The connection between being nice and servant-leadership can be seen in the earliest writing about servant leadership from Robert K. Greenleaf. In his 1970 essay, "The Servant as Leader," Greenleaf wrote:
"The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature."
"The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: 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?"
In his second major essay, "The Institution as Servant," Greenleaf articulated what is often called the "credo":
"This is my thesis: caring for persons, the more able and the less able serving each other, is the rock upon which a good society is built. Whereas, until recently, caring was largely person to person, now most of it is mediated through institutions -- often large, complex, powerful, impersonal; not always competent; sometimes corrupt. If a better society is to be built, one that is more just and more loving, one that provides greater creative opportunity for its people, then the most open course is to raise both the capacity to serve and the very performance as servant of existing major institutions by new regenerative forces operating within them."
That sounds very nice to me. There are many excellent books and articles about Servant-Leadership. You can download a bibliography from the Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership. Or you can go straight to the source, and read Greenleaf's seminal book on Servant Leadership for yourself.
Coaching Inquiries: How would you describe the power of leadership? Where does that power come from? What does it lead to? How can you best embody the power of servant-leadership? What difference would it make if you carried yourself that way today?
We invite you to Contact Us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.
