The ideal servant leader would first be a person who had the desire to serve. “The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. (Greenleaf, 2017). I asked my fifth grade students several weeks ago what they thought the term servant leader meant. One student raised his hand and stated, “It means like you, Ms. Crawford! You are here to serve us by teaching us, and you lead us to learn.” I thought that was a pretty well thought answer from an 11 year old. A servant leader to me has to have a passion for not only who they are serving but for what they serving for.
A servant leader puts others needs before their own and makes others success a priority. Servant leadership starts when a person has a desire to provide a resource to others such as employment, public service or education and requires leaders to be optimists with empathy for people in many types of situations. Through servant leadership, others can be empowered and lasting change can be created. (Spahr, 2015).
I have a high regard for our police officers, fire rescue personnel, and anyone who is willing to work with our mentally ill citizens. It is not an easy job, and only a certain type of person can be willing and able to work with people in these capacities.
Resources
- Greenleaf, R. (2017). Center for servant leadership. What is servant leadership? Retrieved from: https://www.greenleaf.org/what-is-servant-leadership/
- Spahr, P. (2014). St. Thomas University Online. Leadership is learned. Retrieved from: https://online.stu.edu/servant-leadership/
