This document discusses servant leadership through the lenses of several leadership experts. It begins by outlining Robert Greenleaf's history and definition of servant leadership. It then examines Larry Spears' 10 characteristics of servant leaders, Patterson's 7 virtuous constructs, and Page and Wong's 7 factors of servant leadership. The document delves into each of the 7 factors identified by Page and Wong: humility, serving others, courageous leadership, visionary leadership, empowering others, participatory leadership, and inspirational leadership. For each factor, qualities and behaviors associated with that aspect of servant leadership are described.

1. Seven Factors of Servant
Leadership

2. History of Servant Leadership Theory
 Robert K. Greenleaf (The Father of Modern Servant Leadership)
 Greenleaf is widely recognized as the one who coined the term, servant leadership.
Greenleaf spent 40 years at AT&T as a manager of research, development and
education. Upon retirement, Greenleaf spent the next 25 years in a pursuit of
creating a better, more caring society. Greenleaf remarked that he had great concern
for leadership in America, “the outlook for better leadership in our leadership-poor
society is not encouraging.” Greenleaf founded the Center for Applied Ethics in 1964
which was renamed the Robert K. Greenleaf Center in 1985 (www.greenleaf.org)
 Greenleaf stated in his 1970 ground-breaking essay for servant leadership entitled,
The Servant as 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.” Blanchard (1999) agreed with Greenleaf that servant leaders
are first servants before they become leaders when he stated, “Strong natural
servants…will assume leadership only if they see it as a way in which they can
serve.”
Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. New York: Paulist Press.
Blanchard, K. (1999). The heart of a leader. Colorado Springs, CO: Honor Books.

3. Ten Characteristics of Servant Leadership
Spears (1996)
1. Listening – Servant leaders’ communication skills are enhanced through a
deep commitment to listening intently to the followers. Servant leaders seek
to identify and clarify the will of the group. Receptive listening and reflection
are essential to the growth of a servant leader.
2. Empathy – Servant leaders strive to understand and empathize with others.
They accept and recognize followers for their unique spirits; and they assume
others have good intentions, even if they disagree with behavior or
performance.
3. Healing – Servant leaders are adept at healing others as well as themselves.
They help make others whole by facilitating the healing of broken spirits.
Servant leaders share with followers the search for wholeness.
4. Awareness – Servant leaders exhibit a general awareness of what is
happening in the organization. They possess a keen sense of self-awareness
and an understanding of issues involving ethics and values. Servant leaders
are often described as disturbers and awakeners.
5. Persuasion – Servant leaders employ persuasion rather than position
authority when making decisions within the organization. They prefer to
convince rather than coerce followers. Servant leaders are very effective with
building consensus within the group.

4. 6. Conceptualization – Servant leaders do not deal only with short-term goals
and thinking. They are able to stretch their thinking to encompass broader-
based conceptual thinking. Servant leaders can nurture the abilities of others
to “dream great dreams” and to think beyond day-to-day realities.
7. Foresight – Servant leaders are capable of understanding lessons from the
past, seeing the realities of the present, and predicting likely consequences
of decisions. They are adept at intuitive thinking.
8. Stewardship – Servant leaders are dedicated to holding their institutions in
trust for the greater good of society. They are committed to serving the needs
of others.
9. Commitment to the Growth of People – Servant leaders believe in the
intrinsic value of people beyond their tangible contributions as workers. They
feel responsible for nurturing the personal, professional and spiritual growth
of employees.
10. Building Community – Servant leaders are dedicated to rebuilding the
sense of community that has been lost with the shift to large institutions.

5. Seven Virtuous Constructs of Servant Leadership
Patterson (2003)
Patterson, K. A. (2003). Servant leadership: A theoretical model. Servant Leadership Roundtable. Regent University School
of Leadership Studies, Virginia Beach, VA.
1. Agapao Love – Love is the cornerstone of the servant leader-follower relationship. Servant leaders see
followers as whole persons with different gifts and talents. They are able to focus on followers first, then
on their talents and how those talents benefit the organization.
2. Humility – Servant leaders are able to keep their accomplishments and talents in perspective. They
focus on others rather than themselves. Servant leaders have an authentic desire to help others, and
they search for ways to serve others through staying in touch with their followers.
3. Altruism – Servant leaders help others just for the sake of helping. They have an unselfish concern for
others which often involves personal sacrifice. Servant leaders’ behaviors are directed toward the
benefit of others even when those behaviors are against their own personal interests.
4. Vision – Servant leaders have a vision for their individual followers. They help others to see the big
picture by enabling them to develop a clear sense of purpose and direction. Servant leaders develop
within others the mission to serve and encourage followers to become more than they thought possible.
5. Trust – Servant leaders develop trust through demonstrating integrity and concern for others. They
create open environments where everyone has a voice and they work collaboratively.
6. Empowerment – Servant leaders empower others with the best interest of those being served in mind.
They teach and develop people as leaders through shared decision-making and shared responsibility.
Servant leaders make it a priority to grow new servant leaders.
7. Service – Servant leaders choose the interests of others over self-interests. They see leadership as a
calling - a life mission. Servant leaders accept the responsibility for serving others; and they are
committed to an authentic, personal involvement with followers through the giving or their time, energy,
care, and compassion.

