Leaders as
Servants
By Krista Kurth, Ph.D.
Summary
As we move towards the 21st Century,
leaders everywhere are being asked to inspire others with their
visions, to empower their employees, to be accessible, to generate
trust, and to be more creative and flexible. In the face of these
demands, more leaders are realizing that they need to draw on a deeper
source of guidance, strength and influence - and that to be effective
leaders they truly need to serve their employees, their organizations,
and their communities. In this paper, the author explores a
"cutting-edge" model of Leaders as Servants, which draws on the
spiritual foundations of service. Specifically, the author discusses
the idea of spiritually inspired service and its relationship to
leadership and outlines the model of spiritually inspired service at
work that came out of her research. Furthermore, in addition to
providing examples of ways in which some leaders are serving at work,
the author also addresses some implications that this model has for
leaders.
Introduction
As we approach the
21st Century there not only seems to be an increase in the demands
placed on leaders, but also a growing acknowledgment of a need for
spiritual renewal in the workplace, which, in turn, has given rise to
calls for changes in our methods of leadership. This expanding
awareness is particularly evident in the number of recent publications
in the management field, such as Spirit at Work: Discovering the
Spirituality in Leadership (Conger, 1994), Reawakening the Spirit in
Work (Hawley, 1993), Leading with Soul (Bolman and Deal, 1995), A
Higher Standard of Leadership: Lessons from the Life of Gandhi (Nair,
1993), and Love and Profit: the Art of Caring Leadership (Autry, 1991)
that emphasize a spiritual, people-centered approach to
management. Similarly,
various organizations, like the World Business Academy, the Greenleaf
Center for Servant-Leadership, and the Institute of Noetic Sciences,
are now exploring related topics, such as the transformative spirit of
service, the soul of leadership, and work as nourishment. Furthermore, numerous
individuals, similar to Tom Chappell of Tom's of Maine (Chappell,
1993), are beginning to experiment with and share their experiences of
new ways of being and leading in the workplace that not only allow
room for the experience of spirit and meaning in their work, but also
enhance and support it.
In the
course of their exploration, these pioneers are discovering more
holistic approaches to work that ameliorate some of the alienation and
dis-spiritedness experienced by many and that integrate the spiritual
and the material sides of life into their work. One such model,
currently being explored by some leaders, which effectively bridges
these two aspects, is that of the Leader as Servant. It is a very
powerful model for those who follow it because it draws on, what for
some is, the very meaning of life, to serve humanity. When we serve we
are not only linked to a higher purpose - the betterment of mankind -
but we are also attending to the deepest and greatest part of our
selves. It is through this connection with ourselves and others, in
service, that we as leaders and individuals, and consequently our
organizations and the world around us, are transformed. In this paper,
the meaning of service in the context of the Leader as Servant will be
explored and a model will be outlined which interested leaders can use
for transforming themselves and their organizations.
The Meaning of Service
Although forms of service, such as
customer service and volunteer service, are well-known in the
organizational realm, the type of service upon which the Leader as
Servant model is based has a different meaning than more familiar
forms of service. Essentially, the type of service that informs the
Leader as Servant model is the kind about which the world's spiritual
traditions and great teachers speak - a spiritual way of being. This
kind of spiritually inspired service, which for the sake of this paper
is called selfless service, can be described as unselfish service or
benevolent action to others that is motivated by love, rather than by
any other motives. It involves feeling and acting as if the long-term
welfare of others is important, irrespective of its effects on one's
welfare and the outcome or gain received. Basically, it is an
intentional way of being, grounded in a spiritual orientation that
moves one towards a sense of wholeness from which one is naturally
inspired to serve humanity.
There are several key characteristics to
selfless service that differentiate it from other forms of service.
First, because it is a spiritual way of being, the manner in which we
express service in our everday life and work is more important than
the specific actions we take. Although, the kinds of actions we take
can and do play a role, it is an inner attitude of love serving as the
inspiration of our actions that makes the difference. Second, selfless
service involves giving without anticipating any personal gain, other
than contributing to the welfare of others. It means offering service
solely for the sake of service, for the sake of others, with no other
purpose in mind. It requires us to perform our actions wholeheartedly
with the highest intentions. One way to do this is to offer our work
in service to the divine. In other words, to truly serve we must have
faith in a higher power.
When we
have faith, we are able to recognize that we do not really have
control over the outcomes of our actions. Then, we can tranquilly
accept everything that happens, and because we know that it happens in
the fullness of its own time, we don't have to react on an inner
level. In Eastern philosophy this is known as actionless activity. It
is said that when we are able to be spontaneous and natural and act
with genuine compassion and humility, then we do nothing, yet
everything is accomplished.
