Part I:
Concept and Spirituality
of Servant Leadership
Chapter 3
The Concept of the Servant as a Leader
"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 lea d.
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?"  Robert K. Greenleaf, The Servant as Leader, 1970
The
subjugation of one individual by anotherservant and masterhas
demeaned society throughout human history. The idea that the relationship
itself, servanthood, could, in some manner, be the foundation for a form of
leadership would be deemed by most as utter fantasy. When this insight first
occurred is not recorded. Certainly no one spoke more knowingly or
commanded more adherence to servitude than Jesus Christ. "Whoever wants to
be first must place himself last of all and be the servant of all." (Mark 9:35)
Christ's teachings more than any other encourage and justify the present
advocacy of this form of leadership for congregations.
In recent times, the observations and essays on servant leadership by
Robert K. Greenleaf have led to what has become a growing worldwide
movement of education and advocacy. Writing initially in the 1970s,
Greenleaf's creative insight and clear vision of the servant as leader has
masterfully detailed the subject beyond improvement. The present author,
along with all Greenleaf's followers, are totally indebted to him for his
powerful creative instruction.
This chapter attempts to summarize the essentials of servant leadership
advanced by Greenleaf. Most of the material is adapted from his introductory
content and that of respondents. The collection of Greenleaf's essays, The
Power of Servant-Leadership, should surely be consulted. The excuse for not
providing further detail here is that Greenleaf's guidance is employed
throughout this volume in this congregational application. Greenleaf himself
devoted a great deal of attention to advancing servant leadership in religious
institutions. The dependency on his seminal work should be kept in mind.
History of Servant Leadership
It is amazing how often a fragile beginning turns into a colossus. But
only when the original idea is totally sound. That beginning for Greenleaf was
realization that the essence of leadership is service; being "the first person to
make sure that other people's highest priority needs are being served." As
common in so many lives, Greenleaf was strongly influenced by the life of
another, in this case, surprisingly through a mythical tale. Here, from the
Preface and Introduction 1 of The Power of Servant-Leadership, is the story.
3-2 Part I: Concept and Spirituality of Servant Leadership
In 1970, retired AT&T executive Robert K. Greenleaf coined
the term servant-leadership to describe a kind of leadership that he
felt was largely missing from organizations. It was Greenleaf's
belief that leadership ought to be based on serving the needs of
others and on helping those who are served to become "healthier,
wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become
servants." Over the next 20 years, Greenleaf wrote a series of highly
influential books and essays, which have helped lead the way for the
emerging model in leadership and management.
The idea of the servant-as-leader came partly out of Greenleaf's
half-century of experience in working to shape large institutions.
However, the event that crystallized Greenleaf's thinking came in
the 1960s when he read Herman Hesse's short novel, Journey to the
Eastan account of a mythical journey by a group of people on a
spiritual quest. The central figure of the story is Leo, who
accompanies the party as the servant and who sustains them with his
caring spirit. All goes well with the journey until one day Leo
disappears. The group quickly falls into disarray, and the journey is
abandoned. They discover that they cannot make it without the
servant, Leo. After many years of searching, the narrator of the
story stumbles upon Leo and is taken into the religious order that had
sponsored the original journey. There, he discovers that Leo, who he
had first known as a servant, was in fact the head of the order, its
guiding spirit and leader.
After reading this story, Greenleaf concluded that the central
meaning of it was that the great leader is first experienced as a
servant to others, and that this simple fact is central to his or her
greatness. True leadership emerges from those whose primary
motivation is a deep desire to help others.
In Greenleaf's own words, "First, I did not get the notion of the servant as
leader from conscious logic. Rather it came to me as an intuitive insight as I
contemplated Leo. Serving and leading are still mostly intuition -based
concepts in my thinking."
Religious leaders. Over the course of his life, Greenleaf studied and met
many people whose lives exhibited the inner strength and spirit of servant
leaders and influenced his writing. Foremost among these "great spirit"
images as he called them were a number of religious leaders. We credit them
here briefly to document the religious heritage inherent in Greenleaf's work.
