Kayondo M Silver
Uganda Christian University Honours College
Bachelor of Laws and concurrent Diploma in Leadership
Abstract
This paper seeks to discuss how adopting the concept of Servant Leadership would be beneficial to the Community at Uganda Christian University. Consideration of and comparison with other leadership styles like autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire will also be taken into account during the course of discussion.
Introduction
The phrase ‘‘servant leadership’’ was coined by Robert K Greenleaf[1] in ‘‘the servant leader’’, an essay he first published in 1970.[2]
Servant Leadership is a practical philosophy supporting people who serve first in their life and work and then, as a way of expanding that service to individuals and institutions, they choose to lead, whether in a formal position or not. In either capacity, they encourage collaboration, trust, foresight, listening, and the ethical use of power. Servant-leaders also have the courage to become the change they wish to see in the world.[3]It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. This is sharply different from the person who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions.[4]
Servant Leadership has also been defined as a lifelong journey that includes discovery of one’s self, a desire to serve others, and a commitment to lead.[5]
Since Greenleaf’s death in 1990, his propounded concept of servant leadership has gained increasing acceptance in the leadership and organizational literature as largely evident in Covey, 1994; Laub, 2003; Russell & Stone, 2002 and many other scholarly works.
However, it’s imperative for me to note that since we come into leadership with who we are, Servant-leadership begins with the desire to change oneself. Once that process has begun, it then becomes possible to practice servant-leadership at an institutional or community level because there are vivid examples of those who have grossly abused the whole concept of servant leadership due to various misconceptions they held about this leadership style. (Enroth, 1992; Farnsworth, 1998) Albeit this abuse, the chief aims of Servant Leadership are the desire to serve and developing the potential of followers.[6]
Leaders with different kinds of personality and temperament can acquire the servant leadership style but some personalities are more compatible with the Leadership style than others. For example, individuals who are very generous, compassionate, and interested in helping others are more likely to be attracted to Servant Leadership than those who are very authoritarian and egotistic.
The origin of this leadership style is secular, and has its roots from reading fictional work in 1958, but albeit this background, Greenleaf’s definition of leadership is the clearest statement of his belief that the needs of followers are holy and legitimate and the leaders’ use of power arises from the consent of the followers who willingly, and without any form of coercion or duress allow to be led by that leader they have vested the power and authority in towards a well defined and given vision that the leader has for the community, institution or organization.
This style is so relevant and held with very high esteem in many Christian circles and organizations (Millard, 1995; Winston, 2003). It’s a reflection of the style of Jesus Christ and has scripture back up. This is seen in Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 20:25-28
25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”[7]
This was furthermore illustrated in John 13:3-17. As Jesus knelt to wash his disciples’ feet, he provided an indelible example for generations of leaders to follow. In order to lead, one must serve others.
The Characteristics Servant Leaders have been outlined by Larry Spears[8]and these include; Listening receptively, Acceptance of (and empathy with) others, Foresight and intuition, Awareness and perception, Highly-developed powers of persuasion, Ability to conceptualize and communicate concepts, A healing influence upon people and institutions, Ability to build a sense of community in the workplace, and Practice contemplation and Willingness to change.[9] These ten characteristics of servant-leadership are by no means exhaustive, but they serve to communicate the power and promise that this concept offers to those who are open to its invitation and challenge. Leadership experts and scholars such as Bolman and Covey have associated themselves and fully concurred with these characteristics as essential components of Servant Leadership. However, Servant Leadership may be considered as an outgrowth of participative leadership which advocates empowerment and involvement of many members of the organization, institution or community.[10]Servant Leadership also shares some of the same characteristics with transformational leadership. For example, Bass specifically points out that servant leadership is close to the transformational components of inspiration and individualized consideration.[11]Servant Leadership is also similar to steward leadership because both emphasize the need to replace self-interest with service to others as the basis for using power.[12] What sets servant leadership apart is that in addition to its service-oriented leadership style, it also practices situational leadership.[13]
The following are the benefits that would accrue from the adoption of the concept of servant leadership in leading to the community of Uganda Christian University. However, they are based on an assumption that the aforementioned leadership style is exhibited in its true sense/form and consistently practiced over a long period of time.
It would encourage the development of new leaders in the community. This is because the leaders would support and mentor their followers to assume the leadership positions. This would encourage the development of a new cadre of leaders who can offer good leadership to the community. This is not the case with some leadership styles like autocracy where the ‘‘leaders’’ control and exploit their followers. Servant-leaders believe that people have an intrinsic value beyond their tangible contributions as followers. As a result, the servant-leader is deeply committed to the growth of each and every individual within the institution or community. The servant leader recognizes the tremendous responsibility to do everything possible to nurture the growth of his/her followers.
