The Leaders Blog Series

This blog post was first published on The Leaders Blog, April 11, 2011.

The Leader as a Humble Servant

The first words that come to my mind when the words ‘leader’ or ‘leadership’ are mentioned, are ‘servant leadership’.

But what exactly is servant leadership?

To begin, I would like to make the distinction between leaders and those who lead. There is certainly a difference between the two.

And whether you are a CEO of a large company, a budding social entrepreneur with a bright idea to improve your community, or a high-school volunteer with a local non-profit organization, I truly believe that everyone has the capacity to be a servant leader one way or another.

Leaders, using the textbook definition of the word, are people or organizations that often hold formal positions of power and authority. These types of leaders are the ones who say, “I’m the boss and I’m in charge around here.” They also usually say, but not always, “It’s my way or the highway.”

On the other hand, those who lead, are people or organizations that do not necessarily hold any formal positions of power or authority but are able to inspire and motivate others because they are driven by firm beliefs and convictions. We follow them not because we have to, but because we want to. We ultimately believe in what they believe and stand for, and eventually, we take their cause as our own.

Inspired leaders–those who lead–are driven by a cause, a higher purpose or a strong belief that there is, and can be, a better way of doing things. On the other hand, similar to ‘Lucy‘ in a previous blog post by fellow blogger Theresa, the traditional model of leadership involves being in charge, holding a position of authority and power, and being served by others.

In the world we live in today and the complexity of the global challenges that we face as humanity, ranging from climate change, poverty and hunger, peace and global conflict, water and food scarcity, to name a few, we can certainly no longer afford to depend on the traditional model of leadership to inspire change–where one person sits at the top and makes decisions that affect us all.

The good news is, this traditional model of leadership is giving way to the evolving concept of Servant Leadership, first coined by Robert Greenleaf in his seminal 1970 essay entitled, “The Servant as a Leader.” In The Servant as a Leader, Greenleaf suggests that true leadership involves humbling yourself and serving others. Other characteristics of the servant leader include, being trustworthy, self-aware, a visionary, empowering, relational, competent, having good stewardship and being a community builder.

What other words come to your mind when you think of the words ‘leader’ or ‘leadership’?