Background
Robert K. Greenleaf wrote The Servant as Leader after retiring from AT&T, during the social and student unrest of the late 1960s. He wondered why young people were losing trust in institutions and what kind of leadership could rebuild it. The essay was published in 1970 and later included in the book Servant Leadership (1977).
Inspiration: “Journey to the East”
Greenleaf begins with the story from Hermann Hesse's novel Journey to the East (1932). A band of travellers is accompanied by the servant Leo, who does menial chores and sustains them with his spirit. When Leo disappears, the group falls apart and the journey is abandoned. Years later the narrator discovers that Leo was in fact the head of the Order that had sponsored the journey - a great and noble leader. Greenleaf's conclusion: the great leader is seen as servant first.
Main ideas
- Servant first - the servant-leader begins with the natural desire to serve; conscious choice brings them to lead. This sets them apart from one who is “leader first”.
- The best test - do those served grow as persons; do they become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, and more likely themselves to become servants; and what is the effect on the least privileged.
- Listening - a true servant automatically responds to any problem by listening first.
- Persuasion rather than coercion.
- Foresight as an ethical duty of the leader.
Significance
The essay launched a whole stream of thinking and research on servant leadership. For Christians it is a bridge between the Gospel (Mark 10:42-45; John 13) and the language of contemporary management. See Robert K. Greenleaf.
Sources
R. K. Greenleaf, The Servant as Leader, Greenleaf Center 1970 R. K. Greenleaf, Servant Leadership, Paulist Press 1977 H. Hesse, Die Morgenlandfahrt, 1932 (Eng. The Journey to the East)