For an interesting article about a muslim woman striving to be a servant leader who empowers other women, please click here.
Muslims, Women, and Servant Leadership
August 16, 2008 at 2:44 pm (religion, servant leadership, women)
Think about posterity.
July 20, 2008 at 3:41 am (posterity, servant leadership)
Another motivating factor for Washington was a concern for posterity. He knew that he was making history, and he wanted to do it right. Some critics may accuse him of being too concerned with how future generations would view him, but considering how he was blazing new leadership territory in a likewise new nation, I think his concerns were legitimate.
In his farewell address, Washington not only states that he will not seek another term as president, but he offers advice to the nation that he believes is crucial to its success. Note the emphasis on the success of the nation rather than his personal success. He could easily have written a farewell address that was entirely self-laudatory, but that was not his focus.
IDEA LEADER: When you think about your organization and its future, are you more concerned about your personal reputation or the success of your organization? How can you appropriately concern yourself with both?
Nelson Mandela’s Leadership Principles
July 17, 2008 at 4:19 pm (servant leadership)
I plan to start posting links to helpful articles as well as my semi-weekly idea leaders. Click here to read 8 leadership principles from Nelson Mandela. Though they are not servant-leader specific, they are still valuable principles that will help servant-leaders.
Why do good people become bad bosses?
July 11, 2008 at 3:06 pm (attitude, servant leadership, values)
Great question! Read this great article.
Sometimes Quitters Do Win
July 8, 2008 at 1:17 am (servant leadership, values, vision)
Why would a popular and successful executive willingly resign his position when everyone expected him to keep his power? Why do it twice? We’ll explore this question for the next several weeks.
George Washington twice resigned his executive power: first when he resigned his position as commander and chief of the continental army and second when he chose not to seek a third term as President (he still got 2 electoral votes in the 1796 election).
Shortly before Washington resigned his military command, a group of soldiers wanted to march on congress in response to unresolved grievances. After quelling that near-rebellion, he rode to the continental congress, meeting in Maryland, to surrender his sword. He was met by huge cheering crowds in three different cities – in a scene not unlike the triumph processions of Roman military generals.
Washington could easily have become a military dictator. The English revolution that preceded him by less than 200 years ended with such. Why didn’t Washington follow that path?
There are a variety of reasons. One of those was his ability to pick up and lay down executive power at will. Even more impressive, he could lay down this power and not be diminished in any way. In fact, his decision to resign his military command made him even more heroic. I believe in this act Washington demonstrated something of the character that Christ discussed when he said, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.”
IDEA LEADER: Not only were Washington’s executive positions full of authoritative power, but they were also symbols of status. What status symbols could you give up to enhance your leadership? How would your organization benefit if you shared power with others?
Government and Servant Leadership
March 9, 2008 at 2:12 am (elections, government, servant leadership)
Robert Greenleaf provides a fantastic test for servant leadership:
“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 of society; will he or she benefit, or, at least, will he or she not be further deprived?” (“The Servant as Leader,” 1991, p. 7).
As I ponder the election season before us, I am looking for a candidate who can somehow espouse these values in a practical political platform. But perhaps I am asking too much. Is it even possible that a large institution (in this case, the federal government) can effectively (1) facilitate a society that encourages freedom, (2) provide incentives for us to serve each other, and (3) ensure that the most vulnerable in our society are not left to fend for themselves?
Hopefully this election season will answer that question affirmatively.
IDEA LEADER: What does servant leadership look like in a political candidate? Which candidate best represents these values?
Photo: Sanja Gjenero
Where should I lead?
January 21, 2008 at 2:58 am (attitude, perspective, servant leadership)
If it really is true that everyone can be a leader, then the next logical question is “where should I lead?” This question deals with leadership context.
Though all are leaders, not all are equally gifted for every situation. Sometimes in our pursuit of status we may pursue leadership opportunities that don’t match our gifts. We can easily become a fish out of water, with the natural result that we gasp desperately for air.
