Introduction
Servant-leadership is a growing concept in management and leadership that may, at first, appear rather paradoxical. Servant-leadership does not dispute that the leader's role is to be a visionary who guides and directs the work of others according to the organization's overall goals. However, it charges him with enabling and empowering the work force, rather than enforcing his rights of superiority. While the leader may manage the business of her organization, she does not manage, but rather lead and serve, the people she supervises. Reversing the trends that started perhaps with the industrial revolution, servant-leadership puts the human dimension back into the work place.
While the transformation of an organization to servant-leadership is a long and gradual process, the dividends of this investment are unquestionable, and many companies have witnessed the improved work environment and enhanced productivity that will result. Jim Collins describes in his powerful book "Good to Great" [1] the results of an ambitious research project, in which he meticulously analyzed the most successful companies on the stock market and the characteristics of their leaders. Each of the 11 most successful companies, which financially outperformed their competitors even in the most challenging circumstances, was led by a CEO with the following two characteristics: competency and humility. While their being competent was no surprise, being humble certainly seems counter to the stereotypical image of the successful business manager.
Robert Greenleaf has summarized the basic philosophy of servant-leadership in the following quote [2]:
The servant-leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. The best test is: do those served grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?
In my personal life journey, I have certainly been in the role of a servant, although perhaps primarily outside of the traditional business environment. After finishing my Ph.D., I spent a year working full-time as a volunteer for a mission in Baja California, Mexico. Two trips to Colombia, South America, and participating in the Sunday School and choir ministries of my church have also strengthened my sense of wanting to be of service to others.
However, how do these experiences of servanthood translate into my work environment? I am perhaps only an emerging leader in my work place. I work for a biological database called the Protein Data Bank (PDB), where I am responsible for the production aspects of making the data available to the end users. In this capacity, I have project (but as of yet no personnel) management responsibilities for a group of fewer than a half dozen programmers. Hence, I feel fortunate that the certification program of the San Diego Leadership Initiative could expose me to the concepts of servant-leadership at a relatively early stage of more formal leadership roles in my professional career.
Let me begin then the exploration of what can be learnt from Biblical leaders about the ten characteristics of servant-leadership, and how the application of their examples might help to make me a better servant leader. This is what Jesus said (Mat 20:25-28) about the leader being a servant first:
25But Jesus called them together and said, "You know that in this world kings are tyrants, and officials lord it over the people beneath them. 26But among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first must become your slave. 28For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many."
The same passage is repeated almost verbatim in the Gospel of Mark (Mar 10:42-45), and, somewhat differently worded, in the Gospel of Luke (Luk 22:25-27):
25Jesus told them, "In this world the kings and great men order their people around, and yet they are called 'friends of the people.' 26But among you, those who are the greatest should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. 27Normally the master sits at the table and is served by his servants. But not here! For I am your servant.
The transformation to servant leadership has to start with oneself, with the leader as a servant being a good example to others around him. Peter expressed this very clearly in 1Pe 5:3, where he wrote:
Don't lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your good example.
Bill Bottum, in his essay "Within Our Reach, Servant-Leadership for the Twenty-first Century," co-written with Dorothy Lenz, in the collection of essays "Insights on Leadership" [3] talks about how Robert Greenleaf was inspired by Jesus' washing of the disciples' feet. The entire story is found in Joh 13:4-17, but the essence is contained in the following two verses:
14And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet. 15I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.
For many illustrations throughout this study, I will draw on the examples of New Testament leaders in general and Jesus in particular. However, this does not mean that there is no servant leadership to be found in the Old Testament. A text search for "servant" shows that many of the great Old Testament leaders were referred to as servant, usually as "servant of the LORD" (i.e. God's servant). The illustrious list includes none less than the great founding fathers Abraham (Gen 26:24) and Moses (Exo 14:31), such strong men as Joshua (Jos 24:29) and Samson (Jdg 15:18), and some of the greatest prophets and kings, such as Samuel (1Sa 3:9), David (Psa 18:1), Elijah (2Ki 10:10), Hezekiah (2Ch 32:16), Job (Job 1:8), Isaiah (Isa 20:3), Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 43:10), Jacob (Eze 28:25), Daniel (Dan 9:17), and Zerubbabel (Hag 2:23).
In the following ten chapters, I shall look at each of the ten characteristics of servant leadership as defined by Larry Spears [3], i.e. listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of others, and building community. How did the great Biblical leaders exemplify these characteristics? How can their examples inspire me to be a better servant leader? Finally, I conclude each chapter with questions for thought and discussion. You may want to use those questions just for your own personal reflection, or you may find them useful for group study with other Christian leaders. As you enter your own journey of servant leadership, perhaps you would want to start the practice of journaling, that is the habit of keeping a notebook or diary in which you write down your thoughts. Servant leadership will be a lifelong endeavor, and your personal notes along the path may prove to be a wonderful companion to tell how far you have come and to encourage you to go even further ahead.
For Thought and Discussion
- What emotions does the term "servant" invoke for you? Does it have negative connotations? How about "service"?
- Does your organization have a culture that encourages leaders to serve those who work for them? If not, what could you do to start such a culture through your own example?
- Read the story of Jesus' washing of the disciples' feet (Joh 13:4-17). In your own life, have you ever been served by one of your leaders in an unexpected way? What was your reaction? Were you reluctant like Peter? Did it inspire you to do likewise?
