Servant Leadership is a theory that has stood the test of time.
In the 1970’s, Robert Greenleaf coined the term Servant Leadership based on his qualitative research on what he described as effective vs ineffective leaders. Greenleaf was an AT&T executive who spent much of his research time exploring the topic of leadership. Based on the writings of Greenleaf, other researchers have both qualitatively and quantitatively explored the theory and we now have ten characteristics that describe the Servant Leader.
The first characteristic of a Servant Leader is Listening. Greenleaf described Listening as an active skill that leaders must master to be able to lead others through service.
The second characteristic of a Servant Leader is Empathy and Greenleaf described Empathy as something very different than Sympathy. Empathy is the ability to understand others’ perspectives.
The third characteristic of Servant Leadership is Healing. Greenleaf explained that Healing described the type of vocabulary a leader should use with others.
The fourth characteristic of a Servant Leader is Awareness. Greenleaf wrote that if leaders are aware, they are often disturbed because there are things that need attention, changing and action.
The fifth characteristic of a Servant Leader is Persuasion. Greenleaf observed that effective leaders had the ability to get other people to do things because those people wanted to do them and not because they were told to do them.
The sixth characteristic of a Servant Leader is Conceptualization. This leadership skill allows leaders to move conversations to goals and visions, instead of immediate problems.
The seventh characteristic of a Servant Leader is Foresight. Foresight is the skill that allows leaders to make good decisions based on past experiences and lessons learned.
The eighth characteristic of a Servant Leader is Stewardship and Greenleaf argued that Stewardship was a characteristic that allowed leaders to work efficiently.
The ninth characteristic of a Servant Leader is Growth of People. Growth of People is the skill that sets the Servant Leader apart from other types of leaders because it is the skill that allows the leader to have a positive influence on followers.
Finally, the tenth characteristic of a Servant Leader is Building Community. Servant Leaders have the ability to create a community of people who feel they belong and they are working toward an agreed upon goal.
Servant Leaders are highly effective at making sure that others are benefiting from their leaders. Servant Leaders focus on creating more leaders. It is a powerful and effective way to lead in a changing work environment.