Let me propose a simple test. If a good leader never asks people to do more than he is willing to do, then ask, “What am I willing to do?” In the pursuit of excellence, in what area are you willing to push yourself the most? If you discover that you are willing to make the biggest sacrifices for your current context, then congratulations! You seem to have found your leadership-calling (at least for the present).
IDEA LEADER: In what areas of industry or personal life am I willing to make the most sacrifices for the sake of excellence? Does this match what I am currently doing?
New Year’s Evaluation
January 11, 2008 at 10:16 pm (communication, perspective, servant leadership)
Though my New Year’s resolutions aren’t yet official (other than to stop procrastinating, which I’ll start working on tomorrow), I have completed my New Year’s Evaluation.
Every semester I ask my students to evaluate my teaching, and this year I used a particularly simple evaluation: stop, start, continue. Students wrote out what they thought I should stop doing, what I should start doing, and what I should continue doing. Knowing what to continue is particularly helpful.
Stop, start, continue provides 360-degree feedback because I also completed a self-evaluation before asking my students to evaluate me. Interestingly, some of the things I felt that I needed to stop or start were not mentioned by my students, so those things may not be issues after all.
If you have not made resolutions this year, why not try a stop, start, continue evaluation? If you are bold enough, have those you lead do the same as an evaluation of your leadership.
IDEA LEADER: It seems to be human nature to focus on what we should stop or start, but what do you need to continue doing as an effective servant-leader?
Is it better to be loved or feared?
December 13, 2007 at 1:53 am (attitude, communication, perspective, servant leadership)
I’m still reflecting on Chris Lowney this week, who points out the the chasm of opinion that separates Machiavelli (famous for his book The Prince) and Loyola (founder of the Jesuits). The question: “Is it better to be feared or loved?” Machiavelli believes that people are not to be trusted, so it is better to be feared. At the other end of the spectrum, Loyola wants to create a society based on “greater love than fear.” So who is right?
Admittedly this is a false dichotomy. Both are right to a point. Yes, people are fickle. Yes, they will sometimes dissapoint you. However, my recent readings (outside of Lowney) suggest that organizations that utilize positive relationship skills are successful because (among other reasons) positive relationships do have power. Anecdotally, I’ve used both forms of management. Relying on fear was a depressing experience for me, and it certainly wasn’t much fun for those I managed.
School teachers across the nation are currently struggling with what some diagnose as an epidemic of cheating. So how should we respond? Do we punish those who are caught cheating? Certainly. But consequences alone do not change culture (as pointed out by Yukl’s discussion of coercive power in Leadership in Organizations). I suggest we not only have consequences for those guilty of cheating, but that those consequences include a restitutional element that is designed to repair the damaged relationships cheating can cause (if nothing else, a level of trust is broken). Additionally, I suggest we celebrate those students who choose not to cheat, and that we do all of this in the hopes of creating learning institutions that value love more than fear.
IDEA LEADER: Which does your leadership style utilize more – love or fear?
Heroic Leadership
December 6, 2007 at 11:06 pm (servant leadership)
Chris Lowney’s Heroic Leadership occupies my reading time this week. Though I have not completed the book yet, its key ideas and historical survey make it worth recommending.
Lowney (a former Jesuit and later investment banker) affirms that everyone can be a leader. This is possible because a leader is not simply a person who commands a chain of followers, but rather someone who exerts a positive influence on other people. He then illustrates this thesis at work in the life of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), a religious order that has an over 400 year history.
Another reason that everyone can be a leader is that leadership begins with self-leadership. Lowney explains that the leaders who last are not necessarily the brightest, but rather those who first understand their strengths and their weaknesses and then take action on that knowledge.
Because I am a student of history and religion as well as leadership I find the book enjoyable, but I chiefly appreciate his decision to write a leadership text that challenges popular notions of leaders as masters and commanders.
To visit Lowney’s website, click here.
IDEA LEADER: In what ways am I leading myself?