Basically, when we are attuned in this way, service becomes a
natural expression of our being that benefits everything and everyone,
including ourselves and our organizations, which is why it is the key
to genuine leadership.
Service as the Key to True Leadership
When we cultivate our natural desire to
serve, we not only learn to draw on a deeper source of wisdom within
us, help others with whom we work grow, and transform ourselves in
ways that allow us to respond more spontaneously and creatively to
situations around us, but we also become true leaders. This is quite
evident if you look at some of the world's great leaders, like Mahatma
Ghandi and Martin Luther King. They both placed more personal emphasis
on serving than on being leaders. They seemed to know that when we are
able to be spontaneous and natural and act with genuine compassion and
humility, then we can truly lead.
Robert Greenleaf, the first person in
the management field to write about leaders as servants, describes
this connection as follows:
[Servant leadership] begins with the
natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings
one to aspire to lead.
The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the
servant - first to make sure that other people's highest priority
needs are being served.
The best test, and difficult to administer, is: do those
served, grow as persons; do they while being served, become healthier,
wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become
servants? (Spears, 1994, p. 156)
He also indicates that servant
leadership is based on a desire to change oneself first. It is only
after one has begun to change, to become a servant, that it then
becomes possible to practice service in the workplace.
Becoming Servants at Work: A Leadership
Model
One way to begin the process of
practicing service in the workplace and becoming leaders who are
servants is to examine ways in which others are expressing service and
then experiment with enacting similar ideas in our own work. The following model,
appropriately entitled the Four Expressive Aspects of Selfless Service
at Work, which came out of the author's research, outlines four main
types of action that leaders can enact to express service at work. As
can be seen in the table on the following page, the model addresses
the spiritual, personal, relational, and communal dimensions of
service at work.
The Spiritual Aspect:
According to the model, the first aspect
of expressing service at work entails consciously bringing a spiritual
awareness into our daily life.
While there are innumerable ways of doing this, some of the
main ways we can develop a direct spiritual perception is by engaging
in activities, such as:
Consciously opening ourselves to the
presence of the Divine while at work. For example, listening to the
inner voice that reflects a higher wisdom.
Performing spiritual practices like
prayer and meditation in relation to one's work. For instance, several people
interviewed during research talked about praying for those with whom
they work, and beginning each day with a meditation in which they
offer their work to God.
Talking about spiritual issues with
others at work, which requires having the courage to talk about
personally meaningful spiritual issues, values and practices. One
person who was interviewed said that he not only discusses spiritual
issues with the members of his organization, but he also incorporates
it into his work with some clients. He described a situation with a
client where he facilitated a group in which management and union
leadership, who had been at odds for years, sat in a room and closed
their eyes together. Later, they talked about their spiritual life
with each other.
Choosing work that is in accordance with
one's spiritual values and attitude, work that serves and is of
benefit to others. For
example, one person said his interest in social investing stems from
the spiritual, ethical, and social values he has. He believes that "everything
in everyday life, everything you do, should express or be true to your
spiritual values." Consequently, his company invests in areas where
they will have a high social impact, even though they may realize a
lower return.
Overtly bringing spiritual practices
into organizational activities, such as praying together, having
moments of silence before meetings, creating a space in the office
where people can perform spiritual practices, and organizing the
company around spiritual values by creating policies and procedures
based on them.
The Personal Aspect
The second aspect of expressing selfless
service at work is the Personal aspect which involves being committed
to our own personal and spiritual growth and living with as much
integrity and authenticity as possible. Wrestling with the
complexities of servant leadership requires reflection and persistent
inquiry, refining our awareness and gaining clarity of mind so that we
can engage in simple spontaneous action that flows from pure
awareness. Consequently, we need to be committed to living with
integrity and learning to walk our talk more over time, which only
happens through hard work and by consistently performing actions such
as:
1. Engaging in self-reflection,
2. Paying attention the motivations
underlying our actions,
3. Maintaining an attitude of learning,
4. Confronting aspects of ourselves that
get in the way of us
being true servants and compassionate leaders.
