MGT-420: Servant Leadership
Erika Baker
Servant Leadership
Grand Canyon University: MGT-420
04/06/14
Servant Leadership
“Although servant leadership is often associated with the Bible and Jesus Christ, it is totally compatible with most religions and theories of philosophy.” (Greenleaf, 1997). I plan to explain a philosophical viewpoint supporting this statement. I will also describe and demonstrate an attribute of servant leadership in addition to the power base used and impact the leader behavior had on this situation. Lastly, I will explain the importance of self-awareness and emotional intelligence and how it enables me as a leader to model servant leadership characteristics.
There are many different viewpoints that agree or disagree with servant …show more content…
An example of a bible passage relating to servant leadership would be bible verse John 13:12-15, “When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another 's feet. For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done to you.” (Bible, n.d., John 13:12-15) This clearly shows an example of servant leadership, leading by example and serving those around you. This is a religion viewpoint relating to Christianity which is very common; however, there are philosophical viewpoints as well. Theorists have explored philosophical viewpoints and models. Patterson used the concept of virtue to describe servant leadership. (Patterson, 2003) Virtue is conformity to a standard of right or a commendable quality or trait. (“Dictionary and Thesaurus – Merriam-Webster Online”, n.d.) Patterson identified seven different virtues that he associated with servant leadership. (Patterson, 2003) The traits that Patterson identified are agapáo love, vision, …show more content…
(Greenleaf, 1997) Integrity is one of those attributes. (Greenleaf, 1997) Integrity is a firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values. (“Dictionary and Thesaurus – Merriam-Webster Online”, n.d.) When referencing servant leadership, integrity is a very important attribute. There are also supporting attributes to integrity. Some of those are communication, credibility, and influence. A hypothetical situation that demonstrates integrity would be as follows, a manager keeps an employee up to date on struggles the organization is experiencing with frequent meetings to inform the employees on the status of the organization. If the organizations struggles to meet their performance goals, and are struggling it is important for the employees to know. The consequences of the organization’s struggle could indicate future lay-offs. If this would occur, it is important that the employees understand this could be a possibility to give them an opportunity to look elsewhere for employment if the company continues to struggle. In this scenario, the manager would be viewed as using referent power. The leader is seen in a positive light and becomes transparent. I feel this is important in a leadership role as it enables the leader to be viewed as likable and trusted. The leader impact in a situation like this would be viewed
Servant Leadership
Grand Canyon University: MGT-420
04/06/14
Servant Leadership
“Although servant leadership is often associated with the Bible and Jesus Christ, it is totally compatible with most religions and theories of philosophy.” (Greenleaf, 1997). I plan to explain a philosophical viewpoint supporting this statement. I will also describe and demonstrate an attribute of servant leadership in addition to the power base used and impact the leader behavior had on this situation. Lastly, I will explain the importance of self-awareness and emotional intelligence and how it enables me as a leader to model servant leadership characteristics.
There are many different viewpoints that agree or disagree with servant …show more content…
An example of a bible passage relating to servant leadership would be bible verse John 13:12-15, “When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another 's feet. For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done to you.” (Bible, n.d., John 13:12-15) This clearly shows an example of servant leadership, leading by example and serving those around you. This is a religion viewpoint relating to Christianity which is very common; however, there are philosophical viewpoints as well. Theorists have explored philosophical viewpoints and models. Patterson used the concept of virtue to describe servant leadership. (Patterson, 2003) Virtue is conformity to a standard of right or a commendable quality or trait. (“Dictionary and Thesaurus – Merriam-Webster Online”, n.d.) Patterson identified seven different virtues that he associated with servant leadership. (Patterson, 2003) The traits that Patterson identified are agapáo love, vision, …show more content…
(Greenleaf, 1997) Integrity is one of those attributes. (Greenleaf, 1997) Integrity is a firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values. (“Dictionary and Thesaurus – Merriam-Webster Online”, n.d.) When referencing servant leadership, integrity is a very important attribute. There are also supporting attributes to integrity. Some of those are communication, credibility, and influence. A hypothetical situation that demonstrates integrity would be as follows, a manager keeps an employee up to date on struggles the organization is experiencing with frequent meetings to inform the employees on the status of the organization. If the organizations struggles to meet their performance goals, and are struggling it is important for the employees to know. The consequences of the organization’s struggle could indicate future lay-offs. If this would occur, it is important that the employees understand this could be a possibility to give them an opportunity to look elsewhere for employment if the company continues to struggle. In this scenario, the manager would be viewed as using referent power. The leader is seen in a positive light and becomes transparent. I feel this is important in a leadership role as it enables the leader to be viewed as likable and trusted. The leader impact in a situation like this would be viewed