Robert Greenleaf Servant Leadership Characteristics
The Building Blocks of Servant Leadership
For many, the concept of servant leadership is a term delegated to religious leaders, however this notion would be misguided. While servant leadership is certainly exercised by religious leaders, this leadership style can be practiced in all sectors— private, public, academic, non-profit.
Robert Greenleaf launched the modern-day servant leadership movement with the publication of his essay entitled, The Servant as Leader in 1970. In it he postulated that servant leadership begins with “the natural feeling that one wants to serve” (Greenleaf 1977). He emphasized the foundational characteristics servant leaders possess include: listening and understanding, acceptance and empathy, foresight, awareness and perception, persuasion, conceptualization, healing and serving and community. Over time scholars and other servant leaders have defined and redefined the characteristics of servant leadership, however one overarching motivation remained the same, the servant leader begins with a desire to serve.
Servant Leadership Characteristics Identified (An Abridged Compilation)
Historically …show more content…
In it, he identified the characteristics of a servant leader as: listening and understanding, acceptance and empathy, foresight, awareness and perception, persuasion, conceptualization, healing and serving and community. These characteristics became the foundation for servant leadership. Another advocate of the servant leadership movement, Larry Spears, whose fascination with Greenleaf’s work with servant leadership, abridged Greenleaf’s characteristics to recognize: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people and building community (p.
For many, the concept of servant leadership is a term delegated to religious leaders, however this notion would be misguided. While servant leadership is certainly exercised by religious leaders, this leadership style can be practiced in all sectors— private, public, academic, non-profit.
Robert Greenleaf launched the modern-day servant leadership movement with the publication of his essay entitled, The Servant as Leader in 1970. In it he postulated that servant leadership begins with “the natural feeling that one wants to serve” (Greenleaf 1977). He emphasized the foundational characteristics servant leaders possess include: listening and understanding, acceptance and empathy, foresight, awareness and perception, persuasion, conceptualization, healing and serving and community. Over time scholars and other servant leaders have defined and redefined the characteristics of servant leadership, however one overarching motivation remained the same, the servant leader begins with a desire to serve.
Servant Leadership Characteristics Identified (An Abridged Compilation)
Historically …show more content…
In it, he identified the characteristics of a servant leader as: listening and understanding, acceptance and empathy, foresight, awareness and perception, persuasion, conceptualization, healing and serving and community. These characteristics became the foundation for servant leadership. Another advocate of the servant leadership movement, Larry Spears, whose fascination with Greenleaf’s work with servant leadership, abridged Greenleaf’s characteristics to recognize: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people and building community (p.