THE FOUR EXPRESSIVE ASPECTS OF
SELFLESS SERVICE AT WORK
| ASPECT |
FOCUS |
INTENTION |
ACTION |
| SPIRITUAL |
THE DIVINE |
CONSCIOUSLY BRINGING A
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS INTO ONE'S DAILY LIFE |
1. ENGAGING IN SPIRITUAL
PRACTICES
2. SEEING THE DIVINE IN OTHERS
3. TALKING ABOUT
SPIRITUAL ISSUES WITH OTHERS
4. OVERTLY BRINGING SPIRITUAL
PRACTICES INTO ORGANIZATIONAL ACTIVITIES
5. CHOOSING WORK
THAT IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH OUR SPIRITUAL
VALUES
|
| PERSONAL |
SELF |
BEING COMMITTED TO ONE'S
PERSONAL GROWTH AND LIVING WITH INTEGRITY |
1. ENGAGING IN SELF-
REFLECTION
2. SEEING SITUATIONS AS OPPORTUNITIES TO
LEARN
3. BEING VIGILANT AND AWARE OF OUR
ACTIONS
|
| RELATIONAL |
OTHER |
ESTABLISHING CARING
RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHERS |
1. TREATING PEOPLE WITH LOVE
& RESPECT
2. ACTIVELY SUPPORTING OTHERS' GROWTH
3.
RESPONDING TO OTHERS' NEEDS
4. TRUSTING PEOPLE
5.
COMMUNICATING OPENLY AND HONESTLY
|
| COMMUNAL |
GROUP
ORGANIZATION
COMMUNITY
ENVIRONMENT |
BUILDING COMMUNITY IN AND
CARING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH ONE WORKS |
1. CREATING AN OPEN, TRUSTING
ATMOSPHERE
2. ALLOWING FOR DIVERSITY
3. ENCOURAGING
OPEN COMMUNICATION
4. WORKING ASSOCIATIVELY
5. CREATING
TOGETHERNESS
6. CARING FOR
ENVIRONMENT
|
©
1994.
Please do not reproduce without author's
permission
In the process of increasing our awareness and integrity, we
can ask ourselves, like some of the people
interviewed during research communicated they do, questions
like, "What is it that I need to see about this situation? How can I
transcend this moment of anger or impatience or intolerance? How can I
get reconnected to my deepest Self, to God?
The Relational Aspect
The next aspect in the model pertains to
establishing and sustaining caring, non-manipulative relationships
with other organizational members. Caring relationships in this
instance means relationships between people in which the parties are
interested in getting to know and care for each other as
individuals. The
relationship is based on a recognition that others have worth simply
because they are human beings, and not solely because of the work they
do in the organization.
Building these kinds of relationship requires that we;
1. Treat people with love and
respect,
2. Actively support others' personal and
professional growth
3.
Respond to people's needs,
4. Trust others,
5. Communicate openly and honestly with
each other.
The Communal Aspect
The final category entails building
communities in the organizations in which we work. The term community
refers here to the idea as it is described in Scott Peck's work, The
Different Drum (1988). As
he defines it, community is a complex phenomenon with many facets and
requires both an "on-going process of becoming increasingly conscious"
and living together in freedom and love. (Peck, 1988, pp.19-20) It's
interesting to note that the original, traditional definition of
community was "to serve together." When a group has a purpose of
service, it sets the foundation around which it can grow and draws
people into something greater than themselves. (Peck, 1988, p.32)
The feeling
of community can be enhanced by activities such as;
1. Creating an open and trusting
atmosphere,
2. Allowing for and celebrating
diversity,
3. Encouraging open communication,
4. Working associatively with others,
5. Creating a sense of togetherness
through rituals and events.
6. Caring for the environment.
7. Engaging in organizationally
sponsored volunteer activities.
Implications for Leaders
This model has great implications for
those who wish to become servants, true leaders, and consequently find
more meaning in their work. Although many of the actions described
above are not necessarily new in and of themselves in the
organizational realm (with the exception of the spiritual activities
mentioned), the model is valuable because it integrates, in one
framework, the important dimensions of service and organizational
action. The categories of action are particularly useful in that they
offer different specific alternatives for expressing service in our
work and can serve as an experimental guide for leaders. Depending
upon our own individual nature, stage of development and work
environment, we can choose which actions best suit us and the
organizations in which we work. For instance, we could choose simply
and quietly to focus on serving others, while consciously allowing
ourselves to be motivated by love or bringing a spiritual presence to
what we do. Or, we could decide to actively and directly raise the
idea of leading by serving others and try to explicitly structure our
organizations around values such as treating others with love and
respect and supporting other's growth. There is room for both
approaches.
However, if we take the more overt path,
we must be careful how we go about it. We must recognize that
spiritual ways of being at work, such as becoming leaders who are
trying to express selfless service, should not, and in reality cannot,
be imposed on others. Basically, because true spiritual expressions
are internally inspired by experience and faith, people must choose
for themselves whether or not to embrace and express this way of being
at work. But, this does not mean that we should shy away from being
servant-leaders or directly raising spiritual issues at work, as has
traditionally been the case in the workplace. If we are sensitive to
and accepting of the differences in values held by other
organizational members, we can make our spiritual values more explicit
at work without imposing them on others.
