That's the view of Mark Stanley, who commented that "These terms do not fit together-Servant & Leader … It's just another way poor leaders attempt to elevate themselves above those they 'serve'… an entirely unhealthy approach for a leader to take… Our need to be led well is far more important than our need to be served. Anna Caraveli had an interesting take on this notion: "… there is a great deal of ambiguity in defining what strong leadership means … interestingly, the 'servant' concept is not considered 'weakness' when applied to a company's relationship with clients…"Īs it has evolved in use, the term itself may pose an obstacle for the concept.
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The very nature of servant leadership may influence its spread, according to David Livesley, who said, "Even if it is more prevalent than we think, we will never hear about it what we never hear about, we never copy." Steve Hickman added, "… it is a recessive organizational gene… You don't get promoted if you don't get noticed." Christy commented that "SL is not prevalent because it is a Utopian approach that requires a complete paradigm shift for most modern day employees at any level." Tom Leahy said "… it is exhausting but also fulfilling," while Myrielle Lemoine attributed its rarity to "everyone from all levels being stretched too thin…" Several (including John Keck, Michael Darmody, and Mona Bagot) subscribed to the idea that SL can be perceived as a weakness. Personal characteristics that get in the way of SL include "Ego (that) makes it difficult to 'want to serve'" (Randy Hoekstra), "greed" (Madeleine York), and "An unhealthy desire to control" (Judesther Marc). Several commented that SL requires qualities that are all too rare, such as "cardinal virtues" (Katherina Lange), a "paradoxical combination of courage AND humility," (Lisa Slayton), "(a) high degree of self control… " (Ashok Jain), and "validation needs (that) have largely been met … (making it) very challenging for younger people to be servant leaders" (Mike Gatliff).
#Reason why there is no one best way to manage people how to#
Dan Wallace asked, "Where do you go to learn how to lead this way?" As a result, SL was characterized as "… a risky proposition … within organizations…" (John Servant) and … a long and hard road for someone" (Karan Yaramada). Servant leadership is experienced so rarely because of trends in the leadership environment, the scarcity of human qualities required, demands that the practice places on the practitioner, and the very nature of the practice itself.Īs Tahir Quzi put it, "A majority of leaders as agents of principals see themselves as maniacally focused on getting short term results …" Napoleon Elortegui commented that "… the organizational model is not geared to move the 'servant' person to the top." It can produce a "culture where leadership is associated with codes like power, selfishness & control," according to Ranji Cherian. power or buy) their way to influence leave a huge legacy to those around them."
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Timothy Lynn Burchfield provided an eloquent endorsement of the concept this way: "Those who serve (vs.
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Many comments suggested that: (1) servant leadership is practiced by many respondents, (2) it works, and (3) there are a number of reasons why others don't or can't practice it.
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Servant leadership (SL) is a concept that triggers a great deal of interest, judging by my e-mail inbox and the number of responses to this month's column. Is the Term "Servant Leadership" an Oxymoron?