A particular strength of servant-leadership is that it encourages everyone to actively seek opportunities to both serve and lead others…
Robert K. Greenleaf
To Both Serve and Lead
Topic: Serving Others
A particular strength of servant-leadership is that it encourages everyone to actively seek opportunities to both serve and lead others, thereby setting up the potential for raising the quality of life throughout society. This is a vision of a society in which the quality of life is raised for all, and the least privileged are not further deprived. It is a vision of a society in which the institutions that exist to serve people are themselves servant-led, and thus more likely to be effective in their service.
Robert K. Greenleaf (1904–1990) was the founder of the modern Servant leadership movement and the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership.
Robert K. Greenleaf was born on September 14, 1904, in Terre Haute, Indiana, a time marked by industrial growth and societal shifts. His upbringing in the Midwest instilled a community-oriented outlook, shaping his future ideologies on leadership and management. Greenleaf's education at Carleton College, where he studied mathematics and physics, honed his analytical abilities and sparked his interest in leadership ethics and societal structures, foreshadowing his contributions to organizational leadership.
In his career at AT&T, Greenleaf observed the limitations of traditional leadership models, particularly the neglect of individual growth within organizations. His interactions with notable figures like Rabbi Abraham Heschel and Norman Vincent Peale deepened his understanding of leadership. Greenleaf's diverse interests, including music and photography, enriched his perspective on creativity and leadership. These experiences laid the foundation for his servant-leadership theory, which posits effective leaders as those who serve the needs of their teams and communities first.
Greenleaf's 1970 essay "The Servant as Leader" introduced the revolutionary concept of servant-leadership, advocating for leaders who prioritize their team's welfare. This philosophy, derived from his professional observations and personal reflections, addresses leadership's role in nurturing younger generations and the broader society. Greenleaf's writings, focusing on integrity and individual action, underscore the importance of spiritual and moral development in leadership. His legacy, influencing various sectors, continues to champion the spirit over knowledge as the true source of power, urging for visionary leadership that remains pertinent today.
Servant Leadership
Greenleaf, Robert K. The Power of Servant Leadership: a Series of Addresses and a Personal Testimony. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1998, [Robert K. Greenleaf, The Power of Servant-Leadership, Vision for Our Times: Where Is It?]
Robert K. Greenleaf
Theme: Serving
About This Robert K. Greenleaf Quotation [Commentary]
Robert K. Greenleaf’s concept of servant leadership is simple yet profound. At its core, this leadership model prioritizes serving others as the primary motivation for leadership. Greenleaf’s quote, “A particular strength of servant-leadership is that it encourages everyone to actively seek opportunities to both serve and lead others,” captures this ethos. It emphasizes that true leadership is not about accumulating power but about empowering and uplifting those around us. By fostering an environment where everyone is encouraged to serve and lead, servant leadership nurtures a more inclusive and supportive society.
Greenleaf envisions a society where the quality of life is elevated for all, especially the least privileged. This vision is based on the belief that institutions should embody servant leadership principles to be genuinely effective. By prioritizing others’ well-being, these institutions create a ripple effect that enhances the community’s overall quality of life. This contrasts sharply with traditional leadership models that often prioritize the interests of a few over the many.
The true strength of servant leadership lies in its potential to transform societal structures. When leaders commit to serving others, they foster a culture of empathy, collaboration, and mutual respect. This benefits individuals and strengthens the community. Greenleaf’s insights remind us that by seeking opportunities to serve and lead, we contribute to a more just and equitable society where everyone has the chance to thrive.
Robert K. Greenleaf, The Servant As Leader [Excerpt]
Greenleaf’s seminal essay The Servant as Leader was published in 1970. In it, he proposed that the best leaders were servants first, and the key tools for a servant-leader included listening, persuasion, access to intuition and foresight, use of language, and pragmatic measurements of outcomes. In the next four years, two more essays explored ideas that an entire institution—and a society—could act as servant, and that trustees should act as servants. In 1976, Paulist Press published Servant Leadership, a book that combined these and other essays. Greenleaf always claimed that although he was informed by the Judeo-Christian ethic (he became a Quaker in mid-life), servant leadership was for people of all faiths and all institutions, secular and religious. He knew that he was not a perfect servant-leader, but it was his ideal, and the arc of his life bent in that direction.
Along the way, Bob and Esther made friends with luminaries of their day like Rabbi Abraham Heschel, Norman Vincent Peale, Peter Drucker, Jungian analyst Ira Progoff , semanticist Alfred Korzybski, and hundreds of others. Bob loved to sing bass, attend lectures and concerts, play the recorder, read, fly giant kites, and take and develop pictures. His work and writings continue to have an impact on fields as diverse as systems thinking, management, leadership, organizational development, religion, assessment and evaluation, and a baker’s dozen other disciplines. Greenleaf, however, did not describe himself a philosopher, academic, theologian or writer, but as a businessman and a seeker. He died in 1990 and is buried in Terre Haute, Indiana, with an epitaph that shows his wit: “Potentially a good plumber; ruined by a sophisticated education.”
–Don M. Frick [The biographer of Robert K. Greenleaf].
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