The idea of servant leadership is a relatively new approach to leadership within the military. Servant leadership started to emerge, in my professional experience, about ten years ago. Servant leadership has been an approach that has been adopted by many leaders that I have encountered. Even among hard changing military leaders, servant leadership is an accepted practice that produces positive outcomes. Servant leadership has helped me lead through challenging situations that proved difficult to overcome.
Army Culture
The Army is a fast-paced environment with a lot of tasks to complete with little time to accomplish. Competition for who can accomplish tasks the quickest or to the utmost perfection is pervasive. Unit leaders at every echelon of hierarchy brag about their Soldiers being the best in even the smallest ways. An instructor in an Army course stated to me once “all we ask is that you be fast and perfect”. Leaders and Soldiers alike are expected to learn quickly and apply what they learned rapidly. Soldiers are pushed mentally and physically beyond limits they may have thought possible on a regular basis. Soldiers conduct physical training every day, before most even wake up to start the day. Officer’s and Noncommissioned Officers hold legally binding legitimate power over their followers. Leaders are expected to get to know their Soldiers on a very personal level to ensure their needs are firmly met. In the purest form, unit leaders are responsible for everything their Soldiers do and fail to do. This creates an environment that breeds servant leadership.
Servant Leadership
Servant leadership is a unique approach that focuses on the leader and their behaviors. Northouse (2021) asserts that “leaders be attentive to the concerns of their followers, empathize with them, and nurture them (p.253). Additionally, servant leadership puts followers first in service to others and includes a strong moral basis concerning the greater good of organizations (Northouse, 2021, p.253). Servant leadership supports the development and outcomes of others for the greater good and is centered around the propensity to serve (Northouse, 2021). Spears, as cited by Northouse (2021), identifies ten characteristics of a servant leader which are listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, and building community (p.255).
The servant leadership model contains three components: antecedent conditions, servant leader behaviors, and outcomes (Northouse, 2021, p.257). Antecedent conditions are context and culture, leader attributes, and follower receptivity (Northouse, 2021, p.259). Servant leader behaviors are conceptualizing, emotional healing, putting followers first, helping followers grow and succeed, behaving ethically, empowering, and creating value for the community (Northouse, 2021, p.259). Lastly, outcomes of servant leadership are follower performance and growth, organizational performance, and societal impact (Northouse, 2021, p.259).
Army Culture and Servant Leadership
The concept of servant leadership is almost intuitive within the Army. Many followers eventually become leaders, either within or outside of the military regardless of time served. The propensity to serve in the Army, in my career experience, relates to servant leadership characteristics. Army leaders will often call for subordinates to be lifelong learners which equates to being a lifelong developer of others. Fail to show Soldiers the proper attention, care, and commitment and you will lose the respect of your Soldiers. Failure to properly train Soldiers in their specific career field results in degraded future leadership. Failure to develop others results in a loss of stewardship, growth, and community purpose within Army units. When leaders fail, the entire unit fails. Leaders must constantly be aware of their units’ strengths and weaknesses to provide vision and motivation. Army leaders must place subordinates needs and the mission first. Suffice it to say, the basic idea of servant leadership is nested within the values and culture of Army service. One may perceive the very nature of Army service would make servant leadership impossible. The rigid hierarchy alone can make servant leadership seem impossible. Tell a Soldier to do something they must legally comply, if the order is not immoral, illegal, or unethical. However, when applying the true approach of servant leadership, Soldiers will commit themselves to their limits to accomplish the mission.
Conclusion
Servant leadership is modeled in the values and culture of military service. The characteristics and servant leadership model are well practiced in Army units of today. The better the application of servant leadership characteristics and application of the model, the better the outcomes. Good unit leaders apply this concept daily, regardless of the some of the cultural norms associated with service in the Army.
Northouse, P.G. (2021). Leadership Theory and Practice (9th ed). Los Angeles: Sage Publications.