Servant Leadership for Great Workplace
Jeff Miller, Ph.D.
Leadership Consultant
Innovative Leadership Solutions
The Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership
“If a good society is to be built, one
that is more just and more caring, and
where the less able and more able
serve one another with unlimited
liability, then the best way is to raise
the performance as servants of
institutions, and sanction natural
servants to serve and lead.”
Robert K. Greenleaf
Today’s Workplace Trends…
Pace of Change
Every Business Will Organize Around
Services (Davis & Botkin, 1995)
The Drive for “Fast” Organizations =
Stronger Decentralization of Leadership
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Workplace Trends
(cont’d)…
Shallow Labor Pool
Emotional & Cultural Intelligence Skills
Are Key (James, 1996)
Extensive Investments in Workers
- Continuing Education
- Family Friendly Policies
- Value the ENTIRE Person
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Workplace Trends
Problem solving
(cont’d)…
PEOPLE skills...
Ethics
Open-mindedness
Persuasiveness
Leadership
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Educational
Training & Development,
November, 1999. ASTD.
“Traditional View of Leadership”
Linear Progression?
Do It!
Skills
Principles
Concepts
Organized Knowledge
Awareness
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THE LEADERSHIP CONTINUUM
An Educational Process of Leadership Growth and Development
Application
Principles & Skills
Concepts &
Organized
Knowledge
Awareness
Source: Janet Ayers,
Purdue University
Personal
Interpersonal
Organizational
Community/Institutional
Development
Development
Development
Development
Development Phases
“Traditional”
Leadership/Management
Sequential
Skill Based – (tools, techniques)
Generally Measurable
“Technicians”
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Developing the Whole
Organizational
Personal
Interpersonal
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Community
Medicine Wheel/Circle of Courage
Mastery
Belonging
Independence
Source: Brendtro, et.al.
“Reclaiming Youth at Risk.”
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Generosity
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Solutions
Human Growth and Development
Mental
Emotional
Spiritual
Adapted from Brendtro, et.al.
“Reclaiming Youth at Risk.”
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Physical
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Robert K. Greenleaf (1904-1990)
1904: Born in Terre
Haute, Indiana
Mid ‘20’s: Professor’s
words
1926: Began career at
AT&T
1964: Retired from AT&T
and founded the Center
for Applied Ethics
1970: Coined the term
servant-leadership in his
essay, “The Servant as
Leader.”
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The Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership
The Servant-Leader is Servant First.
“It begins with the natural feeling that
one wants to serve first. Then conscious
choice brings one to aspire to lead. The
difference manifests itself in the care
taken by the servant to make sure
people’s highest priority needs are being
served.”
Robert K. Greenleaf
The Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership
The Best Test...
“Do those served
grow as persons;
do they, while being served,
become healthier, wiser, freer,
more autonomous,
more likely themselves
to become servants?”
Robert K. Greenleaf
The Servant as Leader
Servant-Leadership
Characteristics
Listening
Empathy
Healing
Persuasion
Awareness
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Foresight
Conceptualization
Commitment to
people’s growth
Stewardship
Builds community
Spears, Larry C., editor. Insights on Leadership.' Service
Stewardship, Spirit, and Servant-Leadership. New York:
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1998.
Level 5 Leadership
Level 5: Level 5
Executive
Level 4: Effective
Leader
Level 3: Competent
Manager
Level 2: Contributing
Team Member
Level 1: Highly Capable
Individual
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Source: Collins, J. Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce
Resolve. Harvard Business Review, January 2001.
Emerging Leaders want…
Freedom
Immediate Payoffs
Independence
Balance
Flexibility
Social Responsibility
Direct Communication
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Sense of Community
Time over Money
Meaning & Life Purpose
Customized Personal
Development Plan
Genuine Relationship
Mentoring/Coaching
Career Pathing
Skill Transferability
Source: Center for Creative Leadership. On-going
research project.
Emerging Leaders want…contd.
Continuous and
Immediate
Feedback
Learning
Experientially
Understanding of
the Work Contract
Acceptance of
Differences
Trust
Openness
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Source: Center for Creative Leadership. On-going
research project.
