"Servant-Leadership"
Chapter 1 of “Insights On Leadership” is from that servant-leader guru, Robert Greenleaf and is appropriately titled “Servant-Leadership.”
One of the key points of Greenleaf’s article is summarized when he talks about the book "Journey to the East", where he writes, “this story clearly says that the great leader is seen as servant first, and that simple fact is the key to his greatness.”
The other key point of the article is that often quoted phrase where he discusses the way to determine if the servant is meeting people’s most important needs. The test is defined as “Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit, or, at least, not be further deprived?”
The essay makes it clear that a good leader serves first and that the true test of good leadership is whether those being served are empowered to meet their needs and lead others themselves. Note that good leadership is about meeting needs, not wants. It also seems to me that more often then not Greenleaf's test is often neglected when it comes to evaluating the effectivness of our leadership and organizations.
One of the key points of Greenleaf’s article is summarized when he talks about the book "Journey to the East", where he writes, “this story clearly says that the great leader is seen as servant first, and that simple fact is the key to his greatness.”
The other key point of the article is that often quoted phrase where he discusses the way to determine if the servant is meeting people’s most important needs. The test is defined as “Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit, or, at least, not be further deprived?”
The essay makes it clear that a good leader serves first and that the true test of good leadership is whether those being served are empowered to meet their needs and lead others themselves. Note that good leadership is about meeting needs, not wants. It also seems to me that more often then not Greenleaf's test is often neglected when it comes to evaluating the effectivness of our leadership and organizations.
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