Essays on Servant Leadership

Introduction

Ethics came from the Greek word ‘ethos,’ or character. In the modern context, ethics refer to the study of normative behavior. It is commonly understood as standards of behavior that ought to be followed under certain circumstances and the moral reasoning behind such actions. Ethics does not necessarily make people do good; nor is it an attribute that is only exclusive for good people. In fact, there are good people that exhibit unethical behavior, especially when under pressure. Professor and author, Denis Collins, for instance, observed that there are many good individuals who engage in unethical behavior because they ...

Seekers as Leaders

Robert K. Greenleaf in his essay The Servant as a Leader and subsequent writings developed the principles that he deemed prerequisite in optimal leadership. He argues that leaders who people follow and trust could only gain moral authority by serving their followers and organizations. Further, he posits that leaders do not achieve moral authority by using the power conferred or by wielding titles. Rather, he describes a servant leader as an individual who is there for the followers. Greenleaf is against the idea of survival of the strongest and putting the leader first. Rather, a leader should endeavor to ...

Leadership is the political, psychological, or social influence of an individual or a group of individuals on a group of other people. Leadership is viewed as both a trait character and in addition a relational concept whereby one individual impacts others. It is a process by which a person influences a group of people to achieve a common goal. A leader has personal skills that give him a distinctive difference and allows him to be listened to and followed by a group of people. Leadership can also be defined as an influential authority based on the relationships the leaders ...

BUSINESS

Several airplane crashes have become a part of aviation history but this one that took place about four decades ago is still regarded as one of the most horrifying air plane crash in which more than six hundred people lost their lives. The crash took place at the Tenerife airport which is located in the region of Atlantic. It has never been a popular place before this plane crash of history. Tenerife is governed by the Spanish government and it is situated some hundred or more miles from the Moroccan coast. The airport is a small one and is ...

Servant leaders are those who achieve organizational objectives by fulfilling the needs of their team members (Greenleaf, 1996). A nursing professional can lead her team effectively by constantly looking into the problems of her fellow team members and provide an atmosphere that helps them to accomplish their personal and professional development. Servant nurse leaders are also good coachers and mentors to people under their supervision. Many nurse leaders have embraced the philosophy of servant leadership that continually guides them to provide impeccable healthcare services to their patients and families. The key advantage of a servant leader is her ability ...

Leadership is often mistaken for bossing people around and utilizing power to get what you want. We forget it is much more than that and become excited with a new job promotion or the ability to do what we want in the workplace. In addition, many “leaders” sometimes become crazy with power and completely forget they are also in charge of the ethical code concerning the company they work for. It is important for leaders to convey a sense of leadership and motivation, but to also show employees how to act ethically in the workplace in order to be ...

Servant leadership is a model of leadership whereby the leaders subscribes to the ideals that enhance team building, empowerment of the followers, total quality, service ethics and participatory management (Blanchard,2015).Servant leadership is characterized by;empathy,active listening,persuasion,foresight,healing,conceptualization,commitment to growth, team building and awareness. According to Pariss and Peachey (2015), the model of servant leadership puts more emphasis on the development of the followers since the main endeavor of a servant leader is to ensure that the priority and the needs of his people are served at the expense of his individual needs. ...

Leadership, as most people would like to think, is not all cozy or rather a roller coaster ride. There is more to it than just holding a title and leading followers. Leaders are expected to be servants and serve people whole-heartedly (Spence p.20). They are supposed to lead by example and not just dictating. This paper, therefore, will focus on leadership and particularly servant leadership. “IT CAME UPON THE MIDNIGHT CLEAR” is a Christmas hymn written by Edmund Sears, a preacher of Unitarian Church at Wayland in Massachusetts. It was drafted in time of unrest from European revolution to ...

Leadership entails the ability of an individual to apply his leadership Knowledge and skills to influence his follower’s so as to accomplish the organizational goals. A good leader is one who has high regard for his employees and always sees the best out of their abilities. According to Surllivan (2013) an effective leader is one who has specific knowledge and skills about the about an organizations working condition and is always confident while dispensing his duties. Kershaw (2013) in his submission reiterated that most people have a misconception about what effective leadership is all about. A good leader ...

Abstract

A caring disposition is a highly crucial aspect in service leadership. It is a fundamental attribute in today’s workplace settings that provide a unique system to which a good service leader can be assessed. In essence, a caring disposition encompasses powerful knowledge that is particularly efficient in formulating and implementing team approaches in ensuring the delivery of a successful leadership practice. This term paper seeks to discuss important concepts in caring disposition and how it promotes service leadership. The introductory part of the paper creates a clear understanding service leadership. In the first section of the term paper, ...

The Name of the Class

Cross-Cultural Experiences in the movie “Outsourced” The customs and cultures of India were developed by the country’s traditions that date back almost a few thousands of years. The significance most of these cultural behavior and traditions have in the people of India can be elusive to the average American. For instance, the picture of Kaali (the goddess of destruction), carrying the severed head of a man, hung on the wall of Todd’s (the protagonist) bedroom, is quite a disconcerting picture for the average American. But in India, it is a picture of relief. Similarly, the intermittent animal ( ...

Principles

A servant leader is a person who involves other in decision-making because he or she believes that for one to be a leader, he or she must be a servant first. Servant leaders use ethical skills for the growth of business and enhance the caring and character of the business life. They listen to others and consider their opinions, and they are empathy in that they understand other employees and employers in the organization. They also heal the relationship in their workplace, and they have strong general awareness principles that help them to understand power, ethics and values of ...

REFLECTION-PROBLEM-BASED ASSESMENT ON DELEGATION

Reflection-Problem-Based Assessment on Delegation Delegation, according to me, is one style of leadership that requires maximum attention. I have always thought that its pros outdo its cons but according to current issues that are arising in the management and leadership sector, I doubt what I have always thought. Organizations have benefited from this style of leadership and on the other hand, other agencies have faced challenges due to poor delegation. I have always known that delegation is in two ways between a delegator and a delegatee, but I had the wrong impression that any leader is eligible to delegate. ...

Leadership is about inspiring one’s team members to realize the need to do things that contribute to achieving the common organizational goals. Obviously, my approach to lead others is by being a role model to my fellow team members. One cannot make others do something which they do not want to do; nor does a person do a work wholeheartedly when dictated by a manager or leader. Therefore, making others to do something is by motivating them to do it. I believe that the approach of servant leadership, which believes in helping or facilitating a subordinate to do ...

Personal Leadership Philosophy

Leadership evolves. Philosophies developed a priori and applied to a given organizational context are apt to fail. By definition, a leadership philosophy, let alone a personal one, emerges in response to variables making up a specific organizational behavior. Accordingly, in order to develop a personal leadership philosophy one should, above anything else, cater for organizational needs both at corporate and individual levels. Personally, I aspire for a leadership philosophy based on strict definition of raison d'être. By identifying core purpose for which an organization exists, I would be able to develop a sustainable leadership philosophy. Indeed, companies, successful ...

Introduction

The leader on whom I choose to write is one who is engaged in the social sector. He is currently working with a company headquartered in Bethesda, USA and is heading a social project promoting maternal health across the continents of India and Nigeria.

The big five personality dimensions

The big five personality dimensions model proposes that an effective leader is one who displays the five attributes of being neuroticism, agreeableness, extroversion, conscientiousness and openness. One of the dominant personality dimensions displayed by this leader is that he is an excellent orator. This translates to the fact that he is extrovert and sociable. This ...

Executive Summary

It is vital to implement effective leadership that can enhance innovation and creativity within a company. This evaluation assesses the participation of leadership in enhancing positive organizational change. It presents arguments that leaders are the baseline of implementation and development of innovation and creativity. The development of tactical models equips an organization with the models to counter such factors as volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. The abilities to cope or survive through these challenges inform about the credibility of the firm. It can survive many other aspects using its business model when profits are flowing effectively in the business ...

This study frames Melman’s leadership style/behavior within five dimensions, such as Vision, Organization, Communication, Trust, and Creativity, where those dimensions evolved with time and create an impression that his leadership journey began with Participative leadership style, before embracing Servant leadership style. Accordingly the study reviews Melman’s actions and words, before substantiating its position.

Vision

Melman opened Eccentric in 1989, partnering with Oprah Winfrey, but soon he found that business is not catching up as per his expectations due to the fact that they were “trying to do too much with “steaks, fish, American, French, Southern.” Accordingly he launched ...

Question 1: Followership

Followership is the capacity and willingness to follow a certain leader(s). It happens when employees admire the methods and attributes of their leader. The follower must have certain critical attributes to contribute to their followership. The attributes are awareness, diplomacy, courage, collaboration and critical thinking. Being a follower, means that one has to be aware of the needs of the employees and be in a position to read and understand people, particularly, the things that motivates or upsets them. Secondly, a good follower is diplomatic; he/she understands how to get along with employees with contrary opinions. Thirdly, being ...

In the contemporary workplace environment, leadership forms have evolved so much that the bureaucratic forms have lost value as they had before. Today, leaders and managers are not expected to order and dictate while sitting in their high offices or to threaten their workforce. This has been shown to reduce morale and impact negatively on the ability of the employees to feel a sense of ownership within the organization. In the current context and the modern world, leadership is more focused on building relationships, understanding needs, feelings, emotions, values and beneficiaries with the board, the personnel and the customers ...

Undoubtedly, managers need to have a specific set of abilities and skills to effectively perform their jobs. But what qualities set successful managers apart from mediocre ones? A manager might be an expert in his field or the smartest person in the company, but this is no guarantee of success. Specifically, to increase the productivity of employees, managers make use of their experiences, knowledge base, and perspectives; however, they also should be effective leaders to inspire others to share common goals. As a matter of fact, leadership is one of the four basic functions that constitute the management process. ...

Leadership means to show the path to others and moving towards a goal which could benefit a large number of people. Servant Leadership is a model and practice of leadership promulgated by Robert K Greenleaf in decade of seventies, though the idea of servant leadership is very old and ancient thinkers like Chanakya and Lao Tzu mentioned about it in their creations in 4th BC. It is a kind of philosophy rather than being a principle and is contrary to command model of leadership. Servant leaders believe in serving the people, community and organizations. They encourage others also for serving others and instead ...

Challenges

This article compasses three parts: Section – A deals with choosing two issues that confront today’s leaders. Section – B consists of references from prestigious publications on the chosen subject. Section – C deals with the leadership theory and the traits of a leader.

A) The environment issue of global warming, depleting forests, changing climates B) Managing Change in a technology world

Section –B: Chosen articles on the twin issues in esteemed publications http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/29/your-money/29iht-mweather.2977009.html is an article on the financial impact of climate change. Tony Blair views on the rapidly changing world http://www.depauw.edu/news/index.asp?id=21073 http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/01/24/harvard-adjusts-mba-program-to-changing-times/ discusses Harvard adjustments to the ...