Tag Archives: servant leadership

Monday Quotes on Servant Leadership

Posted on 4 February 2013 by Wendy Mason | Leave a comment

Monday Quotes on Servant Leadership

Good leaders must first become good servants. Robert Greenleaf

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. John Quincy Adams

True leadership must be for the benefit of the followers, not to enrich the leader. John C. Maxwell

Servant-leadership is more than a concept, it is a fact. Any great leader, by which I also mean an ethical leader of any group, will see herself or himself as a servant of that group and will act accordingly. M. Scott Peck

Whatever our career may be, true leadership means to receive power from God and to use it under Gods rule to serve people in Gods way. Leighton Ford

We are here to add what we can to, not get what we can from life. Sir William Osler

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. Lao Tzu

The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant. Max De Pree

A Godly Leader finds strength by realizing his weakness, finds authority by being under authority, finds direction by laying down his own plans, finds vision by seeing the needs of others, finds credibility by being an example, finds loyalty by expressing compassion, finds honor by being faithful, finds greatness by being a servant. Roy Lessin

We must be silent before we can listen. We must listen before we can learn. We must learn before we can prepare. We must prepare before we can serve. We must serve before we can lead. Anon

“Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it. Marian Anderson

Thanks to John Sachem, Yahoo! Contributor Network

→ Leave a comment

Posted in leadership, Quotes

Tagged leadership, Leadership Quotes, Monday Quotes, Quotes, servant leadership

Leadership Theories – The Three Levels of Leadership model

Posted on 19 November 2012 by Wendy Mason | Leave a comment

Scouller, J. The Three Levels of Leadership: How to Develop Your Leadership Presence, Knowhow and Skill (2011)

Leadership Theories – The Three Levels of Leadership model

Three Levels of Leadership

The Three Levels of Leadership is a modern leadership model. It was introduced in a 2011 book, The Three Levels of Leadership: How to Develop Your Leadership Presence, Know-how and Skill, by James Scouller. You can find a link to it below.

The model is designed as a practical tool for developing a person’s leadership presence, know-how and skill. It summarizes what leaders need to do, not only to bring leadership to their group or organization, but also to develop themselves as leaders.

The Three Levels of Leadership model combines the strengths of older leadership theories; for example, traits, behavioral/styles, situational, functional models; while addressing their limitations. It offers a foundation for leaders who want to apply the philosophies of servant leadership and are committed to “authentic leadership”.

It is often classified as an “Integrated Psychological” theory of leadership. And it is sometimes known as the 3P model of leadership (the three Ps standing for Public, Private and Personal leadership).

The first two levels – public and private leadership

The first two levels, public and private leadership, are “outer” or “behavioral” levels. Scouller distinguishes between the behaviors that are related to influencing two or more people at the same time, simultaneously. This is what he calls “public leadership” to distinguish it from the behavior needed to select and influence individuals one to one. Influencing people one to one he calls private leadership.

He lists 34 distinct “public leadership” behaviors.

The third level – personal leadership

The third level, personal leadership, is an “inner” level and concerns a person’s leadership presence, know-how, skills, beliefs, emotions and unconscious habits. “At its heart is the leader’s self-awareness, his progress toward self-mastery and technical competence, and his sense of connection with those around him. It’s the inner core, the source, of a leader’s outer leadership effectiveness.” (Scouller, 2011).

He lists 14 “private leadership” behaviors.

The idea is that if leaders want to be effective they must work on all three levels in parallel.

Wendy Mason is a career coach. She helps people reach their goals and aspirations, without sacrificing their home and personal life. Before working as a coach, Wendy had a long career in both the public and private sectors in general management and consultancy as well as spells in HR. She now divides her time between coaching and writing. You can contact Wendy at wendymason@wisewolfcoaching.com and find out more at http://wisewolfcoaching.com

→ Leave a comment

Posted in leadership, Leadership styles

Tagged How to Develop Your Leadership Presence, James Scouller, Know-how and Skill, leadership, leadership models, Leadership Styles, servant leadership, Three Levels of Leadership model

Leading From Within

Posted on 8 November 2011 by Wendy Mason | Leave a comment

“For me, leadership is a shared responsibility for creating a better world in which to live and work. It manifests in our passion to engage others in bringing about purposeful change.” Leading From Within - Nancy Huber

Harvard Business Review on the Mind of the Leader

Emotion is not always given its due importance in leadership literature.