In a 1980's essay on the inner city church as a servant to its community,
Greenleaf cites the lives of two pastors who invested over fifty years of their
lives in building community institutions, Nikolai Grundtvig (1783 -1872)
known as the father of the Danish folk high schools, and John Frederic
Oberlin (1740-1826) for whom Oberlin College is named. In a 1982 paper on
church leadership of the United Methodist Church Greenleaf writes of John
Woolman, an American Quaker who almost single-handedly rid the Society of
Friends of slaves in the middle years of the eighteenth century. In a 1986
Chapter 3. The Concept of the Servant as a Leader 3-3
essay, he describes the spirit of Pope John XXIII "…that supported him as he
became the disciplined, historically rooted seeker that his life so beautifully
modeledand that we who survive him have the option to emulate."
A personal friendship with Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907 -1972),
theologian, educator, philosopher and author, evoked this evaluation, "He was
ethical to the core of his being, in the deepest religious sense." The principal
impact of George Fox, founder of the Religious Society of Friends in England
in the seventeenth century, was "…upon ethical practice, immediately and
permanently, in all walks of life." Lastly, in speaking of Martin Luther,
Greenleaf describes his advocation of the priesthood of all believers as "…one
of the great ideas of this millennium."
While others in different fields also influenced GreenleafDonald John
Cowling in education and Robert Frost in poetry, for examplethe religious
sector seems dominant, interpreted here as exemplary lives of service through
Christ.
Original Tenets
Greenleaf's "big idea" is "…that leadership, in the final analysis, must be
about service." He covered this topic in four books and a series of essays now
collected in one volume.
He left for others the task of synthesis and
summary, ably performed by a number of his admirers.
What is Servant Leadership?
In all of his works, Greenleaf discusses the need for a new kind
of leadership model, a model that puts serving othersincluding
employees, customers, and communityas the number one priority.
Servant-leadership emphasizes increased service to others; a holistic
approach to work; the promotion of a sense of community; and a
deepening understanding of spirit in the workplace.
It is important to stress that servant-leadership is not a "quickfix" approach. Nor is it something that can quickly be instilled
within an institution. At its core, servant-leadership is a long-term,
transformational approach to life and workin essence, a way of
beingthat has the potential for creating positive change throughout
our society. 2
Ten Characteristics of the Servant-Leader
Larry Spears does a most complete summary 3 in his "Introduction" to The
Power of Servant Leadership. His ten characteristics, abbreviated and
reordered here, are central to the development of servant leaders.
Overall Responsibility
Servant-leadership starts with a commitment to three fundamental
responsibilities which form the basis for the subsequent attributes.
1. Stewardship: Robert Greenleaf's view of all institutions was
one in which CEOs, staffs, and trustees all played significant roles in
holding their institutions in trust for the greater good of society.
3-4 Part I: Concept and Spirituality of Servant Leadership
Servant-leadership, like stewardship, assumes first and foremost a
commitment to serving the needs of others.
2. Commitment to the growth of people: Servant-leaders
believe that people have an intrinsic value beyond their tangible
contributions as workers. As such, the servant-leader is deeply
committed to the growth of each and every individual within his or
her institution.
The servant-leader recognizes the tremendous
responsibility to do everything within his or her power to nurture the
personal, professional, and spiritual growth of employees.
3. Building community: The servant-leader seeks to identify
means for building community among those who work with a given
institution. Greenleaf said that this could be accomplished "…by
each servant-leader demonstrating his [or her] own unlimited liability
for a quite specific community-related group."
Attitude
The servant-leader has two overriding intentions in interacting with
others:
4. Empathy: The servant-leader strives to understand and
empathize with others. People need to be accepted and recognized
for their special and unique spirit. One assumes the good intentions
of co-workers and does not reject them as people, even when one is
forced to refuse to accept their behavior or performance. The most
successful servant-leaders are those who have become skilled,
empathetic listeners.
5. Healing: The healing of relationships is a powerful force for
transformation and integration. Many people have broken spirits and
have suffered from a variety of emotional hurts. Although this is a
part of being human, servant-leaders recognize that they have an
opportunity to "help make whole" those with whom they come in
contact. In his essay, "The Servant as Leader," Greenleaf writes,
"There is something subtle communicated to one who is being served
and led if, implicit in the compact between servant-leader and led, is
the understanding that the search for wholeness is something they
share."
