanage staff members, they march to the deportation train to be taken to Treblinka, where they all were put to death (Jewish Virtual Library, n.d.). The march was three miles long, and to keep the children in good spirit and to guide their way through to whatever lay ahead, Dr. Korczak lead the march, holding the children’s hands and just kept marching on. He echoed Father John’s belief that “When you face death the only important thing in life is relationship” (Northouse (2016), p. 234).
While Dr. Korczak’s servant leadership didn’t have any significant statistical numbers to boost, nor a happy ending to show, he did empower the children through a hopeless situation. Dr. Korczak believed that children should be able to structure their own world and be an expert in their own matters (Jewish Virtual Library, n.d.), similarly, Northouse’s (2016) states that empowerment shapes followers’ confidence as they were given the freedom to think or act in their own capacity (p.235). More importantly, Dr. Korczak believed in promoting autonomous spheres for followers just like Greenleaf (1970) did. Dr. Korczak was named “Man of the Year” by UNESCO and was loved by not only the Jewish community but by people from every religion, culture, and background. He was a true moral authority and a solid guidance to children through and through.
Reference:
Janusz Korczak (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2018, from http://culture.pl/en/artist/janusz-korczak
Janusz Korczak (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2018, from http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/janusz-korczak
Neilsen, H., Webb, Ch., (n.d). Janusz Korczak. Retrieved March 27, 2018, from http:/www.holocaustresearchproject.org/ghettos/korczak.html