This past week in my Psych 485, Leadership in Work Settings class we learned about Servant Leadership.
Servant leadership “emphasizes that leaders be attentive to the concerns of their followers, empathize with them, and nurture them”. (Northouse 2016) They put followers first and help them develop and perform at their highest potential. This is a very interesting concept and to be truthful not one that I am familiar with or agree with. It by no means denotes weakness in a leader as might be assumed but I would think that it can only be used in the most structured of environments. Perhaps with the most experienced and educated people in a particular field that the leader has the utmost respect and appreciation for what his or her followers can achieve.
This form of leadership is based off of a model that has three main components. The first is antecedent conditions. This involves the context and culture of an organization, the leaders attributes and the receptivity of the followers. This I believe to be the most important. All of this combines in and of itself, will determine whether or not servant leadership is the best form of leadership in that situation. The second is the seven servant leader behaviors. They are, conceptualizing, emotional healing, putting followers first, helping followers grow and succeed, behaving ethically, empowering, and creating value for the community. The third is leadership outcomes. These are follower performance and growth, organizational performance and societal impact.
While I may not agree that servant leadership is appropriate in most work place environments, in some instances I can see where it might serve its’ purpose. In sales, for instance sales people are taught that the customer always comes first and is always right. I believe this to be a great example of servant “leadership”. In a sense, the sales people are the leaders and the customers are the followers. The profit of sales only depends on what the customer wants and needs so without “pleasing” them a company will fail due to the lack of sales.
I also see servant leadership possibly happening in a non-profit type of situation. These “leaders make a conscious choice to serve first-to place the good of followers over their own self-interests” (Northouse 2016) and according to Robert K. Greenleaf, “have a social responsibility to be concerned about the “have-knots” and those less privileged”. The leader is there to not only put their followers first but to “make it a priority to listen and develop strong long-term relationships”. (Northouse 2016) This allows leaders to “understand the abilities, needs, and goals of followers which then allows the followers to reach their full potential”. (Northouse 2016) A perfect example of this would be in a non-profit organization that I am familiar with, URC (Urban Renewal Corporation). They have been in existence since 1994 and offer a recovery program for the economically disadvantaged. It is their “mission to make a permanent and positive change in the lives of every person involved in their program”. They offer various programs to help individuals get off their feet and become productive members of society. In doing so, they within recent years added another program to their facility. This is a computer education program whereby the individuals learn how to repair, refurbish and recycle computers. I happen to be in the Electronic Recycling field and have proposed that I go there and oversee (via presentation) these individuals to assist in the technique of doing so. I am not “tech” savvy by any means so I can’t necessarily build a computer but I know what goes into it and how it comes out and how it should be separated for proper recycling in getting the most out of the precious metal value.
When performing this service, I would most definitely consider myself representative of a servant leadership role in that I will be exhibiting most of the behaviors that are needed. In conceptualizing, I can demonstrate that I “thoroughly understand the organizations purpose, complexities, and mission”. Oddly, conceptualizing falls under one of the criticisms of servant leadership. It is not understood why it is a defining characteristic particularly of this type of leadership. I believe it may be because in becoming a servant leader one has to put “all” things aside and “virtually” leave matters into the hands of the followers with only the leaders guidance. So it is important that it at least be known that they understand the company’s in’s and out’s, it’s upside and downfalls so that if a change in leadership needs to be done, they are aware. I definitely posses the emotional healing in that I am “sensitive to the personal concerns and well being of others”. I will most definitely put the followers first as well as help them to grow and to succeed. I will always behave ethically. The followers are encouraged to be independent, be self-sufficient and to make their own decisions. And lastly, by doing all this it is all to create value to the community by consciously and intentionally giving back to the community. Their website is http://www.urbanrenewal.org/
References
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.