Servant leadership would be a good control measure against corruption. There have been a number of corruption scandals especially in the students’ guild office. One notable point in case is where one Kenneth Mulemi, the former Minister of education was suspended by the University disciplinary committee and ordered to refund 2.6 million shillings he misappropriated while holding office.[14]Servant leadership encourages truthfulness and honesty, and matters of financial accountability are not exceptional. This would promote the reputation of the University Community and promote efficient use of resources.
Such a leadership style would facilitate the development of self-management in the community. This is attributed to the fact that both the leaders and followers know their role and what is expected of them in the discharge of their duties, and everyone would work diligently to fulfill their duties and responsibilities. Blanchard notes that Servant-leadership is all about making the goals clear and then rolling your sleeves up and doing whatever it takes to help people win. In that situation, they don't work for you, but as a leader, you work for them.[15]
Servant Leadership would encourage the development of a wide variety of skills and abilities in the Uganda Christian University Community. This is because the leadership style demands a lot of skills like excellent interpersonal skills, communication skills, and strong inner qualities so as to influence followers towards the leaders’ vision. This is not the case with other authoritarian leadership styles which promote barbaric and primitive ‘‘skills’’ like use of intimidation and force to attract recognition and loyalty from followers.
Servant Leadership would promote peace and harmony in the community since it encourages open, truthful, and honest communication between the leaders and the followers. University policies would easily be communicated and discussed while the followers give true feedback about the policies and the quality of service delivery. Due to the inefficiency in this aspect, the University has witnessed some demonstrations from the students’ fraternity. A notable example was on March 26th2009 when students demonstrated against what they saw as an unfair tuition policy.[16]
It would provide a more fertile ground for the development of Uganda Christian University as an institution. This is because all the leaders and followers would put aside their personal and selfish agenda and pursue the common goal of developing the institution. This would be a positive development since both the leaders and the followers offer their best effort to realize this development. Larry Spears propounds that the servant-leader senses that much has been lost in recent human history as a result of the shift from local communities to large institutions as the primary shaper of human lives. This awareness causes the servant-leader to seek to identify some means for building community among those who work within a given institution. Servant-leadership suggests that true community can be created among those who work in businesses and other institutions.[17]
Servant leadership would build the self esteem and encourage individual growth of all the leaders and followers. As Blanchard notes, Servant leadership is easy for people with high self-esteem. Such people have no problem giving credit to others and have no problem listening to other people for ideas. They have no problem in building other people up and they don't feel other people's success threatens them in any way. . . . Servant leadership builds self-esteem and encourages Individual growth while obtaining the organization's objectives.[18]
Furthermore, Servant Leadership would promote humility in the community because the servant leaders would see themselves as servants and stewards and voluntarily humble them to serve others. Jesus tells us that, ‘‘the greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’’[19] One of the greatest problems in our community is pride, and servant Leadership would be a good avenue to weed it out among both the leaders and the followers.
It would encourage empathy in the community since servant leaders are empathetic not only to their followers but also to the entire community at large. They understand the weaknesses and problems of their followers and community members and also empathize with them. This trait has sometimes not been exhibited in the Uganda Christian University community. For example, a first year Law student was told to leave the University premises because of an alleged fees balance of Shs 27,000.
In another case of a similar nature, two students from the Information Technology department were also told to leave the university after they were denied full registration for defaulting by balances of Shs 5,000 and Shs 20,000 respectively.[20]Clearly, on these two occasions, the University leaders were unfair to these students. The money in question was too little to warrant dead semesters for the students. Larry Spears once said that most successful servant-leaders are those who have become skilled empathetic listeners.
The adoption of servant leadership would help the Uganda Christian University community members put into practice what their religion (Christianity) professes. This leadership style is compatible with and complementary to Christian doctrines and dogmas of love, honesty, and truthfulness, among others. Since the majority of the people in the community are Christians, such a leadership style would create avenues for them to put their faith into practice through manifestation of love, care, and empathy to even those of low rank or those whom may have been labeled as ‘‘insignificant’’ members. This would be a powerful tool for spiritual growth and practical Christianity.
It would also encourage and promote the ethical standards in the community since servant leadership requires strict observance of the established ethical norms of society. This would promote the external image of the whole community. On some occasions, some members of the Uganda Christian University Community have expressed unethical conduct. For instance, one of the members of the teaching staff was exposed by one of the media houses for taking nude photographs.[21] This of course gives a bad example to the students and tarnishes the image of the entire community. Servant Leadership demands that Leader, followers, and all members of the community should hold themselves in a respectful manner.
However, much as Servant Leadership would to the greatest extent be the most appropriate leadership style at Uganda Christian University, it is also associated with some loopholes.
It involves high risks, because by adopting a humanistic and empowering approach, it may provide an opening for some unscrupulous, scheming, and ambitious individuals to exploit the situation for selfish gains. Once such people penetrate the system and acquire leadership positions, the entire community would feel the pinch of their unscrupulous dealings, and if they are not detected and weeded out in time, the institution may collapse tremendously.
It is difficult to implement Servant Leadership unless the senior management have undergone a personal transformation and are totally committed to Servant Leadership. As an old African adage says, a fish begins to rot from the head; the same can be said of leadership. Once the very top people are not committed to the cause of servant leadership, little or no impact would be made on the lower leaders, followers, and all members of the community and thus, the entire scheme would be a failure.
Servant Leadership is also hard to implement if the leaders are inexperienced and feeling insecure because they would fear to lose their positions to their junior followers and since Uganda Christian University is a young institution established in 1997, this would be detrimental to its growth and development.
By and large, the above would be the benefits of adopting the Servant Leadership style to the Uganda Christian University Community. As Kouzes and Posner point out, Leaders we admire do not place themselves at the center; they place others there. They do not seek the attention of people; they give it to others. They do not focus on satisfying their own aims and desires; they look for ways to respond to the needs and interests of their constituents. They are not self-centered; they concentrate on the constituent. Leaders serve a purpose and the people who have made it possible for them to lead. In serving a purpose, leaders strengthen credibility by demonstrating that they are not in it for themselves; instead, they have the interests of the institution, department, or team and its constituents at heart. Being a servant may not be what many leaders had in mind when they choose to take responsibility for the vision and direction of their organization or team, but serving others is the most glorious and rewarding of all leadership tasks.[22]
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bass, B. (2000). The future of leadership in learning organizations. Journal of Leadership Studies
Blanchard, K., & Hodges, P. (2003). The Servant Leader: Transforming your Heart, Hands & Habits. Nashville, Tennessee: J. Countryman.
Block, P. (1993). Stewardship: Choosing service over self-interest. San Francisco, CA Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Enroth, R. M. (1992). Churches that Abuse. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Farling, M. L., Stone, A. G., & Winston, B. E. (1999). Servant leadership: Setting the stage for empirical research. Journal of Leadership Studies
Frick, Don M. (2004). Robert K. Greenleaf: A life of servant leadership. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leadership: A Journey into the nature of legitimate power and Greatness. New York: Paulist Press
Greenleaf, R. K. (2002). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness (25th anniversary Ed.). New York: Paulist Press.
Greenleaf, R.K. (2003). The servant-leader within: a transformative path New York: Paulist Press.
James Kouzes and Barry Posner on Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It.
Larry Spears; Practicing Servant Leadership
Internet sources
Newspapers
Weekly Observer 30th March 2009
The Standard; Uganda Christian University’s Community Newspaper 11th -05-2010
[1] Robert K. Greenleaf (1904-1990) was the founder of the modern Servant leadership movement. He was born in Terre Haute, Indiana
[2] . According to his essay, Essentials of Servant Leadership, Greenleaf’s most important work, Servant Leadership (1977/2002), is subtitled A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power & Greatness.
[3] What do we mean by Servant Leadership? http://www.amca.com/sl/index.html
[4] Robert K Greenleaf; Supra, 2
[5]Centre for Servant Leadership at the Pastoral Institute in Georgia
[6] Supra 2
[7] New International Version
[8] Larry Spears served as the President and Chief Executive officer of the Robert K Greenleaf centre for Servant Leadership
[9] Larry Spears; Practicing Servant Leadership pg.3-6
[10] McMahon, J. T. (1976). Participative and power equalized organizational systems. Human relations, 29
[11]Bass, B. (2000). The future of leadership in learning organizations. Journal of Leadership Studies, pg 33
[12] Block, P. (1993). Stewardship: Choosing service over self-interest. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
[13] Blanchard, K., & Hodges, P. (2003). The Servant Leader: Transforming your Heart, Hands & Habits. Nashville, Tennessee: J. Countryman.
[14] The Standard; Uganda Christian University’s Community Newspaper 11th -05-2010
[16] Weekly Observer 30th March 2009
[17] He highlighted this as one of the characteristics of the servant leaders.
[19] Matthew 23:11-12 (New International Version)
[20] Supra, 16
[22] James Kouzes and Barry Posner in Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It.
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