Servant Leadership
College was a trying time for me as I was forced to embrace another level of life at a pace that seemed all too quick. This higher academic level led me to anxiety, uncertainty, and knots in my stomach. The major culprit in these feelings was my high school teachers forewarning me of the college academic experience. Drilled in my head were the number of papers I would write, dates with the library, how professors were unaccommodating, and lectures in larger class settings, with the guarantee of feeling like a small fish in an aquarium. On my first day of class, my philosophy professor addressed our class and gave this off-handed statement; relax, the textbook is your friend.
He simply meant that our textbook would be our greatest help in navigating a complex subject.
That statement surmises Peter Northouse’s Leadership Theory and Practice. Leadership evaluates key leadership theories. Detailed in a structured format, Northouse unpacks foundational concepts, strengths, weaknesses, and applications, which makes it a leadership playbook that could be used by students and teachers alike. Northouse is a professor emeritus of communication in the School of Communication at Western Michigan University, teaching leadership and communication for nearly three decades.
Among the several practices he mentions, I was drawn to his perspective on servant leadership. He states servant leadership emphasizes that leaders should be attentive to the needs of followers, empower them, and help them develop their full human capacities. [1] 283
When one thinks of leadership, the immediate proclivity is to visualize a person in the highest designation within a ministry context, office, or organization. When it comes to the servant leader, a helpful realization is leading from the top is not always the model modality. John Maxwell’s description of the ideal servant leader concedes a leader’s best place can be anywhere. The best place for a leader isn’t always the top position. It isn’t the most prominent or powerful place. It’s where they can serve the best and add the most value to other people.[2]
Herein lies the primary principle for grafting oneself into the posture of becoming a successful servant leader: Always add value to other people. We must consistently ask ourselves the question, “Are we impacting those we serve through our leadership by adding value to them?”[3] Northouse also suggests that service in leadership means practicing beneficence—the duty to help others achieve their goals.
As I reflect on my leadership I can honestly say in this season of life, more particularly the past 20 years or so I would absolutely classify myself as a servant leader. My role as senior pastor encompasses providing spiritual direction and caring attentively to a wonderful congregation. In addition, I liaise and advocate for various needs in our community. In a city leading the nation in extreme concentrated poverty for African Americans and Hispanics, the increasing demand for access to resources and navigating existing societal inequities places me on the frontline on behalf of my congregation and residents.
Servant leadership has become a familiar term that we often hear tossed about and has become nestled within the lexicon of leadership. The origin of the term dates back to 1970 when Robert K. Greenleaf published his seminal essay, “The Servant as Leader.” Greenleaf’s writing maintains, “The servant leader is servant first.”[4] I can genuinely say I never chose leadership – leadership chose me. My leadership grew in stature because of my steady involvement in matters concerning others. I witnessed a considerable amount of injustice and wrongs wrought against my community, and I made a conscious decision to become a participator while many opted to become spectators. Eugene Peterson refers to this as “entering the wreckage”. Peterson states the fact, “the general environment of wreckage provides daily and powerful stimuli to make us want to repair and fix what is wrong…” [5] As I assumed this heavy and undesired mantle, I have grown to realize how it helped me tailor a leadership perspective from the bottom up rather than from the top down.
Servant Leadership is not without criticism. Citing its lack of demonstrating organizational change, Northouse also points to how it conflicts with individual autonomy and other principles of leadership, such as directing, goal setting, and creating a vision. Northouse’s work is undoubtedly an asset, though introductory in nature. The book itself covers ten chapters of leadership principles. However, I would have liked to see some incorporation of other matters, such as what Eve Poole outlines in Leadersmithing, when speaking of critical incidents leaders must contend with.
Leadership requires more than inspiration and preparation. It is forced to deal with critical matters, giving leadership its true definition. Ultimately, I see leadership from both a visionary role and a role of implementation, which comes from those who follow. As he continues to publish new editions, perhaps Northouse’s incorporating these facets will make his book more all-around in the future. Nonetheless, it is an excellent textbook and a great friend!
[1] Peter G. Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice, 9th ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2022), 238..
[2] John C. Maxwell, Essay. In The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2007). 47.
[3] Northouse, 254.
[4] Robert K. Greenleaf, “The Servant as Leader.” Leadership (2007). 407.
[5] Eugene H. Peterson, Essay. In The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction, (Grand Rapids Michigan, 1996).136.
About the Author
Daren Jaime
8 responses to “Servant Leadership”
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Hi Daren,
As a pastor do you agree with some criticisms of servant leadership mentioned in the book?
Hi Shela! Some were new to me. I think serevant leaders do set goals and cast vision. I needed to read more that was not printed in Northouse’s argument. So I do take exception to some of the criticism levied against the servant leadership style.
Hi, Daren, thank you for your post which I learn from as well. Since you are a pastor, how important is the servant leadership style among all the styles of church leadership styles?
Hi Noel! Servant Leadership is certainly a priority for most pastors who oversee people. There is a new for adopting this style as many front line leaders have grown individualistic and narcissistic while failing to tend to meeting the needs of the congregation and community.
Jesus said the greatest would be servant of them all. in the multifaceted assignment shepherds hold, being a servant leader should be a matter of high priority.
Hi Daren,
Thank you for your great blog. It brought to mind the phrase, ‘one at a time.’ When we “enter the wreckage” of people’s lives, change seems to happen one person at a time. I noticed that’s the way. Jesus works, too. This is in contrast to the top-down, solve-everything-with-a-stroke-of-the-pen idea that we tend to crave. What does it take for servant leadership to impact a community, one life at a time?
Hey Julie, Thanks I have a few suggestions:
1) Compassionate Care: Servant leaders must prioritize and carefully balance others needs. Demonstrating an authentic heart for service.
2) Humility combined with Empathy: Being Christ centered and being humble is attractive to those who need the ministry of Christ and his Church.
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Consistency: A servant leader’s actions must be rooting in building trust, this takes time. Transformation does not occur overnight but rather over time.
Hi Daren, I am glad the high school teachers were wrong and you did not let their voices in your head stop you from learning. No question tonight, just an I am grateful for you being in our peer group and this class.
Thank You Diane! I am grateful for our journey together, and yes I am glad too! Thanks