Servant leadership is a type of leadership in which the leader acts as a “parent” to the followers and serve them what they need to become future leaders and serve others. This “servant” relationship is what helps the followers grow individually from the company’s requirements. The end goal is that the leader builds a strong group os leaders who can help continue the cycle and serve others (PSU WC, L. 11, 2021). In order to fulfill the position of a servant leader, a leader must have certain characteristics. According to PSU WC (2021) the 10 characteristics of a servant leader are listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, and building community. These 10 characteristics help describe how parenthood is based on servant leadership as parents hold many of these characteristics. A parent’s goal is to nurture their children and help them grow so that one day they can take care of themselves and future children of their own (PSU WC, L. 11, 2021).
As an adult, it is my duty to be a role model for kids and help them grow both individually and socially so that they can soon teach others the same. Parents quickly grow the ability to conceptualize situations with their kids and home life and solve problems that may seem like a mystery to others. A servant leader is able to put others before them, and in the case of parenthood this occurs more often than not, such as changing diapers or retrieving snacks (PSU WC, L., 11, 2021). Healing, awareness, listening, and empathy all intertwine together as characteristics and they each give more power behind conceptualization and putting others first. Servant leaders, much like parents, must listen to their followers and hear all concerns, empathise with them, communicate with them, and see their point of view so that you can better solve situations and and offer more effective leadership (Northouse, 2018). Each of these characteristics are important for defining individual needs and characteristics so the approach used by the leader fits the induvidual.
My kids are messy, energetic, and nonstop moving. They know how to work the televisions, where their toys go, and that they have so let hot food cool down before eating; but there is still so much to learn. These types of skill development are not something we are born with, but something we are taught. “A servant leader focuses on the people that are directly below them, rather than the company as a whole. In servant leadership, the leader ensures that the followers are growing in all areas…” (Tait, 2020). In my home, it is more effective for me to teach separate skills to both kids in order to cater to the correct needs rather than our family as a group.
The outcomes from this type of leadership are follower performance and growth, organizational performance, and societal impact (Northouse, 2018). While this type of leadership may seem better suited for larger organizations, it can just as easilt describe a much smaller scale single family home. In my home it is my duty and goal to help develop my kids into functioning adults that can perform well in the real world and make a positive impact. According to Tait (2020) Google has implimented servant leadership and the results showed increased productivity and revenue. When it comes to children and increasing motivations and productivity it is important that we lead them to be able to take such direction.
Parents, teachers, daycare workers, and extended families all share the duty of keeping our young generations safe and constantly teach them new life skills. We must nurture them so that they become productive, caring individuals who can continue the cycle of service. Showing empathy and interest to children will help expand trust and relationships so that a positive affect can be left with the child. Servant leadership is able to help define how parents use the 10 characteristics of a servant leader to mold and shape their children into future leaders and mentors.
References
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 8th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications
Pennsylvania State University World Campus. (2021). PSYCH 485 | Lesson 11: Servant Leadership https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2137573/modules/items/32271438
Tait, B. (2020, March 11). Council Post: Traditional Leadership Vs. Servant Leadership. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2020/03/11/traditional-leadership-vs-servant-leadership/?sh=6a34c9ff451e.
Good evening,
When I posted my blog this week, I thought I was alone in my application of parenting to leadership. When I saw your post, I was excited to read about another classmate’s perspective on the topic. Parenting is unique leadership role in that many of us take on the role without considering if we have the qualities, or have potential to learn the qualities, to be a head of a family. We often see the panic that new parents feel when they begin to ask themselves if they can do this. All of the planning, the promises to ourselves to do this and not do that, generally it all goes out the window during those first few years as we learn what kind of parent we realistically want to be. I agree on some aspects of the servant leadership application and I disagree with others.
