Servant leadership is a philosophy and set of practices that enriches the lives of individuals, builds better organizations and ultimately creates a more just and caring world. Servant Leadership has its own principles .
EMPATHY
Servant‐leaders strive to understand and empathize with others. People need to be accepted and recognized for their special and unique spirit. One must assume the good intentions of coworkers and not reject them as people, even when forced to reject their behavior or performance.
HEALING
Learning to heal is a powerful force for transformation and integration. One of the great strengths of servant‐leadership is the potential for healing one’s self and others.
AWARENESS
General awareness, and especially self‐awareness, strengthens the servant‐leader. Making a commitment to foster awareness can be scary, one never knows what one may discover.
PERSUASION
Servant‐leaders rely on persuasion, rather than positional authority in making decisions. Servant‐ leaders seek to convince others, rather than coerce compliance. This particular element offers one of the clearest distinctions between the traditional authoritarian model and that of servant‐leadership. The servant‐leader is effective at building consensus within groups.
CONCEPTUALIZATION
Servant‐leaders seek to nurture their abilities to “dream great dreams.” The ability to look at a problem (or an organization) from a conceptualizing perspective means that one must think beyond day‐to‐ day realities. Servant‐leaders must seek a delicate balance between conceptualization and day‐to‐day focus.
FORESIGHT
Foresight is a characteristic that enables servant‐ leaders to understand lessons from the past, the realities of the present, and the likely consequence of a decision in the future. It is deeply rooted in the intuitive mind.
STEWARDSHIP
Robert Greenleaf’s view of all institutions was one in which CEO’s, staff, directors, and trustees all play significant roles in holding their institutions in trust for the greater good of society.
COMMITMENT TO THE GROWTH OF PEOPLE
Servant‐leaders believe that people have an intrinsic value beyond their tangible contributions as workers. As such, servant‐leaders are deeply committed to a personal, professional, and spiritual growth of each and every individual within the organization.
BUILDING COMMUNITY
Servant‐leaders are aware that the shift from local communities to large institutions as the primary shaper of human lives has changed our perceptions and has caused a feeling of loss. Servant‐leaders seek to identify a means for building community among those who work within a given institution.
