The Case for Servant Leadership by Kent M Keith

1. The Case for Servant Leadershipby Kent M Keith Hannah Coakley November 1st, 2013

2. What is Servant Leadership? “The servant leader is servant-first…It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions.” – Robert Greenleaf from The Servant as Leader

3. Who is Served? “Throughout the centuries, in diverse cultures around the world, special emphasis has been placed on serving those in greatest need.” Children, old men, the poor and sick, should be considered as lords of the atmosphere (Hindu) All men are responsible for one another (Talmud) What is the essence of life? To serve others and do good. (Aristotle)

4. Why do we choose to serve those who are the most vulnerable or who have the least? ….moral/ethical beliefs? ….religion? …..philosophy ….community ….sense of unity ….meaning making HOPE

5. Servant Leadership and Healthcare Here at the VA, and in all health professions, we are focused on serving those who are compromised by illness. We necessarily work with vulnerable populations, be they the elderly, children or simply anyone who is sick. Therefore, we can employ the principles of servant leadership to create healthcare organizations that are both empowering to work for and emblems of loving and patient-centered care.

6. Defining Stewardship Stewardship is “the willingness to be accountable for the wellbeing of the larger organization by operating in service, rather than in control, of those around us.” – Peter Block, Stewardship

7. Transformational Leadership Transactional leadership “leaders approach followers with an eye to exchanging one thing for another” VERSUS Transformational leadership “looks for potential motives in followers, seeks to satisfy higher needs, and engages the full person of the follower” The intent: to convert followers into leaders and to transform leaders into moral agents

8. True Servant Leaders are… Hard-working and Aware (George Williams, Founder of the YMCA) Brave, Passionate, and Committed (Harriet Tubman, Freedom fighter and activist) Savvy, Ethical, and Organized (Eiichi Shibusawa, Renowned Japanese Industrialist)

9. The Case of Machiavelli… Machiavelli was a well-respected intellectual who lived and wrote in 15th century Florence. His novel The Princehas been considered an essential “power” book for businessmen and politicians for hundreds of years. He advised the Medici, an extremely powerful family in Florence, leading them to be one of the most feared and dictatorial rulers in Italy at that time.

10. Some “Highlights”… “in taking a state the conqueror must arrange to commit all his atrocities at once so as not to have to recur to them every day” “it is necessary for a prince to learn how not to be good” “a prudent ruler ought not to keep faith when by so doing it would be against his interest, and when the reasons which made him bind himself no longer exist” “a wise prince ought, when he has the chance, to foment astutely an enmity, so that by suppressing it he will augment his greatness

11. The Power Model In the power model, leadership is about how to make people do things, not about how to helppeople do things It is neither moral nor effective This is because in the power model, power is not a tool for serving others, it is the end goal. If power is the goal, then you are always at the risk of losing it, you never have enough and, without the respect of those you lead, you are constantly in danger of having your power challenged or overthrown.

12. The Service Model Servant leaders grow their community by engaging people in the following practices: * encouraging participation and building consensus * * creating a community of leaders * * generating a shared vision * * using culturally effective communication * * weaving partnerships and connections * (Juana Bordas- Salsa, Soul, and Spirit)

13. The Servant Leader and Power For servant leaders, power is only a tool. The servant leader acquires power or becomes angry on behalf of others. It is a means, not an end, and can be given up when no longer serving the community as a whole. Power is given to the servant leader as a gift, by others who trust the leader. The community is willing to follow them because they know that their motives are oriented to the community, not themselves. For the servant leader, power is a tool, not a goal and is gained through permission, not control

14. Key Practices Self-Awareness: of strengths and weaknesses and the impact of words and deeds on others Listening: seeking to understand, observing, asking questions, and engaging with the people they serve Changing the Pyramid: creating a sense of equality and rejecting the centralization and concentration of power Developing Your Colleagues: helping others grow so that they can become the fullest embodiment of themselves

15. Key Practices Coaching, not Controlling: guide and mentor individuals; facilitate groups Unleashing the Energy and Intelligence of Others: empowerment of others and building on their intrinsic motivation to promote enthusiasm Foresight: a better than average guess about what is going to happen when in the future – thereby creating the future we desire

16. Maintaining Motivation Finding meaning is essential, because it is an intrinsic motivator and comes naturally to us when work is interesting, fulfilling, and engaging. Extrinsic motivation is what we most commonly use to motivate people, but that often learns to burn-out. Intrinsic motivation, derived from meaningful work, leads to innovation, change-making, and decreased stress

17. Thank You! What are your thoughts?