When thinking about the definition of a servant, one may think of a butler. Perhaps a person who is destined to wait on other people. Maybe a person who is lesser then a king and is made to wait on others. Or, maybe a person who is devoted to their religion and is a servant to God. Maybe a parent as a servant to children? But, what about a servant leader? Does anything pop to mind? When I begin thinking of a servant leader, I instantly think of a leader who is devoted to their followers. A leader who is there for them, start to finish, and wants to help them succeed in the best way possible. This is pretty much what servant leadership is. The theory believes that as people grow older, they also become more servant-like. Basically, as a person matures, they value helping others succeed much more (Williams, 2018). Servant leadership is a theory that allows the leader to take responsibility for the group, but also puts focus on how the leader develops their followers. The idea is that if a leader builds up the followers well enough, they will be productive without the leader (Williams, 2018). In servant leadership, there are ten traits that are typically present. They are as followed (Northouse, p.227, 2013):
- Listening
- Empathy
- Healing
- Awareness
- Persuasion
- Conceptualization
- Foresight
- Stewardship
- Commitment to the growth of people
- Building community
As a leader, these traits are important, but they are more important in servant leadership, because a servant leader must possess these characteristics in order to produce productive followers.
To dive in deeper into these traits, I think the best example of a servant leader is a parent. I am a parent of two children, one who is 3, and one who is 6 months. The oldest is a boy, named Dawson, the youngest is a girl, named Emma. Being a parent is absolutely hands down the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I am in servant leadership mode, all the time. As a parent to two young, impressionable children, I have to be a leader they can look up too. Which means I have to listen. I have to listen to their needs, before I explain what I need from them. Being a 3 year old is challenging; no one understands you, but thinks they do, and everyone is always telling you what to do. To be a better leader and a better parent, listening to what Dawson is trying to tell me first, is helping me understand his viewpoint and his needs (Northouse, p. 227, 2013).
Secondly, empathy is incredibly important in servant leadership. To be empathetic, one must be able to stand in another person’s shoes and understand where they are coming from (Northouse, p. 227, 2013). As a parent, it benefits me greatly if I can make Dawson feel like I understand his feelings. I try to, as I know it can be so overwhelming seeing the world from his vantage point. Being empathetic shows Dawson that I care and he can trust me with his feelings.
Thirdly, and also really important as a parent, is the trait of healing. Healing is defined as caring about the health and wellness of the followers. It’s important to care about the wholeness of your followers, as it shows that their leader cares about them, which in turn makes followers happy (Northouse, p. 228, 2013). As a parent, I have to ensure my children are happy, healthy, and whole. If they are doing well, they are more willing to listen to me, to learn, and to adventure. They are better little humans, when they are whole. The better the followers feel, the more they will be able to complete things on their own, allowing the leader to work on other things (Williams, 2018).
The last 6 traits, as listed above as well, are awareness, persuasion, conceptualizations, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people and building community (Northouse, p.228, 2013). A servant leader and a parent should be aware of the situation they put themselves in, as well as the situation their followers are in. For example, if I took Dawson to preschool, I need to be able to gain a sense of awareness of how to help him through that transition, as well as the impact this could have on him. Persuasion would also come in to this scenario, as I may have to persuade him to stay at preschool to learn and grow, which he may not want to do. Being able to persuade is a skill that makes a great leader as it shows that one is capable of convincing their followers to do something that may need to be done. Conceptualization helps the followers see the bigger picture of things, or long-term goals. As a parent, my child may not want to attend school and think it’s “stupid.” However, it is my job to show him that school will give him the abilities he needs to conquer the world; I need to conceptualize the idea for him so he understands it better and agrees to attend school. Foresight is the leaders ability to predict the future and anticipate what could be happening in a situation. Again, if Dawson was just starting preschool, I would need to anticipate the support he may need to be successful in school. This would make me a better leader/parent as I can be there for him before he even asks. Stewardship involves taking responsibility for the situation; if Dawson acts out at preschool, I need to take responsibility for him as his parent and correct the action. Second to last, is commitment to the growth of people. Servant leaders are designed to help each person grow in personal and professional ways. As a parent, it is my job to ensure my children are growing into their skins, becoming confident and learning the skills the need to be successful in the world. Last but not least is building community. The servant leader is suppose to build a community of support around them and their followers, so they are always in an environment where they feel their best. As a parent, I have to make sure Dawson and Emma are surrounded by people who love them and want what is best for them. If they are in a community that will take care of them, then they are destined to be successful (Northouse, p.229, 2013).