On it’s face, I can certainly understand why this approach is an idealistic one when it comes to parenting. Among our parenting generation, more than ever we are pressured to participate in the birthday parties, the extracurricular activities and the educational experiences. In our modern society where most families are dual-income households, fathers and mothers play equal roles in parenting. I associate often with other parents of children in my son’s school and over the past 3 years I have observed extreme amounts of participation from parents in these efforts. I don’t recall my parents keeping anywhere near as busy with my life, sometimes I had to find my own entertainment. Not a week goes by where I am not receiving a text requesting a get-together with my son, because we cannot fathom being a parent who allows a child to just be bored all day. From this perspective, servant leadership actually reflects this parenting experience quite nicely.
There are many attributes of servant leadership that should absolutely exist in parenting. First and foremost, behaving ethically should be top priority when it comes to parenting. Assuming that one’s ethical standards reflect that of society, strong ethical standards will guide any quality of parent through difficult situations. I spoke at length about the value of ethics in leadership. In a nutshell, leadership, in general, is moot without the ethics and integrity to back it up. There should be comfortable communication between parents and children to communicate needs and understanding (Northouse, 2019). Being able to understand how our children communicate is important for addressing needs and also for curtailing unacceptable behaviors. We also need to speak their language so that we can successfully establish expectations with them. We should be empathetic to the uniqueness of our children. It is unlikely that our kids will be exactly like us, and we should allow them to build on their uniqueness by validating their thoughts and feelings (Northouse, 2019). Being able to communicate expectations through persuasion reduces stress in within the family. Persuasion creates change through nonjudgmental argument (Northouse, 2012). Not all parents may agree that a reduced amount of autocratic forced compliance is a good thing, however, generally in modern parenting I have noticed a softer, more reasonable approach to gaining compliance. The concept of conceptualization is truly idealistic when it comes to parenting, and I see the efforts being made in the aforementioned activities. Parents make huge self-sacrifices to try to be forward-thinking for their children’s future. Under this concept. Parents ideally think beyond the day-today functions and focus on the future (Northouse, 2019). This could be as big as committing every Saturday morning to a sport or as simple as ensuring that a child eats their vegetables so that they are healthy.
Considering this, I also feel as though servant leadership is not developed enough in terms of parenting styles. If you review my reply, I address some past research which explored parenting style, particularly in terms of levels of freedom and control (Ferguson et al, 2006). The first issue I identified is that servant leadership is said to be trait-based. Northouse (2019) defines it’s roots, in that servant leadership begins with a natural feeling to serve, followed by a choice to use that trait in a leadership position. If we believe that parenting can only be successful based on a trait-based approach, we are destined for failure. Traits vary greatly amongst people, and a lot of those people choose to be parents. If we do not promote a developmental approach to parenting leadership, we are basically saying that only those who contain the trait of stewardship can be successful parents.
Another issue in terms of developmental, skill-based leadership is that servant leadership appears to be an unchanging set of qualities and behaviors that do not develop to changing organizational needs over time. There are absolutely some organizational settings that can benefit from servant leadership. Northouse (2019) uses examples of music teachers and spiritual leaders. Servant leadership does not address aspects of delegation, discipline or setting boundaries and expectations. There is an important follower participation aspect of servant leadership that is required for it to be successful. Followers need to be contributive, self-motivated and need to accept the type of leadership being offered (Northouse, 2019). Parents know that with children, this is not always the case. The aforementioned qualities, while they sound fabulous, realistically may fall on deaf ears. Spiritual leaders can apply servant leadership because their followers are making a choice to be there and to incorporate the spiritual group into their life. The dynamic of children and parent is a follower/assigned leader dynamic. Children’s attitudes towards the control they are under evolves over time as they develop cognitively. Difficult situations require skill development to manage changes in how the child is responding to the leadership. Many servant leadership qualities may be beneficial when a child is smaller and discipline is easier to manage (time-out, anyone?). After a parent begins to lose complete control of their child’s decisions as they become individuals, it is important that parents are able to incorporate some amount of authoritarian-style leadership. Based on Northouse’s (2019) examples, typical servant leaders aren’t always in a position where they need to be concerned with authority and discipline because the follower’s self-interest is to be a part of the organization. In a perfect world, this would be wonderful, but as we parents know, it is rarely the case.
