The Servant Leader

Much has been written about a form of leadership called the “servant leader”. This title, dubbed by Robert Greenleaf as a form of leadership in 1970, has been hailed as the modern model of leadership. But is this really a new form of leadership, or is it simply a variation on a theme?

As in many organizations, the president of the community Association is recognized as the leader of that organization. The actual task of management is often delegated to an employee or an outside management company. But is the president still performing a management function? The answer is yes, as the leadership function itself is divided into two sections: leadership and management. The vision promoted is the leadership function, while the serving activities constitute the managerial function. The delegation of a portion of the management tasks to an employee or third-party management company simply reduces the number of management tasks that the president performs.

Here's a list of characteristics that many believe are central to the concept of the servant leader:

• Awareness - The servant leader must understand his or her own values, biases, strengths, and weaknesses, as well as the values of those served.
• Foresight - The servant leader has a well-developed sense of how the past, present, and future are connected.
• Stewardship - The servant leader is a steward who holds the organization's resources in trust for the greater good of those served.
• Listening – The servant leader is one who can listen effectively to others.
• Empathy - As discussed above under “awareness,” the servant leader must be able to understand the perspective of others.
• Persuasion - The servant leader is recognized as one who influences others through his persuasive capabilities.
• Conceptualization - The servant leader is someone who can integrate present realities and future possibilities.
• Commitment to others – The servant leader is responsible for serving the needs of others. This means thinking about you, not me.
• Building community – The servant leader is someone who helps create a sense of community.
• Diversity – The servant leader values diverse opinions and seeks out opposing points of view.
• Trust - The servant leader cultivates a culture of trust.
• Humility – The servant leader does not wear the title of president as a badge to show who is in charge. Rather, he knows that it's not about the leader; it's about others.

The primary thrust of those promoting the servant leader model of management and leadership appears to be setting forth a leadership model that is directly opposite that of the dictatorial leadership model. But is it really a distinct leadership model, or is it simply a difference in emphasis and style? There are many different definitions of management, but they all seem to focus around a core concept of creating maximum benefit from the resources available.

The dictatorial leadership model could often be described as the most efficient form of management. It can work well with a strong leader who has a clear vision of the future and takes whatever actions are necessary to reach that vision. Those promoting the servant leader model of leadership appear to claim that the dictatorial leadership model in fact is not leadership at all; it's simply management. I don’t see it that way. The vision itself represents the leadership function; the management style adopted represents the management function of how to reach the vision.

Can you actually separate leadership from management? I'm not sure you can. The servant leader is one who uses persuasion to influence others towards his or her vision. The dictator simply orders others towards his vision. The dictator is probably very efficient; the servant leader is likely less efficient. The dictator, however, is not nearly as likely to have the “buy in” or support of his followers, while the servant leader is very likely to have a majority or full support of his followers in achieving goals. If the vision happened to be the same between these two leadership styles, the net result in achieving the goal might be the same. The difference is that the dictator likely would not have the support of his followers to perform the next task, whereas the servant leader would likely have the support of his followers in achieving the next task. In the long run, that may turn out to be a more efficient form of leadership.

The type of organization may have a significant influence upon which form of leadership works best. For instance, in corporate America the dictatorial/top-down leadership style is the most common model of leadership. However, those served by corporate America are both the employees and customers of the company. Assuming the company is producing a product that is desired by the customers, then it is the employees who are most affected by the leadership style. Employees are not volunteers.

In the community Association, those served are the members of the Association. While membership in the Association is voluntary, once a member buys a unit or lot within the Association, they become a fixed portion of the group or members served by the Association leadership. One huge difference from corporate America is that the members of the community Association are volunteers. They don't have to participate in any way in their community Association, and many choose not to do so. In fact, the primary reason many people buy in a community Association is that they can have the benefit of recreational and other amenities on a group basis that they could never afford on an individual basis - and they don’t have to worry about maintenance of those amenities. For the leader of the community Association, the challenge is much greater than in corporate America simply because the members are volunteers, not employees. They can make a choice every single day as to whether to participate or not to participate.

One of the ways that the community Association leader can influence or persuade other volunteer members is by example. Treating your fellow members as you would like to be treated yourself is the first step. My many years of experience in the community Association industry have demonstrated to me that the vast majority of members of Associations are well-satisfied with the Association experience. Unfortunately, that doesn't make the news. What we see in print news is the very small minority of interactions that don’t work well. Some of these actions are the direct result of a failure of leadership. As an example, those boards where the directors rule with a firm hand without demonstrating empathy towards their fellow members are much more likely to have an unhappy group of homeowners.

I have not reached any conclusion with this article. I simply wanted to share my thoughts and observations on this concept called leadership. Others I have talked to appear to have fully embraced the concept of the servant leader model. I still need some convincing, but probably just with the issue of it being a completely separate leadership model. I can’t argue with any of the characteristics described above. I see great benefits to that style of leadership, particularly as compared to and contrasted with the dictatorial style of leadership. However, I'm not sure I really see it as a completely different model of leadership. I simply see it as a difference in emphasis and style.