Key Competencies Learned from the
Kellogg Foundation Fellows Program
Self-Knowledge
Interpersonal
Effectiveness
Flexibility/
Adaptability
Commitment to
Service
Technology Mastery
Public Policy
Creative Thinking
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Solutions
Source: Beineke, J.A. & Sublett, R.H. Leadership Lessons and
Competencies: Learning from the Kellogg National Fellowship Program.
http://www.wkkf.org/Documents/CCT/Leadership/leaderlessons.asp
Hunter’s Love & Leadership
Patience
Selflessness
Kindness
Forgiveness
Humility
Respectfulness
Honesty
Commitment
Results: Service &
Sacrifice
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Hunter, James. The Servant: A Simple Story about the True
Essence of Leadership. Prima Communications, Inc. 1998.
Servant-Leadership
Characteristics
Shared Leadership
Provides Leadership
Shares Vision
Envisions the Future
Shares Power
Takes Initiative
Shares Status
Clarifies Goals
Values People
Develops People
Believes in Others
Provides for Learning
Serves Others First
Models Behavior
Listens Receptively
Builds up Through
Encouragement
Innovative
Laub, J. Notes from seminar at 1999 Greenleaf Center
for Servant-Leadership annual conference.
Leadership
Solutions
Servant-Leadership
Characteristics, cont’d.
Builds Community
Strong Relationships
Works Collaboratively
Values Individual Differences
Displays Authenticity
Openness and Accountability
Willing to Learn
Has Integrity, Fosters Trust
Laub, J. Notes from seminar at 1999 Greenleaf Center
for Servant-Leadership annual conference.
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Six Major Applications of
Servant-Leadership
Personal Growth and Development
Service Learning Programs
Leadership Education
Organizational Development
Trustee Development
Community Development
Implications for
Organizational Development
• Organizational Structure
• Communication
• Decision-Making
• Compensation
• Accountability
• Training
• Work-Life Balance
• And More...
What Lands a
Company on
This List?
PROFITABLE?
2001 FORTUNE’S 100 Best
Companies to Work For
S&P 500
3 Year Return
25%
5 Year Return
25%
10 Year Return
17%
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Best Companies
37%
49 companies
34%
46 companies
21%
39 companies
2001 FORTUNE’S 100 Best
Companies to Work For
• approx. 1/3 are supporters of the
Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership
• 3 of the top 10 have a significant
relationship with the Greenleaf Center Southwest Airlines (#4); TDIndustries
(#6); Synovus Financial (#8)
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Servant-Led Companies
“Walk the Talk”
Schneider Corporation:
 Our leadership style is based on Servant-Leadership
 Our leadership style is collaborative and interdependent.
The focus is success of the whole, through synergistic
interactions.
 We seek people who demonstrate accountability,
stewardship, initiative, positive work ethic and flexibility.
 We are continually improving through individual &
organizational learning.
 We demand excellence. Excellence is living our Mission
Statement.
Servant-Led Companies
“Walk the Talk”
Synovus:
Do the right thing
Apply the golden rule
Value differences
Putting people first.
Passion. Humility. Energy.
Values. Family
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Container Store:
Fill the other guy’s
basket to the brim
Exceed customer
expectations
1 great person = 3
good people
Obsession for training
The best…selection,
service, price
Air of excitement
Servant-Led Companies
“Walk the Talk”
Southwest Airlines:
TDIndustries:
Willingness to say, “I made
a mistake.”
Concern for and belief in
individual human beings
Telling people what they
have done well,
with frequency
Honesty
Not expecting more of your
people than
you do of yourself
Making people feel a
sense of worth
Building trusting
relationships
Fairness
Responsible behavior
High business ethics
standards
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“Nothing is more important than creating
an environment in which people feel they
make a difference. You can’t feel good
about what you’re doing unless you think
you’re making a difference.”
- Jack Stack
President and CEO,
Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation
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Servant-Leadership Is...
A paradox.
A timeless, universal principle.
A name for what many people already practice.
A long-term transformational approach to
life and work.
A way of being that can be lived out by
individuals and organizations.
A specific leadership philosophy that puts
serving others as the number one priority.
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Peter Senge on Leadership
“Don’t confuse leadership
for power or authority.”
Leadership is inherently
collective…
… and profoundly personal.
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Everybody can be great because
everybody can serve. You don’t have
to have a college degree to serve…
You don’t have to have Einstein’s
theory of relativity to serve…
You only need a heart full of grace. A
soul generated by love.
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- Martin Luther King