Servant Leadership

Running Head : SERVANT LEADERSHIP

Servant Leadership

An Analysis of the 10 Servant Leadership Characteristics

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Servant Leadership : An Analysis of the 10 Servant Leadership Characteristics

It is a saying that the primary purpose of an organization is to fulfill its object as spelt out in its Articles and Memorandum of Association , which set up the organization . The effective leadership of an organization makes a difference to its survival . In this era of global competition , organizations seek competitive advantages in business , using the avenues

of effective service delivery , customer satisfaction , purposeful leadership and management of human and material resources

In to survive modern day competition , organizations would have to develop , retain , practice and support effective leadership . The new concept of effective organizational leadership transcends a leader 's possession of intelligence , toughness and a demonstration of a grim determination to survive unexpected changes (Bennis Nanus , 2003 . The new concept of effective leadership appears to be influenced by a leader 's cultivation of emotional intelligence which enables the leader to make good choices and decisions for the attainment of predetermined corporate goals

The ideal leader believes in service to his followers , and respect for the dignity of their human persons (Bennis Nanus , 2003 . He or she demonstrates a willingness to develop and influence their positive organizational growth so that they may attain their highest growth potentials (Liden , Wayne Sparrow , 2000

However , there seems to be one distinguished problem : there is no one universally proven leadership style that is recommended for adoption by organization managers . Yet , there are leadership styles that have been identified as worthwhile and result oriented . Thus , this study aims to analyze servant leadership and the different characteristics that may be attributed to the servant leader

The underlying assumption of this research is that a leader who exemplifies servant leadership characteristics in behavior is most likely to put service above self and provide effective leadership that promotes the dignity of the human persons of his followers . It will be a leadership that develops the potential of followers and builds needed mutual trust between the leader and the led . It is a type of leader-follower relationship which facilitates achievement of set goals

The reason for this study therefore , is to define the servant leadership characteristics , which are becoming guides of authentic leadership and effective management of organizations in modern time

Definition of Servant Leadership

Servant leadership is introduced by Robert Greenleaf into leadership literature I 1970 . In 1977 , Greenleaf documented his servant leadership ideas in a book that has now become an authority on servant leadership Servant leadership is a philosophy of service which postulates that the leaders serves his followers first , meets their needs , develops them and leads them to achieve set objectives . Servant leadership promotes follower-empowerment , mutual trust and collaboration , ethical use of power and dignity of service

The servant leader is first a steward and conscious effort transforms him to lead . The theory encourages openness , ability to listen and the ability to speak and be...