This is what the Harvard Business Review has to say about ‘The mind of the Leader’:

“If you are looking for leaders, how can you identify people who are motivated by the drive to achieve rather than by external rewards? The first sign is a passion for the work itself — such people seek out creative challenges, love to learn and take great pride in a job well done. They also display an unflagging energy to do things better and are forever raising the performance bar.”

Since we can’t all lead, all the time, it is emotion – passion for a particular work – more than intelligence – that can help us find who has the potential for leadership.

Characteristics of the Heart

There are four characteristics which Nancy Huber – responsible for the top quote – considers to be the foundation of good leadership. They are not traits which you are either born with or not. Nor are they attributes that you might acquire by learning more about them!

Nancy believes these essential leader characteristics are choices that we make.

She believes exemplary leaders choose to be passionate, authentic, credible, and ethical.

Purpose and passion go hand in hand. To be an effective leader, you must first care. When you care deeply, you have the fire inside that will sustain you through difficult times.
To be authentic is to be genuine. We speak from our own to the hearts of others and we are consistent. This means in our relationships we are genuine and trustworthy.
Credibility means you do what you say you will do. It begins with being authentic and is manifested in the actions that you promise and deliver. You are accountable for what you say you will do.
Ethical leaders have human worth and dignity at the centre of their value system. They make decisions and take action in accord with these deeply held values and beliefs.

Know who you are!

Being a leader means knowing who you are at the deepest level, choosing to have the right values and acting on those values in your working, as well as your private, life.

Wendy Mason works as a Coach, Consultant and Writer.

She works with all kinds of people going through many different kinds of personal and career change, particularly those;

looking for work
looking for promotion or newly promoted
moving between Public and Private Sectors
facing redundancy
moving into retirement
wanting to do a mid-life review

You can contact Wendy at wendymason@wisewolfconsulting.com or ring ++44 (0)2084610114

→ Leave a comment

Posted in leadership, Leadership styles

Tagged ethical leadership, heart leadership, lead from within, leadership, leadership characterics, Leadership Styles, servant leadership, what is leadership

Becoming a Leader Today – Manifesto for a Servant Leader

Posted on 20 July 2011 by Wendy Mason | 7 Comments

In his essay The Servant as Leader, Robert Greenleaf said of servant leadership:

“It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.”

Larry C. Spears, who has served as President and CEO of the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership since 1990 determined 10 characteristics that are central to the development of a servant leader:

Listening: A servant leader wants to listen to others and supports them in wanting to communicate. This means in particular paying attention to what is unspoken. The servant leader relies on the inner voice and finding out what the body, mind and spirit are communicating.
Empathy: A servant leader wants to understand and empathize with others. Those the leader works with are recognised, respected and appreciated for their personal development. As a result, leadership is seen as a special type of human work that invests in others which in turn leads to advantage for the organization.
Healing: A great strength of a servant leader is the ability to heal themselves and others. A servant leader tries to help people solve their problems and resolve conflicts in relationships as they develop their skills. This leads to a working environment which is dynamic and fun without fear of failure.
Awareness: A servant leader needs self awareness and a more general awareness of others with an integrated, holistic approach that includes ethics and values.
Persuasion: A Servant Leader does not coerce or threaten but tries to convince. This distinguishes servant leadership most clearly from traditional, authoritarian models and can be traced back to the religious views of Robert Greenleaf himself.
Conceptualization: A servant leader can see beyond the immediate for the organization and its day to day operations A Leader constructs a vision of the future than be developed into goals and strategies for implementation
Foresight The leader needs the ability to foresee the likely outcome of a situation. The servant leader should learn from the past to understand the present and identify consequences for the future. This requires the leader to be blessed with good judgment!
StewardshipThe servant leader holds the organization in trust for those with an interest in it and for the wider society. The servant leadership understands the wider obligation to help and serve others. Openness and persuasion are more important than control.
Commitment to the growth of people: A servant leader nurtures the personal, professional and spiritual growth of employees and involves them in decisions about the future of the organization
Building community: A servant leader builds a strong community within his organization and is committed to contributing to the wider community beyond.

I would welcome you views on the servant leader and your experiences. Have you encountered a true servant leader to whom you would like to pay tribute?

I am Wendy Mason and I work as a personal and business coach, consultant and blogger. I have worked with many different kinds of people going through personal and career change. If you would like my help, please email me at wendymason@wisewolfconsulting.com or ring ++44(0)2084610114 or ++44(0)7867681439. I will be very pleased to hear from you.