Discussion Board Forum Replies: In Modules/Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8 you will be required to post a substantive reply of at least 250 words each to a minimum of 3 classmates’ threads. Expect to enter on-going dialogues with your classmates and be prepared to answer questions about your own selected topics. Student interaction on the Discussion Board is the key to success in this course. · You must use at least 1 peer-reviewed reference (not used in the original posting) in your response. · Use 3 rd person. · Do not simply revisit what was discussed in the thread. · Only the substantive part of the response will be counted toward the word count. Submit your replies by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of the assigned module/week. Submit your replies for Discussion Board Forum 4 by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday of Module/Week 8. 2 days ago Scott Buber Robert Greenleaf Collapse Top of Form Forum 2 (Modules 3-4) Key Term: Robert Greenleaf (Servant Leadership) Definition “Greenleaf, was CEO of AT&T [over 30] years ago, lecturer and teacher at Harvard and MIT, and author of Servant Leadership ” (Gebhart, 1995) Summary Robert Greenleaf is best thought of as a revolutionary thinker in terms of how to lead others in both business and the community.  “The emphasis in servant leadership theory is on leaders whose primary aim is to serve their followers while developing employees to their fullest potential in different areas such as task effectiveness, community stewardship, self-motivation, and also the development of their leadership capabilities.” (Dierendonck & Patterson, 2015, p. 119) In today’s workplace, Greenleaf is often quoted and the inspiration for leading people in a way that brings about positive results.  Greenleaf’s theory was relatively unproved until years later by a few scholars.  These scholars conducted several studies to determine the true results of the relationship of servant-leaders and their direct reports in the workplace. Discussion In 1977, Greenleaf published a theory about how extraordinary leaders develop the desire to serve others before themselves.  This trait in and of itself is what is called Servant Leadership.  Servant-leaders do all that they can to provide the highest need of those they are leading before fulfilling their own needs.  This theory of leadership is not a short-term solution for problems in the company.  Servant leadership has been described “as including an altruistic calling, which is the motivation of leaders to put others’ needs and interests ahead of their own, and organizational stewardship, which is orienting others toward benefiting and serving the community.” (Dierendonck & Patterson, 2015, p. 119)  Greenleaf has stressed the need to genuinely show concern for other people, businesses and communities altogether.              There is a “deep connection between servant leadership and compassionate love with the outgrowths of humility, gratitude, forgiveness and .

1. Discussion Board Forum Replies:
In Modules/Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8 you will be required to post a
substantive reply of at least 250 words each to a minimum of 3
classmates’ threads. Expect to enter on-going dialogues with
your classmates and be prepared to answer questions about your
own selected topics. Student interaction on the Discussion
Board is the key to success in this course.
·
You must use at least 1 peer-reviewed reference (not used in the
original posting) in your response.
·
Use 3
rd
person.
·
Do not simply revisit what was discussed in the thread.
·
Only the substantive part of the response will be counted toward
the word count.
Submit your replies by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of the
assigned module/week.
Submit your replies for Discussion Board Forum 4 by 11:59
p.m. (ET) on
Friday

2. of Module/Week 8.
2 days ago
Scott Buber
Robert Greenleaf
Collapse
Top of Form
Forum 2 (Modules 3-4)
Key Term: Robert Greenleaf (Servant Leadership)
Definition
“Greenleaf, was CEO of AT&T [over 30] years ago, lecturer and
teacher at Harvard and MIT, and author of
Servant Leadership
” (Gebhart, 1995)
Summary
Robert Greenleaf is best thought of as a revolutionary thinker in

3. terms of how to lead others in both business and the
community. “The emphasis in servant leadership theory is on
leaders whose primary aim is to serve their followers while
developing employees to their fullest potential in different areas
such as task effectiveness, community stewardship, self-
motivation, and also the development of their leadership
capabilities.” (Dierendonck & Patterson, 2015, p. 119)
In today’s workplace, Greenleaf is often quoted and the
inspiration for leading people in a way that brings about
positive results. Greenleaf’s theory was relatively unproved
until years later by a few scholars. These scholars conducted
several studies to determine the true results of the relationship
of servant-leaders and their direct reports in the workplace.
Discussion
In 1977, Greenleaf published a theory about how extraordinary
leaders develop the desire to serve others before themselves.
This trait in and of itself is what is called Servant Leadership.
Servant-leaders do all that they can to provide the highest need
of those they are leading before fulfilling their own needs. This
theory of leadership is not a short-term solution for problems in
the company. Servant leadership has been described “as
including an altruistic calling, which is the motivation of
leaders to put others’ needs and interests ahead of their own,
and organizational stewardship, which is orienting others
toward benefiting and serving the community.” (Dierendonck &
Patterson, 2015, p. 119) Greenleaf has stressed the need to
genuinely show concern for other people, businesses and
communities altogether.