As you can see, servant leadership is a theory of leadership that can be used for a lot of examples in life. The traits that are present in this theory are not just for this theory or just for leadership. The traits and characteristics are what make a great leader but also an upstanding citizen, which in my humble opinion, is important. You can’t be a great leader forever if you aren’t a good person first. To stay on with my example, I will know if I was successful as a parent/servant leader by how my children are when they are older. If they are successful on their own and are able to live a great live, I will know that I have lead them well.
References:
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage.
Williams, Jason (2018). Servant Leadership. Psychology 485. The Pennsylvania State University.
Jessica Bonner says
Thank you all for the comments!
Adam: Servant leadership certainly isn’t the best type of leadership for parenting all the time. I think being a parent includes different types of leaderships, especially when they grow older and less impressionable of you, but rather their friends. I think as my kids get older, the type of leadership I may have to use would be a situational approach. In this approach, leaders act differently for each follow they have, and in different situations (Williams, 2018). What works for my son, may not work for my daughter. If my son starts misbehaving and acting downright crazy, the way I treat him will be different from the way I treat my daughter. The situational approach is the approach that tells us how leaders should change based on their followers and the situations they have at hand (Williams, 2018). Regardless of the situation though, I will have to always try to remember that I am a servant leader first, and the more I remain a servant leader, hopefully the better my kiddos will be. Thanks for your comment!
Tony: I enjoy how you bring up ethics. That’s such a universal trait to have, like you mentioned, but ethics in leadership and psychology in general are so incredibly interesting to me. Leaders are required to ethically be good role models, or else followers wouldn’t look up to them, right? But that’s not always the case. Hitler was a horribly unethical man, yet he had such a large following. If he was so unethical in his behaviors, how could he get such a large following behind him? Well, in my opinion, I think that Hitler was an effective leader but an unethical leader, causing him to spend the negative outcomes of leadership instead of the positive ones. However, research has shown that employees respond better to leaders who are mildly ethical, as opposed to highly ethical, so perhaps that is how he gained such a large following. It is easier for followers to get behind a leader whose moral compass is on the lower side, as opposed to extremely ethical (Souten, et al, 2012). I have always been really interested in ethics and how it relates to leadership/psychology, so I wish this was something our class touched upon a bit more! (But I don’t think we’d have enough time haha.) Great comment and thank you for your post!
Leayle: Thank you for your comment! I agree with you and that is something I didn’t touch on in my post that maybe I should have! The expected outcomes are just as important as how the leader wants to be. If a leader isn’t focusing on what they hope will happen with their followers, then the outcome could be lost in translation.
Great post and thank you!
References:
Stouten, J, van Dijke, M.H, Mayer, D.M, de Cremer, D, & Euwema, M.C. (2013). Can a leader be seen as too ethical? The curvilinear effects of ethical leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 24(5), 680–695. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.05.002
Williams, Jason (2018). Situational Approach. Psychology 485. The Pennsylvania State University.
Adam John Swain says
Jessica,
I think you have a strong grasp on the servant leadership theory and your examples were spot on in application. To add to your case, “servant leadership argues unabashedly that leaders should put followers first, share control with followers, and embrace their growth” (Northouse, 2016, pg. 240). As a dad of two, I can attest that we put our kids first. Sometimes we all need a break, but even during those times, we schedule things around being able to offload them. My kids are now 11 and 6 so I also understand the necessity of sharing power, especially when in public. Sometimes letting them be in control is the easiest way to avoid embarrassment. The best part about parenting is watching and embracing them grow. I can remember when my daughter was born and I would hold her on my chest while she slept. These days, she is competing in swim meets and talking about boys with her friends. The later makes me a bit uncomfortable but at the end of the day, I love seeing her come into her own.
