The Way of
Servant-Leadership
The Way of
Servant-Leadership
Servant-Leaders seek to understand the cares, yearnings, and struggles of the human spirit.
Servant-Leaders embrace the tension between current reality (what is) and future possibility (what might be).
Servant-Leaders are risk-takers with the capacity to trust the outcomes of an uncertain process.
Servant-Leaders pay attention to the “bottom line,” but view this measure of success from multiple perspectives.
Servant-Leaders must have an intellectual and emotional understanding of what it means to change.
In Servant-Leadership, being a servant means putting oneself at risk, with humility and clarity that is self-sacrificing.
Servant-Leaders are accountable for the continuous renewal of the organization.
Servant-Leaders hold others accountable, but never blame.
Servant-Leaders focus their attention systemically on:
The parts of an organization
The relationship between the parts of the organization
The organization as a whole
Servant-Leaders do not let their very real desire to make a difference deteriorate into a belief that they are responsible for everything.
Servant-Leaders emphasize collaboration (co-laboring – co-creating) rather than competition.
Servant-Leadership continually challenges the ego.
Servant-Leaders are living examples of integrity, courage, and love.
Servant-Leaders puts a premium on truthfulness and admitting mistakes.
Servant-Leaders have the capacity to speak their truth even when it is not what people want to hear.
Servant-Leaders are willing to compromise with others when appropriate, and therefore, do not always need to control the outcome.
Servant-Leaders take the work they do very seriously and at the same time do not take themselves too seriously.
Servant-Leadership is evocative and provocative, not predictable.
Servant-Leaders have the capacity to move to the other side, i.e., to really understand the other person’s point of view.
Servant-Leaders engage the world with gratitude and always look for the opportunity to say, “Thank You.”
To further develop your understanding of the underlying principles of Servant-Leadership you may want to purchase The Case for Servant Leadership by Kent Keith.
To further develop your capacity to practice Servant-Leadership you may want to purchase Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership by James Sipe and Don Frick.
Servant-Leader Associates 510 Westminster Avenue Swarthmore, PA 19081
610.544.1031 servantleader1 at me.com