4. There is a “deep connection between servant leadership
and compassionate love with the outgrowths of humility,
gratitude, forgiveness and altruism. Servant leadership has seen
remarkable attention in the academic literature, but more
interestingly, it has seen attention in the business world, mainly
because it offers an approach that speaks beyond the moment
and speaks to the humanity within us all. Servant leadership
offers an approach that matches the times we are in where both
leaders and followers should seek to do the right things, seek
the humanity within us all and offer real-world solutions that
are based on moral and virtuous strengths”. (Dierendonck &
Patterson, 2015, p. 128)
“One of the [many] challenges of servant leadership theory is
that the definition of servant leadership as given by Greenleaf
focuses mainly on the motivation to strive for a leadership
position and on the outcomes of servant leadership, leaving a
mystery of what happens in-between the impetus to serve and
the outcomes of serving. Until the end of the last century, little
attention was paid to the actual behavior of servant leaders.”
(Dierendonck & Patterson, 2015, p. 120) Many scholars have
conducted research trials to provide insight as to the results of
this leadership trend. As outlined in Dierendock & Patterson,
2015, the research trials have proven Greenleaf’s (among others
who followed) theory to be correct.
This team approach to making decisions and analyzing business
trends builds strength within the organization and within a
community. This model works best when like-minded leaders
are set in place and begin developing others. Once this has
been set in place there will be a huge culture change within the

5. organization. Additionally, this model obliterates the old way
of leading, which was top-down leadership. The servant-leader
philosophy is widely used today by several hundred
organizations in the world as it has brought about positive long-
term results.
Biblical Integration
In the bible, Jesus provides the best example of servant
leadership. In one of many lessons to the disciples “Jesus called
them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are
considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their
great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so
among you. But whoever would be great among you must be
your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be
slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but
to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”” (Mark
10:42-45, ESV)
In our current society, so many people want to be served and get
everything right away. What a selfish way to live a life. The
good news is that 2000 years before Robert Greenleaf was born,
Jesus provided the blueprint to lead a better way and it was by
serving others.
References

6. Gebhart, J. (1995). Recent Management Publications.
Sloan Management Review, 36
(3), 101.
Spears, L. C., & Lawrence, M. (2002).
Focus on Leadership: Servant-Leadership for the Twenty-First
Century.
New York: Wiley.
Wallace Alexander Williams Jr, Randolph-Seng Brandon, Mario
Hayek, Stephanie Pane Haden, Guclu Atinc, (2017) "Servant
leadership and followership creativity: The influence of
workplace spirituality and political skill", Leadership &
Organization Development Journal, Vol. 38 Issue: 2, pp.178-
193,
References & Articles
(1.246 MB)
2 days ago
Charlisa McLean
Laissez-Faire Leadership
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Top of Form
Definition

7. "Under the laissez-faire form of leadership, a leader makes no
decisions. This type of leadership results in subordinates
exhibiting negative attitudes and lower performance. A laissez-
faire leader disassociates from the subordinates that he or she
leads, which means that the group may not be able to obtain all
resources to complete their jobs."
Satterlee, A. (2013). Organizational Management and
Leadership: A Christian Perspective. Raleigh: Synergistics
International Inc.
Summary
In Inju Yang's article, the positive effects of a laissez-faire
leader is discussed. Laisse-Faire leadership can be a strategic
choice among the leader and can be viewed as a positive
leadership style by the subordinates. Laissez-Faire leadership
can be viewed as a sign of respect for personal competences in
certain situations and it can be viewed as the leader being an
ethical leader by refraining from the imposition of power. In the
article it discusses how this leadership style can be viewed as
allowing subordinates to be free from "controlled motiviation".
It allows the subordinates to have some type of control and to
enhance their ability to handle challenges. It argues the fact that
employees feel empowered when they believe that they have a
choice as to how they go about doing their work.
Discussion
My views on a laissez-faire leader are slightly different than the
article. I strongly believe that in the workplace, people all need
a leader and it does depend on the job setting, what type of

8. leader you need. Based on the definition from the required
textbook for our course; it states that under this form of
leadership, a leader makes no decisions. In the workplace, if
you have a leader who makes no decisions, why are they
considered a leader? A leader is someone who motivates you
and inspires you to do better. A leader encourages you and lifts
you up when your workload may be huge or even when you look
like you could be having a rough day. The term laissez-
faire leader to me means a leader who is basically "lax or lazy".
I have found this to be in managers who are longtime managers
of the company who are close to retirement and begin to coast
in their position. I am currently under the leadership of one and
I experience this leadership style first hand. My manager does
not partake in decision making; he allows his employees to do
whatever they feel is necessary. I understand to some extent
giving your employees that ability to be free and make
decisions; however when a decision is made that should require
a manager's support that manager should step up to the plate and
become involved. I have noticed on my team that the morale of
the employees is at an all time low and the productivity of our
team is low. I am a vocal person and I am always willing to step
up to the plate and make decisions for the team that will benefit
us. Sometimes this can be a negative thing because since their is
no support from our leader, I find that I am the only one willing
to share a decision or solve a problem on my own. With our
leader not stepping up to make decisions and help performance,
it causes the individuals on my team to be quiet and not voice
their opinions or share decisions.
Biblical Intergration
In the bible, Saul was a leader who refused to grow and make
decisions. Saul's negative role as a laissez-faire leader and his
refusal to yield completely to God resulted in him being
troubled by an evil spirit. Saul never relied on God's wisdom,
he was self-centered. Saul put his own wisdom ahead of his

9. people and made poor decisions. This eventually caused him to
lose everything. Saul was the perfect example in the bible to use
as a laissez-faire leader. Saul never valued the voice of the
people and he failed to take responsibility. In 1 Samuel 15:24-
25, it talks about how Saul had sinned and transgressed the
Lord's command because he feared the people and he obeyed
them. Instead of leading the people as a leader should and make
decisions on where they needed to go, he feared them.
References
Yang, I. (2015). Positive effects of laissez-faire leadership:
Conceptual exploration. The Journal of Management
Development, 34(10), 1246-1261. Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-
com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/1724864650?accountid=12085
1 Samuel 15:24-25 (New International Version)
Satterlee, Anita. "Chapter 4/The Functions of Leadership."
Organizational Management & Leadership. 2nd ed. Raleigh: SI-
Corp, 2013. 104. Print. A Christian Perspective.
Laissez-Faire Article.docx
(125.485 KB)
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