Managerial Skills
The management skills employed in servant leadership are commonly
cited in many texts. Their potential is dramatically increased when interpreted
within the responsibilities and attitudes listed above, and they are given a
warmer, kinder, appeal. The present study applies these skills throughout,
recognizing, however, that lasting success is ultimately more dependent on the
leader's sense of responsibility and state-of-mind than managerial mechanics.
6. Listening: Leaders have traditionally been valued for their
communication and decision-making skills. Although these are also
important skills for the servant-leader, they need to be reinforced by
a deep commitment to listening intently to others. The servant-
Chapter 3. The Concept of the Servant as a Leader 3-5
leader seeks to identify the will of a group and helps clarify that will.
He or she seeks to listen receptively to what is being said (and not
said!). Listening also encompasses getting in touch with one's own
inner voice, and seeking to understand what one's body, spirit, and
mind are communicating. Listening, coupled with regular periods of
reflection, are essential to the growth of the servant-leader.
7. Awareness:
General awareness, and especially selfawareness, strengthens the servant-leader. Making a commitment to
foster awareness can be scaryyou never know what you may
discover! Awareness also aids one in understanding issues involving
ethics and value. It lends itself to being able to view most situations
from a more integrated, holistic position. As Greenleaf observed:
"Awareness is not a giver of solaceit is just the opposite. It is a
disturber and an awakener. Able leaders are usually sharply awake
and reasonably disturbed. They are not seekers after solace. They
have their own inner serenity."
8. Persuasion: Another characteristic of servant-leaders is a
reliance on persuasion, rather than on one's positional authority, in
making decisions within an organization. The servant-leader seeks
to convince others, rather than coerce compliance. This particular
element offers one of the clearest distinctions between the traditional
authoritarian model and that of servant-leadership. The servantleader is effective at building consensus within groups.
9. Conceptualization: Servant-leaders seek to nurture their
ability to "dream great dreams." The ability to look at a problem (or
an organization) from a conceptualizing perspective means that one
must think beyond day-to-day realities. The traditional manager is
consumed by the need to achieve short-term operational goals. The
manager who wishes to also be a servant-leader must stretch his or
her thinking to encompass broader-based conceptual thinking.
10. Foresight: Closely related to conceptualization is the
ability to foresee the likely outcome of a situation, a characteristic
that enables the servant-leader to understand the lessons from the
past, the realities of the present, and the likely consequence of a
decision for the future. It is also deeply rooted within the intuitive
mind.
The Inner Resources of Leaders
Greenleaf ventures to say that servant leadership, at its highest level,
needs to be in strong qualified hands. He identifies the strong as possessing
"….the more ponderable qualities of competence, stability, resiliency, and
values" and then adds three elusive ones, "…a sense of the unknowable,
contingency thinking, and foresight." All seven qualities are intellectual in
nature and interwoven. These inner resources of a leader 4support selfconfidence that in turn builds confidence in followers.
3-6 Part I: Concept and Spirituality of Servant Leadership
Why would anyone follow the leadership of another unless one
has confidence that the other knows better where to go? And how
would one know better where to go unless one has a wider than usual
awareness of the terrain and the alternatives, unless one is well
armored for the unexpected, and unless one's view of the future is
more sharply defined than that of most? Also, one's confidence in a
leader rests, in part, on the assurance that stability and poise and
resilience under stress give adequate strength for the rigors of
leadership. All of the above stand on a base of intensity and
dedication to service that support faith as trust.
One needs to have a sense for the unknowable, to be prepared
for the unexpected, and to be able to foresee the unforeseeable. The
leader knows some things and foresees some things which those one
is presuming to lead do not know or foresee as clearly. This is partly
what gives the leader his "lead," that puts him out ahead and
qualifies him or her to show the way.
Sense of the unknowablebeyond conscious rationality. As a
practical matter, on most important decisions there is an information
gap. There usually is a gap between the solid information in hand
and what is needed. The art of leadership rests, in part, on the ability
to bridge that gap by intuition, that is by a judgment from the
unconscious process. The person who is better at this than most is
likely to emerge the leader because he contributes something of gre at
value. Others will depend on him to go out ahead and show the way
because his judgment will be better than most. Leaders, therefore,
must be more creative than most; and creativity is largely discovery,
a push into the uncharted and the unknown.
