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The Power of Servant Leadership

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The Power of Servant Leadership

Essays

Berrett-Koehler,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

The servant leader leads by serving, and by causing others to serve. And, yes, that is a management strategy.

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

The late Robert K. Greenleaf was widely revered for his profound impact on leadership theory during the last three decades of the 20th century. Eight of his most compelling essays on servant-leadership (a term he coined) are published here in book form for the first time. These essays testify to Greenleaf’s legacy and to his important role in the philosophies of leadership and service. Issues of spirit, vision and wholeness are woven through many of these essays, which address individual and institutional leadership in all areas, including government, business, religion, education and philanthropy. getAbstract highly recommends this eloquent book to those contemplating or holding leadership positions.

Summary

The Power of Servant Leadership

In The Servant as Leader, published in 1970, Robert K. Greenleaf first defined servant-leadership, a term he coined that continues to challenge and inspire people worldwide. "The servant-leader is a 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?"

Servant-leadership is now in its third decade as a specific leadership and management concept, and it continues to revolutionize workplaces and institutions. It is a long-term, transformative approach not only to work, but also to life. Within Greenleaf’s original writings, several characteristics are central to the development of servant-leaders: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people and building community. "How can an institution become more serving? I see no other way than that the people who inhabit it serve better and work together toward synergy - the...

About the Author

Robert K. Greenleaf , the former director of management research at AT&T, was a visiting lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management and at Harvard Business School. He died in 1990. The book was edited by Larry C. Spears , CEO of the Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership.

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