Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership
Model: Leading by Serving, Serving First

Who is the Servant-Leader?
“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. The best test is: Do those served grow
as persons; do they, while being served, become
healthier, freer, more autonomous, more likely to
themselves to become servants?”
- Robert K. Greenleaf, 1970

Servant Leadership
“The first and most important choice a
leader makes is the choice to serve,
without which one’s capacity to lead is
severely limited.”
- Robert K. Greenleaf, 1970

Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership
Community
Patients
Employees
1. A Person of Character
Servant-Leader
2. Who Puts People First
3. Skilled Communicator
4. Compassionate Collaborator
5. Has Foresight
6. Is a Systems Thinker
7. Leads with Moral Authority
Strategy
Culture

Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership
• Maintains Integrity
Person of Character • Demonstrates Humility
• Serves a Higher Purpose
“All leadership development is character development.”
-Dr. Stephen Covey

Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership
• Displays a Servant’s Heart
Puts People First • Is Mentor-Minded
• Shows Care & Concern
“The first and most important choice a leader makes is the choice to
serve, without which one’s capacity to lead is severely limited.”
-Robert Greenleaf

Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership
• Demonstrates Empathy
Skilled Communicator • Invites Feedback
• Communicates Persuasively
“If you want to be listened to, you should put in time listening.”
-Marge Piercy

Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership
• Expresses Appreciation
• Builds Teams
Compassionate Collaborator
• Negotiates Conflict
“Plays well with others.”
-Kindergarten Report Card

“When people respect each other and
value differences, they can work
together more amicably which results
in greater productivity. Multicultural
leadership encourages synergy and
innovation.”
– Juana Bordas
Salsa, Soul and Spirit: Leadership for a
Multicultural Age

Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership
• Visionary
Foresight • Displays Creativity
• Exercises Sound Judgment
“Business, more than any other occupation, is a continual dealing
with the future; it is a continual calculation, an instinctive exercise
in foresight.”
-Henry R. Luce, Co-founder of Time

Foresight as the Central Ethic of Leadership
“The failure (or refusal) of a leader to foresee may be
viewed as an ethical failure: because a serious ethical
compromise today (when the usual judgment on
ethical inadequacy is made) is sometimes the result
of a failure to make the effort at an earlier date to
foresee today’s events and take the right actions
when there is freedom for initiative to act.”
- Robert K. Greenleaf

Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership
• Comfortable with Complexity
System Thinker • Demonstrates Adaptability
• Considers the “Greater Good”
“Quantum physics: Imagining possibilities”
-What The Bleep Do We Know

Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership
Leads with Moral Authority Granted by Others
“Moral Authority: The principled exercise of free choice,
which almost always involves some form of sacrifice.”
-Steven Covey

Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership
Community
Patients
Employees
1. A Person of Character
Servant-Leader
2. Who Puts People First
3. Skilled Communicator
4. Compassionate Collaborator
5. Has Foresight
6. Is a System Thinker
7. Leads with Moral Authority
Strategy
Culture

Jeff Pauley, Co-Founder & Servant
Minneapolis, Minnesota
612.812.3201
Magellaner.com LeaderServe.com