A servant leader is one who tries to build up their followers to make them as successful as the leader him/herself (Northouse, 2016). Being a servant leader reminds me of someone who is training another person for a job, and something similar to what I will be doing for my wife’s business as I guide victims through their resources. There are ten main characteristics for a servant leader which include listening, empathy, healing, commitment to the growth of people, and building of the community (Northouse, 2016). All of these describe my goal for my wife’s business. My main job will be as a case manager/social worker for those who are victims of rape and domestic violence to go through their resources housed at my wife’s place of business. My job will be to guide them to the right people, obtain the right documentations that are needed, assist the victims in counseling to help build them back up, offer follow up, and do community outreach projects. My goal would be to also have the survivor teach others about the resources, assist in another’s “escape”, and have them be a person that one can go to for advice as well.
There are three main objectives in servant leadership. Those objectives start with antecedent conditions, or the pre-existing factors that are already in place, such as situation, leader attributes, and follower receptivity (Northouse, 2016). This can be the setting, the culture, or even the attitudes that one is dealing with. The next objective is servant leader behaviors (Northouse, 2016). The leader has to be able to behave in a manner that others will seek guidance from them and be able to follow their guidance to come out to a clear goal (Northouse, 2016). The leader must exhibit the type of personality that allows one to heal, that puts other’s feelings first, and that seeks to ensure the follower succeeds. Unlike other leadership styles, servant leadership is the only one that looks at ethical behaviors (Northouse, 2016). The final objective is the outcome, or the end result (Northouse, 2016). This end result, in my role, would be assisting the victim to their end goal, whether that be to leave the relationship, to press charges, make a plan out if they feel they are okay to go back home but may be in danger again, or any combination of the such. The other end result would be to bring about awareness and realization to the communities in hope to spread word about the crimes that are taking place in regard to domestic violence and rape and allow citizens to know the warning signs and know how to make a plan to leave the relationship, especially if kids are involved.
In the ideal servant leader in a different job setting would include one who is training another person. The leader is the trainer, while the trainee is the follower. The leader guides the follower in order to learn the in-and-outs of his/her job. This allows the foundation to be set. The leader then advises the follower on how to improve in their tasks. This allows the follower to make improvements and to advance in their knowledge. The end goal is for the follower to be fully functional and able to train another person in the end, and even perhaps set one up for success and potential promotions if that were to be a goal.
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.