Introduction
In this day and age where we want a latest updated version of everything, surviving and sustaining in a company and being fruitful through the change process in order to produce consistent quality deliverables could be quite a challenge, a great leader leads the company through these challenges and shows them success constantly. “Whoevers constant success must change with time”(Niccolo Machiavelli, 1879).
Therefore, justly, Change is the one thing that is perpetual in today’s world. In this day and age, keeping up with this change and staying at the top in the market is becoming a growing challenge in organizations. To keep up to this change, many leaders are adopting and incorporate the servant leadership skillset, because it’s very helpful and an expedient way to lead a firm into success. The act of leading a follower with a servant-hood like view is called Servant Leadership.
Servant-Leadership Definition
A Servant leader includes and maintains many relationships with his/her followers, taking care of them. Leadership was bestowed on a person who was by nature a servant”. Greenleaf (1970, 1977) Leaders should become a servant first and help or support the followers. Servant leadership is marginally different from generic leadership, where it explains the strong relationship between the leader and followers, where they are completely dependent on leadership actions and in the decision making of the organizing team. The ethical theory of leadership is completely based on leadership and their behavioral actions to decide good or bad in a particular situation.
Finally, the full range theory is a combination of both transactional leadership style and transformational leadership style. In comparing the above said leadership styles with servant leadership, transactional leadership style can be leveled up to a certain understanding where the followers are not primarily focused on critical thinking while on the other hand transformational leadership style is a style of leadership where leaders use different approaches and strategies to improve the performance of their followers. All these theories and style have an ultimate purpose of commitment to organizational goals and follower motivation.
Servant Leadership Attributes
A good leader’s goal is to enable his people to achieve their full potential and eliminate any form of stress or anything that conflicts a good work environment, he will go any extent to resolve problems, in order to server the employee and the company. Having a servant leader as a Leader, workers will enjoy working at the company; this creates a good work environment.
When these employees go out into the society, they will have a a good feedback about the company thus creating a good review and a positive response in the community. Therefore, a servant leader is the pillar of the company, he adjusts to the changes in the market, adapts those changes into the company and eliminated anything that hinders from a good working environment, he respects his followers and is trustworthy, this makes the employees satisfied, a satisfied employee is effective in producing satisfactory results, thus satisfying the costumer, which is the goal of every company. Things Change, and so do people, a Servant Leader identifies, adapts and handles Changes to meet the needs of his people and his organization and to those it serves. “Leadership is innate of a person who was by nature a servant” Greenleaf (1970, 1977).
To be a good leader first we have to be a good follower. A servant leadership has these kinds of qualities that leader should be first follower and a leader is nothing but a good follower. A servant leader serves his followers to be more knowledge, capable, task-oriented and to improve research skills.
Servant Leadership Application
In the Indian culture, many of the national leaders and politicians believe and work within the same pages and concepts of Greenleaf. Many successful leaders used servant leadership and became effective; Mahatma Gandhi serves as a perfect example. A servant leader is motivated, not by a longing to regulate others, but by a yearning to support them and make them realize their dignity and power. Gandhi preached non-violence and dedicated his career to the achievement of a better life for the downtrodden. I personally strive for an approach called servant leadership-(Mahatma Gandhi 1869-1948)”.
The application of Servant Leadership in India is not only limited to the physical leaders, but we also see glimpses of servant Leadership in the epic Hindu mythological god’s and their manuscripts. The Veda’s declare that all Hindus should serve their people in every need and state, if they did so they would become a great leader. Indians also believe that an act of serving the people equals the act of serving the world. “A leader understands the mission is greater than self and exhibits behavior that demonstrate respect, service, justice, honest, and community (Drury 2005). ”
References
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- Harding, P. Government Office for the South West, Office of Sustainable Business. (2004). Managing change. Seattle: www. onesouthwest. om
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