Servant Leadership Analysis Sample

Running head: SERVANT LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS 1

Running head: SERVANT LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS 9

Servant Leadership Experience Analysis

LDR-630 Servant Leadership

Sylvia M. Bermudez

February 28, 2018

Servant Leadership Experience

Servant leaders understand the importance of building and supporting others and in helping nurture future servant leaders. Servant leaders “want to serve, to serve first,” (Greenleaf, 1970), they inspire and motivate followers through their actions and words and focus on the needs and desires of others, placing them over their own. The concept of servant leadership was first coined in the 1970s by Robert K. Greenleaf, in his essay, “Servant Leaders.” Greenleaf defines servant leadership, as “a philosophy and

LifeStream recognizes this and through its volunteers works to ensure patients receive the blood products they need, and the community is well-served by encouraging others to give back. Northouse (2014) focuses on leadership from the point of view of the leader and their behavior and identified key characteristics of servant leadership, which provide a creative lens from which to view the complexities of servant leadership: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the group and building community. From the beginning, LifeStream has worked to earn the respect of the communities they are in, through the level of service delivered to donors, patients, and business partners. A principle of LifeStream is aimed at helping save lives in the communities they serve. They strive to nurture employee growth and development and inspire employees and donors to be servant leaders. This volunteer experience allowed me to implement servant leadership principles including, listening, empathy, stewardship and commitment to the growth of others and building of the community. Speaking with and listening to the donors, has shown me the importance in taking the time to learn the stories of others and how as servant leaders,

Through volunteering, I realized successful leaders exhibit perseverance and are self-disciplined and that servant leadership is not a specific style or skill but rather, it is about (a leader’s) behavior and actions, that are adopted over the longer term. As a leader, it is important to understand the organizational mission, values and long-term vision, whether one is working for the organization or a volunteer of it, to effectively and whole-heartedly serve the organization. This experience showed me the areas in my leadership, where I can improve upon. I recognized the importance of listening to others and what a vital part it plays, in building strong and successful relationships. I also recognized, that I tend to want to nurture and care for others, and while that is important, it is also important to recognize when an individual may not welcome that and that is okay. Being flexible in how I interact with followers is essential to accommodate the different expectations of