Being a servant leader entails a variety of traits that are instrumental for one to serve both as a servant and a leader. One of the key traits that all servant leaders possess is the innate ability to want to help others. Servant leaders are not the usual leaders, but rather leaders whose primary aim is not to lead the subordinates, but rather to guide them to lead themselves. One of the many perks of servant leadership is the fact that it helps achieve autonomy. Lao Tzu once said that servant leadership is the highest level of leadership. Followers would feel much better if they did not notice that they were being led. A leader who is hardly noticeable is the best leader that can be.
I do possess several personality traits that make me be a servant leader. Ever since I was a child, having been raised on Christian morals and reading Bible stories about Jesus, I developed the urge to serve all other people. In some way, I have never wanted to be a leader, but eventually I end up becoming the lead in most of my groups. I always volunteer when everyone else is passing on the responsibility to another person, and I also work to ensure that all my peers, friends, and even subordinates are satisfied and happy with whatever they are doing.
Being a servant leader is a key trait I have possessed since my early childhood. I have learned that the best way to lead people is by serving them and trying to make them the best versions of themselves. This entails the use of one’s skills and abilities to nurture and grow the talent of an organization to a level that enables the individual to cultivate his or her own strengths and acknowledge their weaknesses (Pollard, 1996). Servant leadership mostly entails morality and religious practice. One of the best examples of servant leadership is when Jesus washed his Disciples’ feet despite the fact that he was their leader (John 13:1-17).
In an organization, the best way to bring out servant leadership is inverting the hierarchy of authority. Primarily, managers or leaders within the organization are solely meant to serve people (Grant, 2013). Whereas the followers are the ones who serve the leaders in contemporary conventional organizations, it is evident that servant leadership is the most effective leadership approach that could be taken (Greenleaf, 2008). One of the ways I would communicate the vision of the organization is ensuring that all employees are involved in the making of the vision. After the vision has been made, I would inform all employees to feel free to dispute, amend of improving the vision as we were all part of the same organization.
The vision would be tailored in such a way that all employees felt as if they were part of it. Making employees feel as if they were part of the organization is a crucial way to inspire all subordinates and make them strive towards the attainment of the organization’s mission. Arguably, servant leadership can achieve the best results, but has been openly dismissed by many as a weak leadership system (Tan, 2006). As such, very few organizations if any, in the corporate world use servant leadership within the organization. Some religious organizations, on the contrary, readily adopt a servant leader approach.
References
Grant, A. (2013). Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success. New York: Viking Press.
Greenleaf, R. K. (2008). The Servant as Leader. Westfield, IN: The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership.
Pollard, C. W. (1996). The Soul of the Firm. New York: Harper Business.
Tan, S. (2006). Full Service. Grand Rapids: Baker Books.
The Holy Bible.
