Robert K. Greenleaf and Larry Spears, Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness, 25th Anniversary Edition. Paulist Press, 2002.
Companion volume: Sipe and Frick, Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership
Referenced in: Servant Leadership
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
Greenleaf’s books and his organization, The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership are the recognized authorities on this subject. His principles are universally applied by not-for-profit and for-profit organizations, including schools, hospitals, churches, and businesses.
The Greenleaf website features several quotes (also found in the book) that capture the essence of the Greenleaf philosophy. First is what he called the “credo.”
“This is my thesis: caring for persons, the more able and the less able serving each other, is the rock upon which a good society is built. Whereas, until recently, caring was largely person to person, now most of it is mediated through institutions – often large, complex, powerful, impersonal; not always competent; sometimes corrupt. If a better society is to be built, one that is more just and more loving, one that provides greater creative opportunity for its people, then the most open course is to raise both the capacity to serve and the very performance as servant of existing major institutions by new regenerative forces operating within them.”
Second is where Greenleaf offers a definition of 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…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.”
“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? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?”
Greenleaf’s conceptualization of servant leadership is widely regarded as one of most useful statements on leadership in the last half-century. He has received accolades from authors such as Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Peter Senge, and Margaret Wheatley. His books should be required reading for every leader . Although his application context is non-profit boards, education, and health care, his insights are universally applicable.
From the Publisher
Twenty-five years ago Robert Greenleaf published these prophetic essays on what he coined servant leadership, a practical philosophy that replaces traditional autocratic leadership with a holistic, ethical approach. This highly influential book has been embraced by cutting edge management everywhere. Yet in these days of Enron and what VISA CEO Dee Hock calls our “era of massive institutional failure,” Greenleaf’s seminal work must reach the mainstream now more than ever. Servant Leadership helps leaders find their true power and moral authority to lead. It helps those served become healthier, wiser, freer, and more autonomous. This book encourages collaboration, trust, listening, and empowerment. It offers long-lasting change, not a temporary fix and extends beyond business for leaders of all types of groups.
Editorial Reviews
“Servant Leadership is one of those rare books that will live far beyond the life of its creator.” — James A. Autry, author of Servant Leader and Love & Profit
“This book will create leadership that contains such virtues as growth, responsibility and love.” — Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor, Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California; author of Organizing Genius
“This is both symbol and substance on the shelf of anyone blessed with the opportunity to lead.” — John Carver, author of Boards That Make a Difference
“This most welcomed new edition will influence a new generation to serve better.” — Godric Ernest Scott Bader, Life President, Scott Bader Commonwealth Ltd.
About the Authors
Robert K. Greenleaf is considered the creator of the modern trend to empower employees; he also coined the term servant-leadership. He was a top executive in management, research, development, and education at AT&T, as well as a visiting lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management and Harvard Business School. He also taught at Dartmouth College and the University of Virginia. Upon his retirement from AT&T, he founded the Center for Applied Ethics, which eventually became the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, located in Indianapolis. Greenleaf died in 1990 at the age of 86.
Larry C. Spears is CEO of the Greenleaf Center in Indianapolis, IN.
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