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Servant Leadership

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Servant Leadership
Servant Leadership
The idea of servant leadership was stated by Robert K. Greenleaf (1970). Robert K. Greenleaf founded the nonprofit Greenleaf Center for conducting people and organizations seeking to be better servant-leaders in 1964. According to Greenleaf “The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first; perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature”. A servant leader shall be truthful in all forms of professional and organizational communication, and avoid disseminating information that is false, misleading or deceptive. Servant leaders work in any type of organization and with any kind of employee group. The servant leader is the kind of leader who does not dispirit and frustrate the employees. Also, this leader does not suppress creativity of people. This situation will be happen if the leader will learn and try some guide lines for how to be and behave in the work place. There are many fundamental characteristics that a great servant leader may need to have among which listening, empathy, commitment to the growth of people, and building community can be named. Listening is a significant qualification of a servant leader. Listening to others is a skill that many traditional leaders are devoid of that in the work place. In fact, a leader should be a good listener rather than giving orders. The ability to listen to employees, and customers could establish a good relationship among them. Empathy is also one of the most important characteristics of a great servant leader. A servant leader is more concerned about the happiness and well-being of his or her people. This

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