Ultimately, I agree with Ferguson’s (et al, 2006) breakdown of parenting and leadership, that a good democratic parent balances levels of freedom to grow individually with levels of control over behavior and decisions. Parents are required to be open to skill development so that they are able to situationally apply leadership styles. Most importantly, parents and children need to form an interpersonal bond through which trust and respect is developed. Similar to leader-member exchange theory, positive exchanges develop over time, resulting in a mutually beneficial relationship (Northouse, 2019). Interestingly, Northouse (2019) points out a combination of styles that results in a paternal/maternal style of leadership. This concept takes styles from opposite extremes of the grid, country club and authoritative, and combines them to show that a parental leadership style both lays down the law and also emotionally involves themselves with the follower. If we are capable of both of these styles we can manage our household, maintain expectations, address behavioral issues, but do so through showing our love, affection and concern for our children.
References:
Ferguson, E. D., Hagaman, J., Grice, J. W., & Peng, K. (2006). From leadership to parenthood: The applicability of leadership styles to parenting styles. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 10(1), 43–55. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2699.10.1.43
Northouse, P. G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and practice (Eighth Edition). SAGE Publications.
Thank you so much for this post, as I can relate one hundred percent. I am a mother of an active three-year-old, and I am selfless, always putting her needs first as I should (Northouse, 2019). Being a parent is not easy because there is no such thing as “me time” anymore. However, I would not trade it for the world. I am always trying to raise a young lady who will be the best person to contribute to society and keep the trend going (Northhouse, 2019). The characteristics that Northouse lists are so important in leadership at work and home as well. First of all, we are their protectors, and we must listen to them even when we do not want to, as building good communication skills is taught. We are everything to our children, as they believe we know everything. Children today are very expressive, and we have to teach them what is appropriate to say and how to act. Having empathy for our children is simply understanding what they are going through and coaching them through that situation. My daughter gets upset if she cannot accomplish something. She screams and says, “I’m so mad.” I understand that she is frustrated, so I talk her through the situation and ensure she successful teaches her how to do it next time. If I am doing homework and she needs me, I immediately drop everything and give her the attention she needs, as that is an example of putting her first. I had to learn the hard way that she acts out when I am working and doing homework all the time, so for her to be great, I have to keep her motivated and pour into her being her role model like you stated. I do not want some athlete being the first person that she looks up to because I want to instill morals and values in her that others may not.
Being a parent and a leader in the same when it comes to conceptualization. Leaders have to understand the organization, and parents must teach their children and the complexities of it (Northouse, 2019). If we parents do not lead our children in the right direction, they may get guidance from the wrong people. Servant leadership is one of my best styles, as pouring into people turns out to be a success a lot of the time. I like to think of servant leadership as serving with the heart.
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 8th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications
I think your comparison of servant leadership is spot on. Servant leadership, to me, sounds like behaviors that good, loving parents exhibit for the benefit of their children. It isn’t just concern for using followers to achieve a goal, it’s being aware of an concerned for the followers. In essence, the true goal is the well-being of the follower, or child. As Northouse (2019) states, a servant leader practices being attentive to followers, empathizing with them, and helping them to become better people in all different capacities.
Out of the ten characteristics of parenting that you’ve listed, I’d say that healing is the one that most applies to parenting. In an organizational setting, healing might not be as relevant as it is in a home setting. Healing would relate more to the concern parents have for the physical, emotional, and mental well being of their children. I think it’s great that servant leaders are putting more of an emphasis on this subject.
As leaders and parents, you also really use conceptualization and persuasion. Both have tremendous influence over the growth of the followers or children. They could use persuasion to pass on their own maxims, feelings, and thoughts. They could use conceptualization to purposefully develop their followers or children in a way that matches their ideal, or into a person that aligns with their goals.
References
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 8th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications