Conversation on Servant-Leadership: Don Frick, Part II
As this week comes to an end, I would like to leave you with some final thoughts on Don Frick's keynote address at our Conversation:
1) Servant-Leadership is a movement of the heart. What Don means by this is that servant-leadership is implemented different ways for different organizations. In other words, there is no master plan! I've spoken numerous times about the fact that servant-leadership is not some easy, quick fix for an organization. There is no "10 step process" for implementing it. Greenleaf never set out to say "Here is what it is, and here is exactly how you do it." In my opinion, this is what makes servant-leadership so attractive; yet for some, it is why it is simply left on the table and never attemped.
2) The journey is as important as the destination. This is another of Greenleaf's philosphies about servant-leadership and it is related to the first point. Servant-Leadership needs to be experienced. If you make an attempt to implement servant-leadership and it doesn't take you where you are looking to go, return and try it from a different angle.
3) The means determine the ends. Don used the example here from the movie Star Wars. The means for the Jedi is the same as the means for the dark side. They both use 'the force', but the way in which it is used determines a far different result. From a leadership perspective, the way in which we use our authority will determine the culture of our organization.
There were many other discussions and stories that Don shared during his keynote. As I said in my prior post, he did a fabulous job. And I'm sure that I did not do his talk the justice it deserves in these two posts. Once again, if you get a chance please order a copy of his biography on Greenleaf, which you can find here.
Next week I'll talk about the four practitioners that were part of our conversation.
1) Servant-Leadership is a movement of the heart. What Don means by this is that servant-leadership is implemented different ways for different organizations. In other words, there is no master plan! I've spoken numerous times about the fact that servant-leadership is not some easy, quick fix for an organization. There is no "10 step process" for implementing it. Greenleaf never set out to say "Here is what it is, and here is exactly how you do it." In my opinion, this is what makes servant-leadership so attractive; yet for some, it is why it is simply left on the table and never attemped.
2) The journey is as important as the destination. This is another of Greenleaf's philosphies about servant-leadership and it is related to the first point. Servant-Leadership needs to be experienced. If you make an attempt to implement servant-leadership and it doesn't take you where you are looking to go, return and try it from a different angle.
3) The means determine the ends. Don used the example here from the movie Star Wars. The means for the Jedi is the same as the means for the dark side. They both use 'the force', but the way in which it is used determines a far different result. From a leadership perspective, the way in which we use our authority will determine the culture of our organization.
There were many other discussions and stories that Don shared during his keynote. As I said in my prior post, he did a fabulous job. And I'm sure that I did not do his talk the justice it deserves in these two posts. Once again, if you get a chance please order a copy of his biography on Greenleaf, which you can find here.
Next week I'll talk about the four practitioners that were part of our conversation.
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