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December 2005 Editorial: The Importance of Servant Leadership

Welcome to the December 2005 weLEAD editorial

By Dr. Shannon Flumerfelt, Ph.D

Fostering organizational learning and leadership is important and relevant work. Fortunately, opportunities abound to explore theories and present research aimed at increasing organizational capacity. Several prominent thinkers have emerged in recent times who have contributed to reforming historical thinking about organizational life. Such work is extremely helpful as tumultuous economic conditions, evolving societal expectations and emerging political platforms have fundamentally changed the familiar in organizational life. The necessity of rethinking proverbial approaches has implications for organizational effectiveness and long-term survival. In this shifting environment, common organizational structures, cultures, and traditions may be seen as impediments to success and in need of re-engineering.

One powerful idea supported by weLEAD, the concept of servant leadership, is well-chosen in this regard. Organizations can benefit from the thoughtful application of servant leadership, as it adds value to organizational cultures by increasing focus on the intrinsic issues of human dynamics. If chosen and used correctly, it can repackage thinking about how informal and formal power is used, how people relate and work together, and what is valued in organizations.

Articulated by Robert Greenleaf (1904-1990) as a taxonomy of learning for people and organizations, servant leadership is described by behaviors that are in great contrast to those in organizational cultures based on traditional hierarchical structures and uses of power. Those behaviors are listed by Larry Spears as good listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to growth and building community.¹

Servant leadership is a concept that is greatly distinguished from management. Management behaviors of controlling, guiding, heading, and directing others are based on notions of organizational goals and are end product-focused. They include the functions of supervision, instruction and decision making. Management functions are important in organizations, but when approaches that are servant leadership-based are used, a principled focus emerges, one that is concerned with process and product. Simply put, servant leadership is based on service to others, based in systems thinking, and based in community. Servant leadership functions include developing shared vision, encouraging innovation, taking risks, seeking opportunities to enhance the development of others, utilizing foresight, and applying systems thinking when solving problems.

If understood and applied correctly, this concept can revolutionize social architecture and power structures in organizations, for it considers the priority needs of others first. Servant leadership requires a focused, authentic leadership style. Such leaders are deliberately committed to positive change and building community in order to identify and solve problems. These leaders understand the power of symbols and are not afraid to flaunt a commitment to effective leadership through impactful actions. Servant leadership equips organizations to anticipate and respond to the future by taking a strategic approach that strives to disperse power and the locus of control through purposeful participative approaches.

When Greenleaf conceptualized servant leadership, he outlined a learning process as, “It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.”² Described here as a self-managed developmental process, it begins with intrinsic motivations, reaches into cognition and is expressed extrinsically as service first, then leadership. Based on this taxonomy, the abilities to think critically and choose deliberately appear to be the only pre-requisites for servant leadership. Servant leadership, it can be argued, is a simple, yet elegant solution for enhancing organizational life. Servant leadership focuses on private intentions, personal reflections and public actions, and requires that these three components remain connected in organizational culture.

As the new editor of the E-Journal of Organizational Learning and Leadership, I recognize the work of the founding editor, Dr. Howard Baker. He served in this position as a true servant leader. The high-quality work he has done for five years is lauded. I am looking forward to working from the base he has labored to put in place and wish to further develop the journal on two fronts for the future. First, because of the abundance of research being done on so many aspects of organizational learning and leadership development, I believe the journal can increase its standards for the academic rigor of its publications. Standards are available on the website and include the use of the American Psychological Association (APA) Style format. Second, because of the relevancy of the journal, I believe it can continue to increase its circulation. By focusing the journal on research that clarifies organizational issues of interest to the public, private and non-profit sectors, this can be done. Suggestions from readers to reach these two goals are welcomed and encouraged.

References:

¹Spears, L. [Editor] (1998). Insights on leadership. (pp. 3-6). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

² Greenleaf, R. (1977). Servant Leadership: A journey into legitimate power and greatness. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.

Comments to: flumerfe@leadingtoday.org

About the author:

Shannon Flumerfelt, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at Oakland University. Previously, she worked in public school administration and teaching, which included leadership development initiatives, restructuring schools with the Coalition of Essential Schools’ principles and other various change issues related to traditionally-based settings. Her scholarly interests include organizational leadership change and development and technology.