6. Page and Wong’s
7 Servant Leadership Traits
1. Empowering and Developing Others
2. Vulnerability/Humility
3. Serving Others
4. Open, Participatory Leadership
5. Visionary Leadership
6. Courageous Leadership
(Integrity/Authenticity)
7. Inspiring Leadership

7. Spears’ 10 Characteristics of
Servant Leaders (1996)
Patterson’s 7 Virtuous
Constructs of Servant
Leadership (2003)
Page & Wong’s 7 Factors of
Servant Leadership (2003)
Commitment to Growth of People Empowerment Empowering and Developing
Others
Empathy Humility Vulnerability/Humility
Healing
Stewardship
Agapao Love
Service
Serving Others
Listening
Building Community
Open, Participatory Leadership
Conceptualization
Foresight
Vision Visionary Leadership
Awareness Altruism Courageous Leadership
(Integrity/Authenticity)
Persuasion Trust Inspiring Leadership

8. Seven Factors of Servant
Leadership
 Personal Character
1. Humility
2. Serving Others
3. Courageous Leadership (Integrity)
4. Visionary Leadership
 Interaction with Others
5. Empowering and Developing Others
6. Open, Participatory Leadership
7. Inspirational Leadership

9. Humility
 “Who am I?” Self-reflection as a tool for
personal growth
 Humble Character
 Providing a role model of Humble Leadership
 Absence of ego, jealousy, and self-promotion
 Putting needs of others first
 Team membership (walk and talk)
 Elevating and praising others
 Mentoring others in humility and self-reflection

10. Humility
 Vulnerability - Risks and rewards of an open,
humble leadership style
 Tenderhearted Leadership
 Tenderhearted mercy (fair and caring)
 Kindness (considerate toward others)
 Humility (one of the team)
 Gentleness (peaceful, calm, soft-spoken)
 Patience (self-control)

11. Serving Others
 Personal Mission of Serving Others
 Servant role and attitude – Master vs. Servant
Leadership
 Living and articulating a personal mission of service
 Mission as a motivator and stress reliever
 Nurturing Others
 Healing Others – Making People “Whole”
 Listening and empathy
 Understanding others’ situations
 Accepting others’ unique gifts and spirits

12. Serving Others
 Stewardship – Accountability to the
Community
 Holding an institution in trust for the greater good of
society
 Active service in the community
 Making Service-minded Decisions
 Sacrifice
 Living a life of giving to others
 Balancing personal and professional life

13. Courageous Leadership
 Integrity
 Examining one’s integrity – values, beliefs, and guiding
principles
“Character is made in the small moments of our lives.” Phillips Brooks
 Actions of high integrity leaders – taking the high road
 Integrity killers
 Authenticity
 Genuine leadership
 Admitting to mistakes and asking forgiveness

14. Courageous Leadership
 Awareness
 Self-awareness and awareness of others
 Building a purposeful reputation
 Understanding issues involving ethical dilemmas
 How Fear Affects Leaders and Organizations

15. Visionary Leadership
 Conceptualization
 Seeing the big picture and dreaming great dreams
 Reflecting on the organization beyond day-to-day
issues
 Foresight
 Leader intuition
 Using lessons from the past and realities of the
present to predict consequences of decisions for the
future
 Vision
 Providing direction and purpose for
people/organization
 Articulating personal vision
 Creating a shared vision and buy-in from the team
 Navigating an organization through shared vision

16. Empowering and
Developing Others
 Connecting with Others
 Getting to know and understand one another on a personal
level
 Getting to know and understand one another on a
professional level
 Building long-lasting relationships
 Commitment to the Growth of Others
 Making a commitment to grow others
 How to help others grow
 Maxwell’s Enlarging Process
 See potential
 Cast a vision for their future
 Tap into their passions
 Address their character flaws
 Focus on their strengths

17. Empowering and
Developing Others
 Professional and Personal Development
 Focusing on the needs of those in the organization -
personal, professional, and spiritual
 Learning for continuous improvement
 Fighting isolation
 Creating professional learning communities
 Growing New Leaders
 Providing a model for servant leadership
 Mentoring new leaders
 Delegating
 Matching abilities and interests to tasks
 Sharing power

18. Open, Participatory Leadership
 Effective Communications in an Organization
 Listening
 Listening to individuals
 Listening to the will of the group
 Promoting kindness, trust, honesty, and openness in all
interactions
 Setting high standards for self and others
 Promoting vital conversations in organizations
 Dealing with confrontations
 Visibility and Accessibility
 Building Cooperative and Collegial Teams
 Shared decision-making and shared power
 Trust building
 Building positive culture

19. Inspiring Leadership
 Influencing Others
 Persuasion vs. position authority
 Becoming a leader of influence
 Getting others to embrace the vision and mission
 Getting the Best from Others
 What makes a leader inspiring
Visionary Leadership + Courageous Leadership = Inspiring Leadership
“Power is created when individuals perceive that their leaders are honorable, so they trust
them, are inspired by them, believe deeply in the goals communicated by them, and desire
to be led.” Stephen Covey, Principle-Centered Leadership
 Connecting with, believing in, and motivating people
 Optimism
 Celebrating