Evaluating Servant Leadership
What is servant leadership? When this question is asked, the first response that comes to mind is a leadership role in some sort of spiritual capacity. In actuality, this concept can be applied to both professional and spiritual roles of leadership. Robert K. Greenleaf’s theory of servant leadership includes qualities such as listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, growth and building community (Greenleaf, 2002). Considering this description, when asked if the following statement, "although servant leadership is often associated with the Bible and Jesus Christ, it is totally compatible with most religions and theories of philosophy" can be viewed as true,
It is logical that effective servant leadership would require a higher level of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the skill level or ability to identify and manage emotions of self, others and of groups as well. People who possess a high degree of emotional intelligence will most likely be very self-aware and also be quite attuned to the emotions of others around them. Self-awareness is needed first in order to understand and be attuned with others. As stated by Daniel Goleman, “if your emotional abilities aren’t in hand, if you don’t have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can’t have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far” (Serrat, 2009).
So what is servant leadership? It is a leadership role in some sort of spiritual capacity but it is a concept that can be applied both professional and spiritual roles of leadership. Greenleaf’s theory of servant leadership that includes qualities such as listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, growth and building community (Greenleaf, 2002) encompasses qualities that are morally important but that can also be applied in professional situations. It is true that, "although servant leadership is often associated with the Bible and Jesus Christ, it is totally compatible with most religions and theories of philosophy". Servant leadership is