Servant Leadership In a Disruptive Age
- Chad Ruwe
- Apr 7, 2024
- 2 min read
Servant Leadership Defined
Robert Greenleaf originated the philosophy of servant leadership over 60 years ago. In his
essay he explained, “The role of a servant leader is to empower individuals within their roles,
seeking out opportunities to develop their talent, build relationships based on mutual trust,
empathy, and collaboration to work collectively toward a shared goal.1
Servant leadership is based on the idea that leaders should strive for the collective
personal growth and development of employees and put their teams before themselves.
Furthermore, servant leaders demonstrate empathy for their employee's goals and
objectives while also considering organizational needs when making decisions or offering
advice. Leaders who practice servant leadership take responsibility for their actions and are
committed to building relationships with those around them through active listening and
responding thoughtfully to input and concerns.
Disruptive Generational Demographics
Whether the organization is large or small, manufacturing or services focused, or public or
private, senior executives in the C-Suite recognize their businesses are dynamic with a
blended workforce of generations. Giving orders or directives as if in the military simply is
no longer effective. This is further complicated by 1) workplace dynamics in a post-COVID
world, 2) the rapidly changing generational demographics as baby boomers are retiring at a
rate of thousands per day and 3) accelerating technology advances and the increasing
velocity of information flow. Technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace, rapidly
reshaping how we work and live. Workplace dynamics, accelerated by COVID, are shifting
alongside how and where value is being created. Generational influences and impacts are
more readily seen in how the next generations of professionals and future leaders respond
to organizational leadership styles. While generational differences can seem small, they
have a big impact in the workplace.2 This can pose new and frequently changing challenges
for leaders. A more collaborative leadership approach to drive business success is
appropriate for these times.
1 The Servant as Leader, an essay by R. Greenleaf
2 TriNet, Generational Differences in the Workplace: Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z Explained, Feb 22, 2024
Servant Leadership: A Style For The Generations
Servant leadership and its inherent focus on engaging people is increasingly recognized as
an effective, flexible approach to effectively lead organizations; organizations -- comprised
of people and teams. Those same individuals and teams desire to grow in capability,
develop and learn new skills, and achieve a sense of accomplishment through their
contribution toward achieving goals and driving the organization forward.
Bringing people together and driving collaboration in and among teams while aligning
personal growth and development with the achievement of business objectives is central
to achieving a shared vision for the future. Robert Greenleaf would likely agree with Zig
Ziglar’s principle, “You don’t build a business, you build people, and people build the
business.” Persons who embody the servant leadership style almost unanimously identify
with this position.
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