Contingency thinking. Foresight is anticipating what is likely
to happen and taking precautionary steps. Contingency thinking
relates to things that might happen but rarely do. Sometimes the
latter appear as emergencies to which there is a preset response . Part
of the confidence of followers in a leader rests on the belief that the
leader will not be surprised by the unusual and will act promptly in
response to it.
Foresightthe central ethic of leadership. One takes the
rough and tumble of going out ahead to show the way in the belief
that, if one enters a situation prepared with the necessary experience
and knowledge at the conscious level, in the situation, the intuitive
insight necessary for one's optimal performance will be forthcoming.
One follows the steps of the creative process which require that one
stay with conscious analysis as far as it will carry one, and then
withdraws, releases the analytical pressure, if only for a moment, in
full confidence that a resolving insight will come. The concern with
the past and future is gradually attenuated as this span of concern
goes forward or backward from the instant moment. The ability to
do this is the essential structural dynamic of leadership.
Chapter 3. The Concept of the Servant as a Leader 3-7
Application to Congregations
Servant leadership is applicable to all types of enterprises, none more so
than church congregations. Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I
love, in whom I delight. (Isaiah 42:1) In this Old Testament book, God
describes through Isaiah the prophet the coming of the G reat Servant, Jesus.
Thus one of the earliest references to the coming Messiah speaks, not of a
king, but a servant. And, throughout the New Testament, Jesus talks again
and again of serving others. "Whoever wants to be first must place himself
last of all and be the servant of all." (Mark 9:35)
Greenleaf noted this repetition, reporting that the term servant (along
with serve and service) appear in the Bible more than thirteen hundred times
beginning with the book of Genesis. He put churches along side of
foundations at the very top as contemporary institutions with the highest
potential for serving humankind. Two essays explain his position "The
Servant as Religious Leader" and "Seminary as Servant"the only ones
addressed to a specific type of organization..
Seekers and Prophets
In "The Servant as Religious Leader" Greenleaf adds two additional tests
for religious leaders, that they must be seekers and prophets as well as leaders.
Prophet, seeker, and leader are inextricable linked. The prophet
brings vision and penetrating insight, The seeker brings openness,
aggressive searching, and critical judgmentall within the context of
the deeply felt attitude, "I have not yet found it." The leader adds
the art of persuasion backed by persistence, determination, and the
courage to venture and risk. The occasional person embodies all
three. Both prophet and leader are seekers first.
The effective religious leader, like other leaders, is apt to be
highly intuitive in making judgments about what to do and what not
to do. Such a leader also draws heavily on inspiration to sustain
spirit.
Careful analytical thought, along with knowledge and
reflection, provides a check and a guide to intuition and inspiration,
gives a solid basis for communicating with informed and prudent
people, and offers a framework of assurance to those who would
follow. 5
Leadership versus management. Greenleaf is clear in distinguishing
true leadership from management, especially in the context of religious
organizations. Too often those in responsible church positions concentrate on
and even belabor routine management and administrative problems common to
any organization, and utterly fail to garner their deep inner resources and
those of others in aggressive dynamic leadership that builds trust and
confidence, attracting and holding followers. Church members tend to play it
"safe." As Greenleaf once put it bluntly in an off-the-record session, "You
seem not to believe in your own stuff."
Vital Importance
3-8 Part I: Concept and Spirituality of Servant Leadership
Now is the time to jettison old hierarchical models and replace them with
new ones emphasizing persuasion and seeking consensus. No candidates
should be more receptive than Christian congregations. The conversion, if we
may be so bold to call it, may require only a slight bending here and there or a
massive overthrow; it may be adopted quickly or gradually assimilated over
many years, but it must take place. Greenleaf rightfully contends that "The
strongest, most productive institution over a long period of time is one in
which, other things being equal, there is the largest amount of voluntary action
in support of the goals of the institutions." 6 Goals must be clear,
comprehensive, understood, and enthusiastically supported. Then people
believe in the things they are doing and take the necessary action without
continual direction. Greenleaf believes institutions that achieve most of this
kind of teamwork will be judged stronger than comparable institutions with
less community involvement. Congregations can expect the same high
returns.
