SERVANT LEADERSHIP: THE MOST EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP
Throughout my time in college, I have had the opportunity to be an active member and leader in my various communities. In those roles, I have experienced good leadership and poor leadership styles. Through attending Student Leadership and Diversity Conferences, participating in the Carolina LEAD Program, and taking multiple management courses, I can identify and compare the differences between a good and poor leader. A significant lesson I learned from my reflection is that servant leadership brings more empowerment and inclusiveness which feeds effectiveness and efficiency.
When people hear the word “leader” they usually think of people with title positions; CEO, President, or a Supervisor. While these positions are leadership roles, leadership is not confined to titles. A leader is defined as a person who commands and guides a group of people. The role of a manager could also fit this definition but there is a distinct difference between management and leadership. As I learned in my Principles of Management (MGMT 371) course, managing deals with planning, organizing, directing and controlling. Alternatively, leadership deals with inspiring, motivating, and influencing others. Both are needed to reach the goal as a collective group, and service leadership is a great mix of both.
In my UNIV 290: The Resident Mentor within the Residential Community class, we learned about 5 Practices of Exemplary Leadership; model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act, and encourage the heart. After taking a Student Leadership Practice Inventory (LPI) each practice was ranked. Located in my artifacts you can see the break down of my report. We took these scores and applied them to how we serve as Resident Mentors in our community.
I realized that I do well with:
Enabling Others to Act: building trust and community; strengthen others by increasing self-determination and developing competence,
and Encouraging the Heart: recognizing and appreciating individual excellence; celebrating values and victories by creating a spirit of community,
But I could improve on:
Modeling the Way: clarify values by finding your voice and affirming shared values; set the example by aligning actions with shared values,
Inspire a Shared Vision: envision the future by imagining exciting and enabling possibilities; enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations,
and Challenge the Process: search for opportunities by seizing the initiative and looking outward for innovative ways to improve; experiment and take risks by constantly generating small wins and learning from experience
Although the LPI gave me a good starting point to develop my leadership skills, I was still unclear on the action steps I should take to improve those areas.
Prior to the Student Leadership and Diversity Conference, I did not realize how closely related these 5 practices were to the 7 Pillars of servant leadership. Ms. Vicki Clark facilitated a section called ‘Servant Leadership: A Deeper Dive’. She talked about the 12 Principles of servant leadership and the 7 Pillars associated with this quality.
The 7 Pillars of Servant Leadership:
Person of Character
Puts People First
Skilled Communicator
Compassionate Communicator
Has Foresight
System Thinker
Leads with Moral Authority
These seven pillars fit in with the 5 Practices of Exemplary Leadership:
Model the Way: Leads with Moral Authority, Person of Character
Enables other to Act: Puts People First
Inspire a Shared Vision: Skilled Communicator, Has Foresight
Challenge the Process: System Thinker
Encourage the Heart: Compassionate Communicator
After making this connection, I could understand how to be a better leader in my RM position through using the servant leadership pillars.
First, I have to make sure my actions reflect who I am, my values, and what I symbolically stand for as a Resident Mentor; moreover, this will help me gain respect from my residents. Second, I must make sure to put others first by ensuring that they have the resources to accomplish their goals. Once I identify my resident’s needs, I should use my experience to predict what resources they need to utilize and communicate those options to them. When in a situation that I have not faced before, I have discovered that I must challenge the process to think of ways to overcome the road block. Lastly, I must remain compassionate, understanding, and encouraging so that my residents feel comfortable and empowered. In my artifacts section, I have included my Summative Student Leadership Presentation, which shows how I used this information to improve each of the 5 practices and the actions I took to do so.
The same approach can be applied to businesses and how they can be leaders through their brand.
Model the Way: Embody your Mission
Enables other to Act: Put Customers First
Inspire a Shared Vision: Develop a Strong Marketing Strategy
Challenge the Process: Be Innovative
Encourage the Heart: Show Community Appreciation
My experiences have lead me to realize that servant leadership fosters good relationships and positive mindsets, which enables people to be more effective and reach their goals. Such skill sets are important in being a leading business that understands its customers, and trail blazes the market or industry. I hope to embody my leadership practices to weave into my professional goals. I can use the outcome of positive relationships and accomplishment of goals to lead a team in the work place. A complete understanding, and application of these qualities will prepare me to one day lead a marketing team towards success in optimizing its full potential.