The other side of the coin, as Northouse (2016) points out that, “there are conditions where servant leadership is not a preferred kind of leadership. Findings indicate that servant leadership may not be effective in contexts where followers are not open to being guided, supported or empowered” (pg 240). This is the case where my daughter, who as I said is 11 but acts as though she is 15, isn’t open to my guidance and her empowerment. As an example, today I had to try to convince her that it was a beautiful summer day and that she should put the iPad down and go with her friends; that her summers would be over before she knew it. This not being what she wanted to hear, she reluctantly left her room and asked if I would give her a ride to her friend’s house. The houses are connected by a walking path through the neighborhood, safe from cars, so I told her she could walk any go anywhere she wanted. Of course, she didn’t want the autonomy and wasn’t happy that I wouldn’t be driving the ½ mile to her friend’s house. At this point, servant leadership wasn’t really working in my favor so I had to resort to more directive approach, as I’m sure that you have experience with.
At any rate, great post and application of the theory. Good luck with your little ones, it doesn’t get easier but changes significantly.
Adam
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Anthony Kent Springmann says
Hello All,
Great post, Jessica! You did a really nice job expanding upon the characteristics of a successful servant leader and connecting those ideas to parenthood.
I absolutely agree on your point that one cannot successfully lead without being a good, ethical person first. Especially as a parent, where your children are constantly watching you and your actions, being a good role model and doing the right thing all the time is invaluable. Moreover, one of the most significant parts of the servant leadership input-process-output model, that you mentioned already, is behaving ethically, which is in the process part of the model (Williams, 2018).
I think that behaving ethically is one of the most important leader behaviors because it is universal. In the vast majority of work settings, if a boss or manager is not an ethical person, this usually results in the business or organization not being successful. More importantly, servant leaders, or any decent leader for that matter, should never compromise their own principles or integrity in order to achieve success (Northouse, 2016). This might seem to be common sense but, unfortunately, some work settings do not have servant leadership and it has a negative impact on the work environment and the people in the work setting.
Of the leadership strategies that we have been introduced to so far in this class, I think that servant leadership is one of the most effective but also one of the most difficult. It is difficult for human beings to be humble when in a leadership position but as recent research has shown us, it makes for a more dynamic and successful workplace.
-Tony
References:
Northouse, Peter. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage.
Williams, Jason. (2018). Lesson 11: Servant Leadership. Pennsylvania State University.
Leayle Benjamin says
Jessica,
Great job with your blog! I agree with you that parenthood and servant leadership are synonymous of each other. I think you related parenthood to being a servant leader effectively with the course material and it was nice to see how you conveyed this through the use of your examples. Along with the traits and behaviors of a servant leader, Northouse (2016) mentions that it is also vital to assess the potential outcomes of servant leadership as well (Northouse, 2016, p. 236). Essentially, if you are working with a follower to develop their full personal capacities, it is just as important to examine the outcomes of your servant leadership efforts. Northouse (2016) explains that the outcomes of servant leadership include follower performance and growth, organizational performance, and societal impact (Northouse, 2016, p. 236). I believe that if we were to relate this to your parenting example, the outcomes of your servant leadership would be revealed as your children get older and progress through grade school, college, adult life, and so forth. With follower performance and growth, as Northouse (2016) puts it, “the expected outcome for followers is greater self-actualization” (p. 236). I would imagine that this would occur when through your nurturance and guidance, your children realize what they want to do with their lives and you help them achieve that goal. Once they enter into an organization, they can have an impact on that organization’s performance. According to Northouse (2016), “several studies have found a positive relationship between servant leadership and organizational citizenship behaviors” (p. 237). Such behaviors like making sure your children are learning the skills they need for the professional world and providing the support they need as they transition in life all help to build their character and prepare them for adulthood. Lastly is the outcome of societal impact. Northouse (2016) describes that “the long-term outcomes of putting others first include positive social change and helping society flourish” (p. 238). Based on this and relating this to your example, your servant leadership/parenting efforts will help to produce children that will be noble members of society as they grow and enter adulthood. Thank you for sharing your story and I wish you the best on your parenting endeavors!
Reference:
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles, Calif.: SAGE