Servant Leadership Essay

698 Words3 Pages
Servant leaders devote themselves to serving the needs of organization members and focus on meeting the needs of those they lead. By developing employees to bring out the best in them and coaching others to encourage their self-expression, servant leaders strive to facilitate personal growth in all who work with them. For any effective leader, he or she must listen and possess the ability to persuade, grow, and build a strong sense of community, but for the servant leader, these are necessary traits to develop, and demonstrate in one's daily interactions with others. However, it is easy to lose sight of these ideals, especially in an age where profits outweigh people, but servant leaders are able to take a step back, reflect, and put into daily practice these qualities to overcome such hardships and obstacles. Mark 10:43-45 “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” In order to be a good servant leader you must create a servant workforce, you must put in principles or habits that encourages sensitivity, integrity, and a sense of community within your organization. Be an Active Listener - In the words of Steven Covey, "you must first seek to understand, then to be understood." Problems, whether they are coworker disputes or handling a large spurt of production delays or downsizing your workforce, all require a degree of listening first to what employees need to understand how to effectively deal with and solve the underlying problem. Traditionally, leaders have been valued for their communication skills and decision-making abilities. Servant-leaders must reinforce these important skills by making a deep commitment to actively listening to others.

More about Servant Leadership Essay

Open Document