What Is Servant Leadership In Nursing

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
…show more content…
The emphasis of the leader must be on the fulfillment of all healthcare goals that best support patient care while embracing all the members of the healthcare team. The servant leadership model is very effective in nursing due to the fundamental nature of putting a patient’s needs first (Garber, Madigan, Click, & Fitzpatrick, 2009).
The author of this paper believes the most important characteristic of servant leadership in healthcare is listening and communication. Nurses must collaborate with physicians, each other and their patient to give excellent patient-centered care while serving the needs of their patients. This involves putting their personal solutions aside in order to effectively work as part of their patient’s healthcare team (Garber et al., 2009). Listening is the foundation of effective collaboration, which will facilitate a mutual sharing of responsibility and power over caring for patients. Servant leaders value the importance of input in the decision making process and the consideration of every member of the healthcare team as a source of knowledge. This emphasis on listening and communication reinforces the importance of effective communication and empowerment for all members of the healthcare team, including the patient (Rubio-Sanchez et al.,
…show more content…
I have spent eight years as an Army Officer and as a junior leader, I didn’t feel that my position was as important as those placed into higher leadership positions. Frequently, all the credit of my hard work was given exclusively to higher-level leadership. The military embraces and creates Authoritarian leaders that direct others through commands, downward communication and punitive criticism (Marquis & Huston, 2015). I have learned that servant leadership embraces community and emphasizes the importance of all members of an organization. It can be applied to all organizations and not just non-profits, religious affiliated institutions and community focused workplaces. James Hunter, the author of The Servant: A Simple Story About the True Essence of Leadership (1998) specifically uses a drill sergeant in the Army as a character to emphasize the fact that the principles of servant leadership can and should be applied to all

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    However, for over the last six decades, one the most influential authors for the terminology and study of servant leadership, is a man that goes by the name of Robert K. Greenleaf. In his studies, Robert K. Greenleaf describes servant leadership as a type of leader that serves others, rather than the followers serving the leader. Doing so will have the followers achieve and improve. As any leader, they are responsible for the followers and those that are not on the same level as others. The people served grow as individuals, becoming 'healthier, wiser, more autonomous and more likely themselves to become servants' (Greenleaf, 1977).…

    • 142 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Nursing Leadership Theory

    • 1343 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Introduction Nursing is a profession within the health sector requiring inspiring role models and nurse leaders. Today's demanding healthcare society greatly challenges the Nursing boards and educational institutions to identify and develop capable nurse leaders. The description of leadership is very complex. Research conducted over the years concludes, no clear or constant definition or theory of leadership exists (Atsalos & Greenwood, 2001; Grossman & Valiga,2012; Mannix, Wilkes, & Daly, 2013, Josephine Scully N 2014). It is imperative that nursing professionals identify the leadership styles and theories relevant to their relevant practice.…

    • 1343 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Thank you for your positive feedback. Opposition to servant leadership are under the belief that servant leaders are timid and seek the approval of others for confirmation however, servant leadership according to Van Eeden (2008) et al servant leaders are “Transformational” in nature. Van Eeden et al suggest that transformational leadership promotes “intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence” which in turns help transformational leaders garner trust, respect, and admiration from their follower.…

    • 177 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the book, The Servant, James Hunter explores the concept of Servant Leadership. Throughout the narrative, lives of people from various walks in life are analyzed with the lens of servant leadership. The reader can look into the life of a Healthcare worker, a soldier, a member of corporate America and an educator. Characteristics of Servant Leadership Active Listening…

    • 1092 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I attended our monthly staff meeting and shared leadership early in the day. Today was special because the Clinical Nurse Specialist was present to share her viewpoint on certain issues. As we were discussing problems that often seen on the Progressive Care Unit, I realized that everyone involved in the meeting was trying to find solution to increase patient satisfaction. Every individual seemed to care about each other and especially about his/her patients. This is the core of servant leadership where the needs and interests of others are of the utmost important.…

