A Critique of Servant Leadership

A Critique of Servant Leadership According to Robert K. Greenleaf, “The servant-leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. The best test is: do those served grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?” This is the simplest definition of servant-leadership. The pattern is cyclical- one learns how to serve, emerges into a leader through service, and ultimately serves those who he/she leads. It is a model based on teamwork and community where each person has a vested interest in the decision making, creating an ethically and morally based community, and experiencing positive personal growth which leads to a quality institution. Robert K. Greenleaf authored The Servant as Leader in 1970 after working in research, development, and education at AT&T for forty years and twenty-five additional years at multiple recognized firms and foundations. In 1964 he founded the Center for Applied Ethics, which was renamed the Robert K. Greenleaf Center and is headquartered in Minneapolis. Greenleaf’s approach to leadership puts serving others as its number one priority. A servant-leader’s highest priority is that others needs are being served. There are ten critically important characteristics that are central to an effective servant-leader. I will discuss these characteristics and how their role can be effective at my school.
1. Listening: Leaders are traditionally valued for their communication skills. In schools, this usually means distributing information. An effective servant leader seeks to identify the will of the group by listening to what is said (and not said) by the members. Then, the servant-leader should reflect on the voices of those around him and also listen to his inner voice.
2. Empathy: Effective leaders strive to understand those that work for them.