The Supervisor and Servant Leadership
The Supervisor and Servant Leadership
There are many styles any supervisor may take on to lead their team through the everyday tasks of a job. One style is actually considered to be a theory. That theory is the Servant Leadership Theory. Servant Leadership can collectively be defined as serving people first and then leading them. To serve someone and put their needs before the servant’s own will thus bring natural leadership to the table. Robert Keifner Greenleaf wrote an essay about this theory in 1970 at the age of 66 (Crippen). In that essay he wrote, "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." Below is an outline of each aspect of Servant Leadership and how they may pertain to a supervisory role in today’s society. Agapao love is the first step to fully engage the Servant Leadership Theory. In 2003 Kathleen Patterson said it best in a paper she wrote titled Servant Leadership: A theoretical model. In the paper she described agapao love to be exhibited by leaders who “consider each person as a total person -- one with needs, wants, and desires” (2003). Patterson goes on to say that after this is accomplished, one will be able to relate this to the needs of a company. As a supervisor, one has a direct impact on this idea. Because a supervisor has the direct relationship with employees, it has to be their sole responsibility to put employees’ needs wants and desires first. For example, a supervisor may elect to work on a holiday to allow their employees time with their families. In this example, a supervisor is giving up time with their own family for the benefit of their employee. Humility is the next component to the overall theory to Servant Leadership. Humility can be defined as “the quality or state of being humble.” (Webster) Humility allows a leader to truly see the value of an employee that is beyond their visions of
There are many styles any supervisor may take on to lead their team through the everyday tasks of a job. One style is actually considered to be a theory. That theory is the Servant Leadership Theory. Servant Leadership can collectively be defined as serving people first and then leading them. To serve someone and put their needs before the servant’s own will thus bring natural leadership to the table. Robert Keifner Greenleaf wrote an essay about this theory in 1970 at the age of 66 (Crippen). In that essay he wrote, "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." Below is an outline of each aspect of Servant Leadership and how they may pertain to a supervisory role in today’s society. Agapao love is the first step to fully engage the Servant Leadership Theory. In 2003 Kathleen Patterson said it best in a paper she wrote titled Servant Leadership: A theoretical model. In the paper she described agapao love to be exhibited by leaders who “consider each person as a total person -- one with needs, wants, and desires” (2003). Patterson goes on to say that after this is accomplished, one will be able to relate this to the needs of a company. As a supervisor, one has a direct impact on this idea. Because a supervisor has the direct relationship with employees, it has to be their sole responsibility to put employees’ needs wants and desires first. For example, a supervisor may elect to work on a holiday to allow their employees time with their families. In this example, a supervisor is giving up time with their own family for the benefit of their employee. Humility is the next component to the overall theory to Servant Leadership. Humility can be defined as “the quality or state of being humble.” (Webster) Humility allows a leader to truly see the value of an employee that is beyond their visions of
Cited: Crippen, Carolyn. "Servant-Leadership as an Effective Model for Educational Leadership and Management: first to serve, then to lead." Management in Education 1 January 2005: 11-16. Earnhardt, Matthew. "Testing a Servant Leadership Theory Among United States Military Members." Emerging Leadership Journeys. Regent University, 2008. Patterson, Kathleen. "Servant Leadership: A Theoretical Modle." Servant Leadership Roundtable. Regent University, 2003. Webster, Merriam. Merriam Webster Dictionary. 2010. 27 September 2010 <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/humility>.