Leadership Philosophy

My core beliefs sustain my personal Leadership Philosophy, and were reflected upon by J. Autry as he opined in a Larry Spears interview, "I never try to tell people what to do - I try to tell them how to be.... be empathetic, be authentic, be vulnerable, present, accepting, and useful. And by useful, I mean be servants" (Spears, McFarland, Cary,). These core attributes inform my actions, behaviors, and thoughts, having been honed over a forty-year working career in the Los Angeles County Fire Department, and influenced by scholarly inquiry.

I engage as a leader through my life mantra, “a real man rejects passivity, accepts responsibility, leads courageously, and expects the greater reward, God’s reward” (Lewis, 2016). By initiating I thereby reject passivity. A leader can’t stand by while events unfold, or he becomes just another observer. “Foresight,” as Robert Greenleaf calls it, is part of the “lead,” and demands initiative. The ability to foresee and respond to the foresight is critical. A leader must see “an event that must be dealt with before others see it so that he can act on it his way, the right way, while the initiative is his. If you wait until everybody sees it, you waited too long; he cannot be a leader - at best, he is a mediator" (Greenleaf, 1998)

As a leader, I actively accept and embrace my responsibilities. I lead with courage, compassion, and humility by God’s help and direction, engaging in key frequent behaviors of modeling, encouraging, and inspiring; emanating from my core values. “Leadership is the process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.”

The “why” of my leadership style is found in my meaningful core value of servanthood. Servant-leadership, with an intentional hyphen, places servanthood in the place of primacy. The hyphen points to the “paradox formed by the joining of two sharply contrasting roles: servant and leader. The servanthood in servant-leader and servant-leadership elevates a “service oriented mentality” to primacy. That is, lead as servant.

Greenleaf counted listening a as key characteristic of a servant-leader. He points out that "the first step in good communication, anywhere, is listening." Allen-Burley suggests "Listening is one of the finest strokes one person can give to another." Active listening, allows followers to "become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, and more likely themselves to become servants" as Greenleaf found. “Putting followers first, being honest with them, treating them fairly…making it a priority to listen and develop a strong long-term relationship with them,” is a key to successful servant-leadership.

This robust relationship component is critical. "In the quantum world relationship is the key determinant to everything" (Wheatly). Relationships, in any organization, determine the effectiveness of leaders. At the heart of servant-leadership is relationship, without which leadership can devolve into a toxic, corruptive, distortion. Lord Acton brilliantly identified that path towards toxicity. "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” a dictum of which Robert Greenleaf seems to have been astutely aware. He argues persuasively that giving absolute power to anyone has a corrupting influence. Thus, that practice should be avoided to the extent that “the principal leader is primus inter pares - first among equals. There is still a ‘first,’ a leader, but the leader is not the chief" (Greenleaf). Consequently, avoiding the corrupting element of singular leadership and enhancing the relational aspect embodied in servant-leadership is essential to my understanding.

My goal as a servant-leader is to ensure that the "highest priority needs…” of followers are met allowing them “a sense of belonging, ability to contribute, and… relational trust,” (Salina, C., Girtz, S., Eppinga, J.). The goal is to challenge, inspire, and facilitate the embodiment of these characteristics for expression in their spheres of influence.

Setting a personal example for expectations, followed closely by expressing my values and principle guide my actions. I am an encourager, praising and recognizing people publically thus, expressing my appreciation and celebrating their accomplishments. I believe these are an expression of my servant-leader philosophy. I am able to inspire a shared vision excelling through speaking with passion about higher purpose and meaning, and by being positive in my outlook.

Robert Greenleaf was asked where he "found the earliest reference to the idea of servant. I replied, in the Bible, of course, beginning early in the Old Testament," yet his writing did not gravitate towards a “God-centeredness” of focus. I embrace a more "God-Centered Servant-Leadership" (Anderson, J.) model with the motivational focus on serving God. Serving followers and society are certainly incorporated as the practical outworking of this God-centered focus.

Rather than focusing on followers and society, as the motivational orientation, my worldview focus is God-centeredness. The Holy Spirit dwelling in the heart of a servant-leader frees us from our own selfishness (our predisposition towards sin) revealing His perfect will. Serving becomes a voluntary act of the servant-leader, without expectation of return, sacrificially emulating Jesus, because He loved us first.

A desire for true servant-leadership is found in a heart changed by the power of God. Beyond a servant-leader philosophy, as laudable as that is, is being a servant-leader. It is not self-accomplished, rather Spirit empowered, purely to please God; “God-Centered Servant-Leadership.” Greenleaf moves the focus of the leader away from “self to followers with the eventual hope of altruistically moving the focus of leaders and followers to the society being served by serving institutions;” a laudable goal. God-Centered Servant-Leadership places the focus on serving God. Do we primarily serve ourselves, followers, society, or God? With our focus elevated, from followers or society to God, our selfishness, individual or collective, is eliminated. God’s glory being our ultimate purpose and motivation in servant-leadership.

By serving others, we assume it is the right thing to do and for the right reason. Are “those 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, R.) Once again laudable. Greenleaf felt that “the prime test of rightness of an act is: How will it affect people, are lives moved towards nobility?” Yet I believe our action’s rightness is God determined, ultimately based upon a God glorifying outcome. This then drives my decisions. “Who should I be?” is more important than "What should I do?" “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself'" (Luke 10:27). Certainly, activities of “what” but first directed by “who.” Thus, my personal and leadership belief systems affect my leadership decisions as a leader.

BIBLIOGRPHY

Autry, J. (2015). Interview by L. C. Spears & J. Noble [Transcript]. In S. R. Ferch, L. C. Spears, M. McFarland, & M. R. Carey (Eds.), Conversations on servant-leadership: Insights on human courage in life and work (pp. 19-36). Albany, NY: SUNY Press

Burley-Allen, M. (1995). Listening: The Forgotten Skill—A Self-Teaching Guide.

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Anderson, J. 2008, The Writings of Robert K. Greenleaf: An Interpretive Analysis and the Future of Servant Leadership, Servant Leadership Roundtable, Regent University)

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The Open Bible: New King James Version. Vol. Luke. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997. Print.

Wheatley, M. J. (2006). Leadership and the new science: Discovering order in a chaotic world. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.

Salina, C., Gritz, S., and Eppinga, J., 2016, Rowman & Littlefield, Transforming Schools Through System Change, Forward.

Greenleaf, Robert. (1996). On Becoming a Servant Leader. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Greenleaf, R. K., & Spears, L. C. (1998). The power of servant-leadership / essays by Robert K. Greenleaf ; edited by Larry C. Spears ; foreword by Peter B. Vaill ; afterword by James P. Shannon. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler

Greenleaf, R. (2002). Servant Leadership, a journey into the Nature of legitimate power. Mahwah, NJ: Palest Press.