Servant Leadership Research Paper

Improved Essays
Servant Leadership Great leaders seem to be far and in between. They don’t come automatically either. “There is no such thing as a born leader. As time goes on, education, jobs, and life shape a leader 's philosophy and psychology” (Blanken). Great leaders come from experience and understanding effective and successful leadership styles. Though many leaders use different types of leadership to be successful, a great leader is one of service who leads with the interests of the group first. According to Rhea Blanken from The Center for Association Leadership, there are eight common leadership styles that are used. Some leaders use one style heavily while others use bits and pieces of multiple, if not all, leadership styles. “While most leaders …show more content…
For a Servant Leader, a task is not a one-man show. This form of leadership includes the whole team and allows every member to brainstorm ideas and solutions to a problem. In this case, the team gets the credit, not the leader. Servant leadership provides high morale and a positive culture. The perfect example of a Servant Leader is Jesus Christ, a figure from the Bible. He served those around him, let His followers figure things out on their own, and He was humble. The seventh type of leadership is Situational. Blanken states that these leaders have the ability to link behavior with the group’s readiness. They can read their team. Every member of a group or team has strengths and weaknesses and a good Situational leader knows what they are. Not only do they know, but they put the strengths to work and they help strengthen the weaknesses. Unfortunately, as Blanken says, it can be confusing of behaviors change unpredictable and perhaps too …show more content…
But perhaps the most effective form of leadership that leads to high morale, a happy and productive workplace, and an overall sense of well-being, is Servant Leadership. A servant leader thrives on serving others and putting the needs of others before self-interest. A servant leader may use other types of leadership depending on different situations, but rely primarily on service. But what makes a great servant leader or leader in general? “Motivation is the most important characteristic of any leader” (Campbell). Motivated people can accomplish great tasks because they aren’t willing to give up. A motivated leader will have a vision, which is what future success looks like. They will have goals to reach their vision. They know what they want and they’ll do what’s necessary to get

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Servant Leader There are multiple aspects that make up a great servant-leader. One who leads by example represents a servant-leader. The leader who physically gets involves with the action shows better leadership qualities.…

    • 822 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As Robbins and Judge (2016) indicate, servant leaders go beyond their self-interest focus and more toward developing the follower and creating opportunities for their personal growth. One could contend that servant leadership was first established by Jesus Christ himself, as not only His leadership style but further the leadership style in which He invites his followers to demonstrate. As Philippians 2 describes "You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Servant Leadership Introduction There are many opinions and strategies about how to effectively lead people. Throughout the ages it has been a problem that leaders and rules have tried to solve. How can a person bring together a group of people to effectively accomplish a task together? As time has marched on, different opinions have risen and declined in popularity.…

    • 1092 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    No matter what type of work someone does, rather it is in industry, services or some other employment, there will always be leaders and followers. However, there are good and bad leaders, and there are good and bad followers. Most people, if not everyone, have encountered and can think of an example for both types of followers and leaders. A great leader is one that can be described as having servant leadership and also has the ability to show great followership when they are being led by others.…

    • 600 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    And remembering that Chanakys once said, ‘The leader is a paid servant that enjoys the resources of the state together with the people’, servant leadership is my preferred leadership style, which I have adopted on several occasions yielding positive…

    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Reflecting and Understanding Servant Leadership and Followership To become more experienced in anything takes countless hours, effort, and sacrifices. Everyone starts somewhere, however most start from the bottom and slowly but surely rise to the top through dedication and work ethic. To be a servant leader you must fully understand what it means to be an effective follower by mastering enthusiasm, being proactive, versatile, as well as flexible. Although being an effective follower and a servant leader is similar and even at times the same thing, they do have their differences.…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I see leadership not as one person forcibly moving another in the direction of one person’s desired outcome. I look at my leadership role not in a hierarchical manner with me demanding excessively from my employees but rather in a collegial way. Servant leadership places a leader hand-in-hand with the people he/ she is serving, walking alongside to achieve a common goal. The common objective for my servant leadership involves recognizing the needs of my peers, helping them to bring out their own strengths, and ultimately bringing the members of an organization towards…

    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Third, I believe that being a servant leader helps provide growth and development within the organization or department. I believe that since I care for the success of others and help by being a servant, I can further nurture my team’s growth because I see and understand everyone’s contributions (Podsada,…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Servant Leadership: Leading the Way to a More Just and Caring World Amberlie Silva Denver School of Nursing Servant Leadership: Leading the Way to a More Just and Caring World Throughout history, leadership has been portrayed as the sole responsibility of select individuals that were chosen through circumstance or job title to do and achieve great things (Rogers, 2009). This concept of leadership implies that decisions are made to the betterment of those in powerful positions and not to serve the needs of an entire organization. Servant leadership changes this concept and places the importance of good leadership qualities on every part of an entire organization, by motivating others to “become the…

    • 974 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Characteristics A servant leader will encourage their employees to continue to grow, to develop as a person and a professional. Theses types of leaders will also encourage good behavior by showing appreciation and by giving their employees attention, they will also lead by example (Hunter, 1998).…

    • 820 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Leadership Interview

    • 1743 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Servant leadership style is very well suited for optimizing long term gains within an organization. However, if the organization is geared towards short term returns, this leadership style will fail. In his work, at times, short term gains can become important. However, servant leadership styles or collaborative leadership styles are valued more since they help improve the overall productivity within the organization and improve employee performance…

    • 1743 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The idea of servant leadership is not new. Some of the earliest examples of servant leadership can be taken from the bible. “And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.…

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is easy to miss understand this culture and religion but it is important to see when leaders encompass servant leadership what it can do for a region and a religion. Examples like Mohammad and Nelson Mandela have shown great characteristics of servant leadership. They both united there people and delivered there people from great oppression. There characteristics of integrity, since of community, equality, and humility are what it means to be a servant leadership. We need more people like them to make a world a better…

    • 1281 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    There may not be one best way of leadership. If one leadership style works in one situation, then it might not work in another situation (Daft, 2018). Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Theory Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership theory draws views from contingency thinking (Daft, 2018). Effective leadership depends upon each individual situation and may not be addressed by a single leadership style. Every task is viewed differently and requires a different leadership style.…

    • 1305 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    While looking through the resources provided for this section it was interesting to see Bommelje quoting Robert Greenleaf, where he says a servant leader seeks first to serve, “then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.” That was very profound because if I look back at my career to where I am now, becoming a leader was a natural step. My desire to serve others moved me toward a leadership role, where I could be a mentor to others and a student to those that I respect and seek knowledge and mentorship. One thing I have discovered about myself is…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics