Leadership
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Introduction
Leadership is the basis of all organizations and civilized countries. Without it, they would crumble. Every organization is run by some sort of leader whether that leader is known to the subordinates or hidden. Leaders make sure that things are being done correctly and everything runs smoothly. Every country is run by some sort of leader. In countries like America, France, Germany, and England, the leader is there for the population to see and takes the countries values into consideration. Countries in Africa and other third world countries, the leader is dominant. Two kinds of leadership that are most effective are situational leadership and servant leadership. Both styles are simplistic to learn and very effective.
Servant leadership has its own philosophy when it comes to leading. It says that the leader should be a servant first and then a leader. The same is true for situational leadership. It has its own style including being able to adapt the differences of each employee.
The president of the United States is said to show servant leadership qualities. He is there for his people. The president must first be a servant to his country and then its leader. He is elected by the people, for the people. He is supposed to have the common good of all his people at the front of his priorities.
Servant Leadership
Service to Others, by Max E. Douglas summarizes a new philosophy that is taking root in many businesses and is believed to be a more effective way of managing employees. This philosophy is servant-leadership. The key concept of this idea is that when supervising people, it is better to serve them than to direct them. The most important thing for a manager to do is to meet the needs of the people that he is leading. There are a few important skills that a successful servant-leader must begin to develop in order to be the best that they can be.
A servant-leader must learn to listen actively. Too often in the business world, traditional managers do not take what their employees have to say seriously and tend to ignore the ideas of the people that work for them. Servant leaders must engage in what the article calls “high level listening”. Once the supervisor understands what is being said to them, then they can make their point and seek to be understood. In this philosophy, meetings should be times of equal conversation among all people involved.
An effective servant-leader must also find his center. They must do this so that they can find their own motivation to work hard and succeed. Employees cannot be driven to work hard if the manager is not. This may require periods of meditation and quiet time which can help the supervisor get to know him or herself. Traditional managers would say that they do not have time in their busy day to do something like this, but that may be part of the reason they are having so many problems during the workday.
A good servant-leader must also nurture trusting relationships with their employees. The supervisor has to see the employees as the most important aspect of the company. In order to build such a relationship a supervisor has to show employees respect. Opportunities for advancement, whether personal or professional, will also help to bring trusting relationships into the workplace. A supervisor must also be willing to ask for help and admit mistakes. Admitting mistakes is not a sign of weakness, it actually shows strength and it will also let employees know that they are valued. The servant-leader must also be an effective steward; the supervisor must put other peoples achievements ahead of their own. They must work to help employees achieve success and not worry about their own agendas.
This article was a summary of what is was to be a good servant-leader. There are certain qualities that a person in this type of position must possess in order to be successful. This type of supervision is not easy to obtain, but it will be very rewarding once it happens. Along with dealing with the regular day to day business of an office, a servant-leader is going to have to work very hard in order to achieve this type of an office environment.
Practicing Servant-Leadership, by Larry Spears covers the idea of servant-leadership, which was first introduced in an essay in 1970 by Robert K. Greenleaf, titled “The Servant as a Leader”. The business world is shifting from a hierarchy of leadership to a system that is based on teamwork and community. Office environments have become places of caring and places to enhance the personal growth of the worker. People have taken stock in what Greenleaf had to say and his ideas on leadership are rapidly becoming commonplace in businesses.
Greenleaf got the idea for servant-leadership shortly after he read a book entitled “Journey to the East”, by Herman Hesse. The book made him realize that you must be experienced at serving to be a good leader. A good leader must want to help other above all else. If the leader of a business spends his time serving others this will bring a sense of togetherness to a business. Power will be shared between the leader and those that he leads, because the leader will be willing to help them in any way possible. The servant-leader must first be a servant and only a leader second. Servant-leadership is an idea that is trying to create a change throughout society; this change will only be for the better.
After the author of this essay read the writings of Greenleaf, he came up with 10 characteristics that are essential to creating good servant leaders. Those characteristics are; stewardship, conceptualization, listening, awareness, empathy, building community foresight, healing, persuasion, and commitment to the growth of people. These are not all of the characteristics that a good servant leader should possess, but the best servant leaders are always open for change and for a challenge.
The servant-leadership philosophy is continuing to build up more and more steam. People working in businesses love it because it gives them the ability to grow personally at work and affords them the opportunity to both serve and lead. Some companies do not let anyone who is going to be supervising any number of employees on the job without taking courses in servant-leadership. The idea of servant-leadership is also making its way into schools. Colleges and business schools are beginning to offer classes in servant-leadership much more frequently. This seems to be a philosophy that is changing business everywhere for the better.
Servant Leadership encourages leaders to serve others while staying focused on achieving results in line with the organizations values and integrity. Servant leader must me be first a servant and a leader