A Close Look at the Most Popular Leadership Style: The Servant Leader | Episode 34

Servant leadership is a popular form of leadership that had it’s humble beginnings as far back as Bible times but was coined by Robert Greenleaf in 1970 while working for AT&T. Greenleaf was seeking a way to unite employees, regardless of position, toward a common mission. He found that a leader who is more accessible to those he or she leads has a much better chance of gaining their trust and uniting toward a goal.

In this episode we take a look at the characteristics of true servant leadership, some positives attributes of the style, and some potential pitfalls the servant leader should be aware of.

Outline

1. The Roots of Servant-Leadership
   • Robert Greenleaf and his time with AT&T
   • Uniting employees through partnership
2. The Attributes of Servant-Leadership
   • Larry Spears
   • The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership
   • 10 Attributes
3. The Positives and the Pitfalls
   • What works well
   • What to be aware of

References

1. Biblical ideas on servant leadership: https://www.gotquestions.org/servant-leadership.html
2. Pros and cons: https://www.imd.org/reflections/servant-leadership/#:~:text=Servant%20leaders%20put%20the%20needs,can%20ultimately%20harm%20the%20organization.
3. Center for Servant Leadership: https://www.greenleaf.org/
4. How to apply SL: https://www.nsls.org/blog/what-is-servant-leadership-and-how-to-apply-it

Scriptures

1. https://www.bibleref.com/Matthew/20/Matthew-20-26.html
2. https://www.bibleref.com/John/13/John-13-12.html
3. https://www.bibleref.com/Philippians/2/Philippians-2-3.html
4. https://www.bibleref.com/Mark/12/Mark-12-31.html