Running head: SERVANT LEADERSHIP
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Servant Leadership
Hans Arcand
Southwestern College
Strategic Management
BSAD 440
David Norman
August 04, 2013
SERVANT LEADERSHIP
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Servant Leadership
Introduction
The philosophy of servant leadership is based on the premise of putting others before
yourself; it consists of certain characteristics which promote growth and empowerment of others.
The servant leader strives to reach goals but would not do so at the expense of employees or
customers. In the servant-leader’s eyes, personal growth is a tangible factor and one that will not
wilt to further profitability. Great examples of servant-leaders throughout history would include
notable figures like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. and Pope Francis 1; in regards to
business, people like Samuel Truett Cathy, Herb Kelleher and Sam Walton come to mind. Each
of these individuals instilled servant leadership qualities to their respective businesses and each
of the businesses are flourishing. Servant leadership-based decision-making alters the traditional,
bottom line comes first approach, and serves to better the company as a whole. Applying this
concept throughout all of society would lend a hand to the advancement of humanity and the
sustainment of a better civilization.
Servant Leadership Explained
Greenleaf explains servant leadership as:
The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one
wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That
person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to
assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and
the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that
are part of the infinite variety of human nature. (qtd. in "Servant Leadership," n.d.)
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A servant-leader is one who is estranged from personal desire, who acts solely on
compassion and empathy. With one’s actions geared towards the development of personnel, a
servant leader is able to empower his subordinates to give them the ability to assume a leadership
role. This type of leadership is key to continual business functions and serves as a platform to
minimize the footprint of employee turnover. By investing in low-level employees, companyspecific business functions will be adopted and will serve to create a more fluid corporate
culture, as well as reduce inconsistencies in job-specific tasks. Costco is a great example of lowlevel investments in efforts of employee retention, coupled with consistent business practices and
management decisions. “It was company policy to fill the vast majority of its higher-level
openings by promotions from within; at one recent point, the percentage ran close to 98
percent…”(Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble, & Strickland, 2013, p. C-18) Continued investments in
personnel are advantageous to the long-term goals and mission of the company.
Servant Leaders in Recent History
What do Chick-fil-A, Wal-Mart and Southwestern Airlines have in common?
They all share a similar corporate culture in which they value personnel; both employees and
customers. S. Truett Cathy stated, “I believe no amount of business school training or work
experience can teach what is ultimately a matter of personal character. Businesses are not
dishonest or greedy, people are. Thus, a business, successful or not, is merely a reflection of the
character of its leadership.” ("STC Quotes," n.d.) With this being true, a servant leadership-based
management team would be able to create an entire corporate culture of servant-leaders; this is
exactly what Herb Kelleher had imagined for Southwestern Airlines. “If the employees come
first, then they’re happy…. A motivated employee treats the customer well. The customer is
happy so they keep coming back, which pleases the shareholders. It’s not one of the enduring
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green mysteries of all time, it is just the way it works.”(qtd. in Marsh, 2012) With this revolving
circle of employee investment turning into customer satisfaction, customer satisfaction into
increased revenue, and increased revenue back into employee investment, it is apparent that Mr.
Kelleher has a winning business strategy. Similarly, Sam Walton, has a track record to back up
his servant leadership role; retail-mecca, Wal-Mart, was founded by Sam Walton and his
character can be seen through Wal-Mart’s corporate vision. “Each Wal-Mart store should reflect
the values of its customers and support the vision they hold for their community.” (qtd. in "SW
Quote," n.d.) The main difference between SW Airlines and Wal-Mart philosophies lie in the
details of how customer satisfaction is achieved. SW Airlines believes in fully supporting its
employees and in return, the employees’ attitudes will lead to great customer satisfaction. WalMart is a die-hard customer service-oriented company, which prides itself on the customer being
right all of the time. Either way, customer satisfaction is mandatory for customer retention but it
is made possible through different avenues.
Execution and Strategy
Servant leadership-based decisions are not made in the proverbial red and black. They are
long-term, strategic moves to build upon the company by way of internal improvements. Servant
leadership qualities cannot be instilled in a short amount of time and they will not inflate
quarterly earnings or yearly sales in the short-run. Decisions are based in the long-run and will
not have major effects until the entire corporate culture has been changed. This strategy is
designed to build people and enable them to become future leadership from the ground-up. This
empowerment creates a more positive work environment as well as a renewed sense of selfworth and achievement. The Air Force is a servant leadership-based organization that prides
itself and its members upon bettering the people within, and those whom encounter its members.
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The Air Force has policies that encourage community outreach, as well as personnel
development. The only way that it could improve would be to better engage the senior noncommissioned officers in the education policy and enforce the reasons for personnel
development. The Air Force is unique, in the fact that they are grooming tomorrow’s Air Force,
today. It is known that management staff will have grown through the ranks and it is quite
obvious when meeting any management staff, that the core values are all the same: integrity first,
service before self and excellence in you do. These core values are instilled into every one of the
Air Force’s members and continue to be the guiding light in every aspect of decision-making.
Personnel development is one of my biggest concerns and I continually help to improve my
unit’s readiness. I have furthered education incentives and have gotten three people to begin
taking classes for their bachelor’s degree. Furthermore, I guide my lower-level team members to
make decisions for themselves and give them the tools necessary for mission completion.
Developing Airman is paramount because they will become the USAF’s next wave of leadership
and I believe that our “corporate culture” should be ingrained into everyone to continue future
mission success.
Conclusion
Servant leadership is not a process; it is, more or less, a lifestyle, which supports the
development and growth of others. Unlike other leadership philosophies, with servant leadership,
you are a servant first. The will to serve others makes you more prone to realize others’ needs
and have more of a desire to help fulfill them. By being a leader second, it is because of the
servant-based mentality that distinguishes one from his peers. Taking a humble step back and
empowering those individuals under you, allowing them to grow and develop, will have positive
outcomes when their potential is fully developed. Servant leadership is pivotal to continued
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business practices and is a largely contributing factor to the success of many big-name
companies, to include: Southwest Airlines, Wal-Mart and Chick-fil-A. Servant leadership is a
technique that cannot be learned overnight, it must be adopted and built-upon for years.
Eventually, the corporate culture will become a shadow of the servant leaders and the company
will flourish for years to come.
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References
Marsh, R. (2012). 9 Inspirational Quotes on Business by Herb Kelleher. Retrieved from
http://www.logomaker.com/blog/2012/05/21/9-inspirational-quotes-on-business-by-herbkelleher/
Sam Walton Quotes. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/s/sam_walton.html
Thompson, A. A., Peteraf, M. A., Gamble, J. E., & Strickland, 3rd, A. J. (2013). Costco
wholesale in 2012: mission, business model, and strategy. In Crafting and executing
strategy (19th ed., pp. C-187-C-197). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Truett Cathy quotes. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.truettcathy.com/about_quotes.asp
What is servant leadership? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.greenleaf.org/what-is-servantleadership/