“…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Matt. 20:28 NKJV“… If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”
Mark 9:35 NKJV“But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Matt 20:25-28 NKJV“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor. That sums up the progress of an artful leader.”
Max DePree
What is Servant Leadership?
Robert Greenleaf is recognized as the father of the modern concept of servant leadership. Greenleaf (1977) described servant leadership in this manner:
“It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead…The difference manifest 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 grow while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?”
This concept has been advanced by several authors such as Steven Covey, Max DePree, Margaret Wheatley, Ken Blanchard, and others.
There is a strong difference between a servant leader and a service leader. If a person’s primary job, for example, is to watch out for the best interest of those he is serving and to find ways to make his department more efficient and accountable to the people he is serving, this isn’t necessarily a servant leader.
The real test of servant leaderships has been defined this way by Greenleaf:
“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, will they not be further deprived?”
Robert Greenleaf
| Self-Serving Leadership Objective is to be served. Hierarchical relationship to team Co-workers viewed as inferior Creates atmosphere of dependence Rejects criticism Seeks first to be understood, then to understand Holds onto and protects information. Focuses on self-image, advancement |
Servant Leadership Objective is to serve Relational structure in team Coworkers seen as part of team with complementary gifting Releases others to their own leadership gifting Encourages input, critiquing and shares credit Seeks first to understand, then to be understood. Shares information openly with team. Values followers with respect, promotes before self.
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The History of Servant Leadership
Although much of our traditional concepts of servant leadership are based on the teachings and life of Christ, the basic concepts date back much further than this.
In approximately 600 B.C., the Chinese sage Lao Tzu wrote The Tao Te Ching, a strategic treatise on servant leadership:
“The greatest leader forgets himself
And attends to the development of others.
Good leaders support excellent workers.
Great leaders support the bottom ten percent.
Great leaders know that
The diamond in the rough
Is always found “in the rough.”
(Quote from The Way of Leading People: Unlocking Your Integral Leadership with the Tao Te Ching.)
Chanakya or Kautilya, the famous strategic thinker from ancient India, wrote about servant leadership in his 4th century B.C. book Arthashastra:
“the king [leader] shall consider as good, not what pleases himself but what pleases his subjects [followers]”
“the king [leader] is a paid servant and enjoys the resources of the state together with the people”.
In the Bible, the Old Testament uses the Hebrew word nagiyd to refer to a person under authority who fulfills the wishes of that authority. In Exodus 33:11 the word is used to refer to his servant Joshua. Moses was a servant leader. In II Kings 4:12, this word is used to refer to Elisha’s servant.
In the New Testament, the Greek word diakonia is used, and this word literally means serving at tables. It was Christ that told his followers:
And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”
Mark 9:35-36 NKJV
The Greek word diakonia is used in this passage for servant. We get our modern word “deacon” translated from this. Later the word was used to refer to the followers of Christ in relationship to the Lord (Colossians 1:7) and sometimes to refer to the followers of Christ in relation to one another (Colossians 1:23,25) (Some translations translate the Greek word as “ministers”; but it is the same Greek word.)
Greenleaf and others have advanced the definition for today as:
Servant-leadership emphasizes the leader’s role as steward of the resources (human, financial and otherwise) provided by the organization. It encourages leaders to serve others while staying focused on achieving results in line with the organization’s values and integrity.