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Servant Leadership Theory

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In Parris and Peachey’s conclusion it is admitted that servant leadership is hard to view operationally and theory remains primarily anecdotal with variations from study to…

    • 743 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
  • Decent Essays

    Dr. Freeborough, With every passing week, I am gaining a clearer understanding of the principles of servant leadership and how these principles can be applied within my current role in my organization as well as how they can be applied in other settings. I found it interesting how even though recent research supports the use of servant leadership it is still not utilized in more often in today's workplaces (Heskett, 2013). Research from Linuesa-Langreo & Ruiz-Palomino (2016), showed that the use of servant leadership increased creativity and empowerment within the organizational culture, thus leading to improved productivity. While I still question the rational behind organizational leaders not utilizing servant leadership principles more…

    • 198 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    57). Furthermore, Servant Leadership holds many strong correlations to James MacGregor Burns’ transforming leadership” and “moral leadership” (Valeri, 2007, p. 51). For Robert Greenleaf, Servant Leadership “was a statement of what his life stood for, what he had learned from his own experiences, and what the world needed in order to become a better place for us to live in. He truly believed that it was each person’s task in life to leave his or her place in the world a better one after they had departed” (Valeri, 2007, p. 54).…

    • 1767 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Nurses comprise the vast majority of care givers and staff in the medical community. As such, nursing are well positioned to transform the healthcare system by providing the vision, creating the direction and leading the way. This includes advocating a team approach in achieving goals for quality of care. Nursing leaders have a history of inspired leadership in Nightingale, who showed the way of what could be accomplished with vision, conviction and the willingness to challenge the status quo.…

    • 79 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to Daft (2013), “A servant leader transcends self- interest to serve others, the organization, and society.” Servant leaders operate on two levels: for the fulfillment of their subordinate’s goals and needs for the realization of the larger purpose or mission of their organization. Servant leaders give away power, ideas, information, recognition, credit for accomplishments, and sometimes even money. (Daft, 2013) Being a leader is a privilege, and it brings on many challenges, seeks solutions, and face them head on with intentions of being successful.…

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The principles of servant leadership consist of listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of others, and the ability to build a community (Spears, 2010). As a charge nurse of my unit, I am a servant leader who applies all these principles in my daily life. I listen to my coworkers patiently and become aware of the issues they are facing in their professional and personal lives. This awareness makes me empathize with them. The empathy would allow me to persuade them to take the right steps towards the healing process.…

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Servant Leadership Essay

    • 431 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A servant leader is a unique attribute that a select few obtain. That being said, servant leaders are needed at all levels within an organization. Regardless of one’s title or position the flow of power starts from the top and is dissipates down. When power is used properly then the support of those with power flows from the bottom back to the top. This process is completed with effective servant leaders at all levels.…

    • 431 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The healthcare environment is rapidly evolving as the needs of clients and technology changes to conform to the growing competitiveness in healthcare provision. This calls for healthcare practitioners to develop leadership attributes to inspire their colleagues in the pursuit of a common goal of improved patient care. Health care givers are thus required to nurture in themselves characteristics, such as creativity, vision, communication skills to assist them in decision-making at patient level. An effective healthcare leader possesses attributes, such as courage, ability to handle stress, initiative and integrity in addition to thinking critically, communicating and collaborating skillfully and being able to set and meet goals.…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Overview Servant leadership is ideology that a leader serves the people that they lead. They do this by ensuring the welfare of the people are taken care of. Servant leaders is describes as a leader who serves others first, who brings a sense of belonging and community, and disperses the power evenly among the people (Adhiambo, J. M. ,2012, pg.11). The culture that I chose to show example of servant leadership is one of the poorest cultures in the world and its leaders in the region are some of the most corrupted. Even with all this said the cultures of Africa have had some great examples of a servant leader and what it can do in a region.…

    • 1281 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays