EDU638 Guest Blogger: Veda Turner

Servant Leadership

John Maxwell stated, “If you want to be the best leader you can possibly be, no matter how much or how little natural leadership talent you possess, you need to become a servant leader.”

According to Wikipedia, Servant leadership is both a leadership philosophy and set of leadership practices. Traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid.” By comparison, the servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible. en.wikipedia.org

Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership

1.  A Person of Character

2.  Who Puts People First

3.  Skilled Communicator

4.  Compassionate Collaborator

5.  Has Foresight

6. Is a System Thinker

7.  Leads with Moral Authority

10 Principles of Leadership

1.  Listening

2. Empathy

3.  Healing

4. Awareness

5.  Persuasion

6.  Conceptualization

7.  Foresight

8.  Stewardship

9.  Commitment

10. Building Community

These characteristics are by no mean exhaustive. They should not be interpreted as a certain manner to behave and they do not represent the best method to gain aims. Rather every person shall reflect, if these characteristics can be useful for his personal development.  A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.  Servant Leadership builds a sense of trust that would assist with the culture and climate for the school.