Robert Greenleaf: Servant Leadership

Robert Greenleaf while showing the flaws of traditional leadership in his prodigious play titled, ‘Servant Leadership’, said, “Traditional Leadership…is authoritarian with accumulation and exercise of power without clearly defined task and measurable result”. He thus implies that servant leadership share powers, put the need of others first, and help people to develop as highly as possible. Preferring this style of leadership, I draw strength from historical, literary and personal experiences. Looking back, I have learned from the compelling practice of this leadership style by Lao-Tzu in 570 BC. As a Chinese Overlord, Lao Tzu involved slaves, servants and farmers in decision-making in his kingdom. Although he was opposed by the Lords and the aristocrats who even planned severally to assassinate him, he succeeded in uniting many Chinese kingdoms. The unity gained through this servant-leadership inspired the building of the …show more content…
During the 2013 Nigerian Economic Summit, my team coordinator at the summit was always at the intern desk assisting with menial works to the amazement of many of us interns. His humility and simplicity encouraged most of us to work hard and most times, late into the night. Adopting the servant leadership approach has personally yielded positive results. Despite the temptation to impose one’s will on others as practiced traditionally, a peep into historic, literary, and my personal experience has shown the futility of this practice such that the adoption of servant leadership is beneficial to individual growth and the achievement of overall teamwork. 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