Priscilla Kohl

HR for Small Business Achievers

Servant Leadership at Work in the USA and Abroad

Do Leaders Like John McCain Deliver Pizzas?

I recently saw Senator John McCain on the national news, hand-delivering pizzas to a Midtown Manhattan fire station in New York.  My immediate thoughts were, “Well, here is a United States senator who is running for President of the United States delivering pizzas in a suit and tie.”  Nonetheless, he appeared dignified and humble as he handed off pizza boxes to a New York firefighter.

Watching this video footage about a U.S. political leader also made me think about a philosophy known as “servant leadership” and how it relates to business leaders. In fact, my company (Insperity) subscribes to “servant leadership” values.  Our business leaders are expected to participate in this service model, and it is part of our values statement.

While the words “servant” and “leaders” may seem like a contradiction in terms, I am studying how servant leadership applies to business leaders. I learned that Robert K. Greenleaf is recognized as the father of servant leadership.  He published a 1970 essay, “The Servant as Leader,” and he described a philosophy that has caught on around the world. He also founded The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership.

10 Characteristics of Servant Leadership

Here are 10 characteristics of servant leadership summarized from views shared by Larry C. Spears, who served as president and CEO of the Greenleaf Center:

1. Listening: as in listening intently to others, followed by periods of reflection.
2. Empathy: as in striving to understand others and assuming their good intentions.
3. Healing: as in the healing of one’s self and one’s relationship to others.
4. Awareness: as in being “sharply awake and reasonably disturbed.” (as quoted from R. Greenleaf.)
5. Persuasion: as in seeking to convince others rather than coerce compliance.
6. Conceptualization: as in nurturing one’s abilities to dream great dreams.
7. Foresight: as in the ability to foresee the likely outcome of a situation.
8. Stewardship: as in holding the institution in trust for the greater good of society.
9. Commitment to the growth of people: as in possessing a deep commitment to the growth of each individual within an institution.
10. Building community: as in identifying means for building better communities among an institution’s workers.

This summer, researchers are gathering in Rotterdam (the Netherlands) to report on servant leadership results. The Erasmus Centre for Leadership Studies is hosting the first Global Servant-Leadership Research Roundtable (GSLRR).  This roundtable discussion event, scheduled for July 2008, will include researchers from all over the world. After the event findings are published, I will let you know what we learn.

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