One of the most effective ways to be
both responsive to others and share our own values is by engaging in
dialogue and care-ful communication. We can receive support from and
give support to others by building personal and caring relationships
with them, talking about our spiritual development, sharing stories,
reading and discussing significant literature together, and most
importantly by listening to each other. When we are open, honest and
caring in our interactions with others, when we genuinely share our
personal experiences and struggles, then we not only create room for
others and their values, but also make it possible to learn from each
other how best to integrate our values into the way we structure our
organizations and work together. Basically, when we engage in care-ful
conversation with our co-workers we are allowing the presence of
Spirit to emerge in the workplace.
As you can imagine, or already know, it
is not easy to make the kinds of changes suggested by the Leader as
Servant model or to engage in and talk about new ways of being in the
workplace. There is not yet much support in the organizational realm
for leaders becoming servants or raising spiritual issues at work.
Therefore, we must be strong enough as individuals to engage in this
pursuit, regardless of the support received. Furthermore, because
selfless service is more a way of being than a set of particular
behaviors, it necessitates cultivating our inner attitude, awareness,
and character on an on-going basis, until this way of being becomes
second nature for us. It takes great courage, effort and commitment to
become a servant-leader.
However, even though it is a challenging
model to emulate, doing so provides a great sense of fulfillment to
those who engage in the process. When we do take the risk and make the
effort to lead by serving, the impact on us and others can be quite
amazing. We can discover,
similar to those who are already experimenting with this new model of
leadership, that because there are more people interested in creating
work that is meaningful and nourishing than we thought, we not only
get the support we need, but we also inspire others and contribute to
their growth. Likewise,
as we lead by serving and engage in more public discussions of
spiritual issues in the workplace, we create opportunities for change
to take place in the way we work together. Moreover, our own growth is
enhanced in the process.
When we talk about the value of being a servant-leader at work,
we give ourselves an opportunity to become more actively engaged in
"walking our talk." As we
gradually live more authentically by the values and ideas that we
espouse, we not only experience more peace and meaning in our life,
but also have more of a genuine impact on those around us.
Although it would be great if we could perform all the actions
outlined in the model simultaneously and perfectly, it is important to
remember that love and selfless service only become habitual through
practice and on-going experimentation. Therefore, it is important for
those of us who are interested in being servant-leaders to begin
exploring aspects of service at work. Even if we can't serve as
unconditionally as we would like, we can act as if we already are. If
we hold the awareness that whatever we do, we are doing in service to
the highest, to those with whom we come in contact, even if we don't
always feel it, then gradually our love will shine through in all that
we do and we will become great servants and great leaders. Moreover, if Albert Schweitzer
and Rabindranath Tagore are correct in the assertions they make, we
will be happy, fulfilled people.
I don't know what your destiny will
be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really
happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.
- Albert
Schweitzer
I slept and dreamt that life was
Joy,
I awoke and saw
that life was Service,
I acted and behold, Service was
Joy.
- Rabindranath Tagore
May all our lives
and work become conscious expressions of joyous service.
References
Autry, James,
(1991), Love and Profit:The Art of Caring Leadership. NY: Avon Books.
Bolman,
Lee and Deal, Terrence, (1995),
Leading with Soul: an Uncommon Journey of Spirit. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
Chappell, Tom, (1993) The Soul of a Business: Managing for
Profit and the Common Good.
NY: Bantam Books.
Conger,
Jay. ed., (1994). Spirit at Work: Discovering the Spirituality in
Leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
Hawley, Jack, (1993), Reawakening the Spirit at
Work: the Power of Dharmic Management. San Francisco, CA:
Berrett-Koehler.
Nair, Keshavan, (1994), A Higher
Standard of Leadership: Lessons from the Life of Gandhi. San
Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.
Peck, Scott, (1988), The Different Drum: Community
Making and Peace. New York: Touchstone, Simon and Schuster.
Spears,
Larry, (1994), "Servant-Leadership: Toward a New Era of Caring," in
Leadership in a New . John Renesch, ed. San Francisco, CA: Sterling
and Stone, Inc., New Leaders Press.
Other
References
Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership. (317) 259-1241, 921
East 86th St, Suite 200, Indianapolis, IN 46240.
They publish various books on servant
leadership as well as a newsletter called The Servant Leader. The center also holds an
annual conference.
Institute of Noetic
Sciences. (800) 383-1394, 475 Gate Five Road, Suite 300, Sausalito, CA
94965
They conduct research, publish a
journal, and sponsor various workshops and conferences.
World
Business Academy. (202) 783-3213, 1151 K St NW, Suite 1101,
Washington, DC 20005, e-mail: wba@together.org
They publish a journal called
Perspectives, and sponsor meetings and conferences.