Distinguishing Servant Leadership
from Christian Discipleship
We conclude with a necessary distinction. Congregations are not
institutions in the ordinary sense, but sacred commissions, the body of Christ
on earth. Therefore the rules of man, however insightful and well motivated,
are always a secondary source of guidance following prayer and scripture.
This distinction, and the resulting alignment of servant leadership within the
spirituality of Christianity, is explained at the beginning of the next chapter.
Servitude and leadership are true dimensions of Christian
discipleshipactive following of Christ. But in all things discipleship
precedes, creates, and guides leadership and service, however admirably and
humbly the later elements are carried out.
Robert K.Greenleaf 7 was an original and creative thinker to whom we are
all indebted. His intuition derived the contemporary model of servant
leadership, however, is not the blueprint for this book, however dependent we
are on his insight and writings. Our inspiration is Jesus Christ. We become
servants and leaders in his name only and through his grace, not of our own
free will. We must continuously remind ourselves that all good comes from
our heavenly Father. Not by might, nor power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord
of Hosts. (Zechariah 4:6)
1
Larry C. Spears, "Preface" and "Introduction" in Robert K. Greenleaf, The Power of
Servant Leadership (San Francisco, Berrett-Koehler, 1998), pp. xix-xx, 3-4.
2
Ibid., pp. 4-5.
3
Ibid., pp. 5-8.
4
Robert K. Greenleaf, The Power of Servant Leadership, pp. 124-126, 129-131.
5
Ibid., pp. 120-121.
6
Ibid., p. 51.
Chapter 3. The Concept of the Servant as a Leader 3-9
7
Greenleaf's writings provide some evidence of his personal religious posture. The
distinction between his "spiritual search" and our conviction through faith warrants
citation. "I consider myself fortunate that my early religious training, the little that I had,
did not take very well. I arrived at my mature years with a sense of religion as something
not yet found but, rather, something to be sought. It is something that will grow as I
grow. I see belief or faith as a consequence, rather than a source. Such faith as I have is a
consequence of my own experience framed in the religious feeling that is the light of my
search. I am aware of and interested in what others have experienced and believe. But I
prefer to see faith as Dean Inge defined it, the 'choice of the nobler hypothesis,' the kind
of choice that only an experienced person can make." (The Search and the Seeker, pp.
287-288).
Greenleaf described himself as a "student of organization," his primary interest
being "…in the quality of our society" which he judged to be far below what it could be.
He believed that this shortfall could be corrected if churches and seminaries would reach
for the best they can achieve. To this end he consulted with various religious
organizations throughout his life ranging from individual churches to national judicatories
and ecumenical groups. Despite his efforts, in later years he came to feel that the
religious community was not fulfilling its obligations to society and to God. He felt the
vast potential was largely untapped. "I have had more than 50 years of listening to and
watching those who carry the leading and managing roles in institutions of all sorts, large
and small. In all of this, I rarely hear reference to influence being wielded on these
people's institutional roles by churches."
Greenleaf was "loving but tough and unsentimental." He was a person who got to
the heart of things, questioning, for example, how church leaders could conduct
conferences without speaking about God or the spirit, or the power of the Gospel to
change and renew human life. One observer (Christ R. Klein, American church historian)
said that Greenleaf made church leaders feel uncomfortable by his consistent framing of
the question, either explicitly or implicitly, "Well, what difference does it make for you to
say that you believe in God."
In pursuing Greenleaf's writings, the present author finds that Greenleaf makes
direct reference to Jesus only once (In Servant Leadership, Greenleaf recites Christ
admonishing his challengers, saying "Let him that is without sin among you cast the first
stone." pp. 28-29). He continues, "I have come to see Jesus as a Jew living in the light of
the Jewish law and carrying it forward by adding creativity to it through his own
experience."
Apparently Greenleaf acted more out of ethical sureness that follows from the
efficacy of religious feeling rather than by the power of religious faith itself. As we
quoted him above, "I see belief or faith as a consequence, rather than a source. Such faith
as I have is a consequence of my own experience." Later he wrote this poignant
afterthought. "This search is a lonely affair. Beyond the few with whom I share
individually, I have found it so. No group or movement carries me very far, although I
value the 'lifts' they have given me." Oh that he knew Christ!
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Servant Leadership for Congregations
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3-10 Part I: Concept and Spirituality of Servant Leadership