Servant Leadership Attributes

Running head: SERVANT LEADERSHIP ATTRIBUTES: FINAL PROJECT 1
Servant Leadership Attributes: Final Project
Kevin Waterhouse
SERVANT LEADERSHIP
BUS 7006 / AMBORN
OTTAWA UNIVERSITY
4/27/2016

SERVANT LEADERSHIP ATTRIBUTES 2
Servant Leadership Attributes: Final Project
Introduction
From the early philosophers of ancient Greece to modern businesses around the globe,
servant-leadership has left seeds of truth throughout history. It wasn’t until Robert Greenleaf
codified the attributes of servant-leadership that the concept truly began to be understood.
According to Greenleaf, there are nineteen attributes of a servant-leader: vision, trust, credibility,
honesty and integrity, competence, influence, listening, communication, service, stewardship,
appreciation of others, persuasion, modeling, encouragement, visibility, teaching, delegation,
empowerment, and pioneering (as cited in Spears, 1995). Each of these traits will be discussed in
the following paper, from both a personal and professional standpoint.
Vision
In my opinion, few managerial traits are as inspiring as a leader with vision. I like to see a
leader who has a “grand design” for the future, one that inspires that manager and motivates him
or her with excitement and energy. That type of vision is contagious, both for other managers
and for the employees they manage. It’s the type of impetus that drives innovation, creative
processes, and makes the difference between an onerous job that must be slogged through day to
day, or a meaningful occupation that employees enjoy being a part of. Unfortunately, in all the
jobs I have worked, I have never come across a manager with this type of passion for the future.
Another type of vision I feel is critically important is on the micro scale, rather than the
grand landscape. Sometimes “dreamers” are good at imagining the future possibilities, but forget
to take care of the small details in the present that are also necessary. A good leader still needs to
delegate responsibilities that will see to the present needs as well as the future ones.

As discussed by Spears (1995) vision can also be called “foresight” – a trait where
leaders learn to “see future events that will involve him [or her] before other people see them”
(p.42). Sometimes seeing where a company is headed means accepting that it may be headed in a
disastrous direction, and foresight helps managers be able to identify that direction and make the
necessary changes to avoid catastrophe. Personally, I intend to make a conscious effort to not
only dream big, but also learn to see the path of how to get there. I believe it will help to create
certain milestones that can be used as waypoints on the way to success, and represent small term
goals that are pieces of the general overall mission. This will help me learn to spot when events
are moving away from the vision, and take appropriate action to correct course, or see when
events are actually on track and moving ahead the way they are intended.
Trust
Trust is a trait that every leader should earn, but few seem to understand the importance
of. Employees are constantly counseled to trust each other, and work together as a team, but this
advice is not always extended into the circle of management. I think it is an accepted
inevitability that there exists some distrust between managers and employees. This is
unfortunate, since the best managers I have ever had were ones that I trusted implicitly. I see
trust as synonymous with consistency. Double standards, exceptions for only certain employees,
and favoritism are sure to destroy trust in the workplace.
Relatively speaking, trust seems to be fairly easy to instill when managers take the time
to get to know their employees, and show a genuine concern for their well-being. However, once
lost, trust is incredibly difficult to renew. I have personally witnessed cases where entire teams of
employees become unable to perform their duties because of distrust of a leader, and I have

resigned from positions in the past due to the actions of managers that convinced me of their
dishonesty.
According to Lipman (2013), there are three certain ways to erode trust in an
organization. First, disingenuous communication quickly tells employees to guard their
responses and be wary of a manager’s “real” intentions. Second, modeling behaviors employees
don’t respect is also a trait that ruins trust. If a manager acts in certain ways that employees are
forbidden to, or would be censured for, the hypocrisy will quickly destroy any trust in the
organization. And third, how managers respond to financial pressures that force them to perform
layoffs, cutting bonuses, and other cost saving measures has an impact on the future trust of
employees. Most employees know that sometimes such actions are necessary for the good of the
business, but how managers go about those actions can forever damage employee perception of
their leaders (Lipman, 2013).
I believe consistency in both communication and ethics is the best way to build trust.
Many of the trust problems I have witnessed came about because of an inability or unwillingness
of leaders to communicate to employees. One way for a leader to determine how well he or she
is trusted is to pay special attention to whether employees feel comfortable communicating with
their managers. How open are they with me? How can I foster a better communicative
relationship with them? These are the questions I would ask myself as a manager.
Credibility
I am an Archery expert. I say that with some reservation because I believe that even
experts should understand that no one ever knows everything about a subject, and can be
surprised by insights from those some might consider “amateurs.” I recognize I still have a great
deal to learn, but I also recognize I can count on one hand the number of people within a four-

hundred mile radius who have as much expertise and training in archery as I do. So, it was with
some disgruntlement that I was passed over for promotion at one of my former places of
employment that specialized in archery services and equipment, and the person hired to be my
supervisor openly admitted he knew very little about archery, but had been with the company in
another department for several years. To me, he had no credibility, and I was… shall we say,
“peeved.” However, over the course of the next year, this person showed me exactly why he was
hired and, I now admit, was a better choice for the position. He was dedicated to learning,
dedicated to his employees, and dedicated to the overall well-being of the company. His
credibility was rooted not in the narrow expertise of the small department, but in his sincere
desire to serve others. It made a world of difference, and that supervisor became both a friend
and mentor. I learned much from him about how a manager’s perception of his or her duties can
either hinder or help both the individual and the entire team.
One of the most important aspects of building credibility is that managers need to want
sincere answers and advice, and be willing to accept the value of that input when requested
(Garvin & Margolis, 2015). Asking questions in a leading manner, being “sneaky” about fishing
for information, and other methods of subterfuge can actually train both colleagues and
employees to question one’s motives, and like trust, credibility can be exceptionally hard to
regain once lost.
Honesty and Integrity
My father taught me his version of integrity, which stemmed from his rigid personal code
of ethics. To him integrity was about truthfulness, honoring obligations, accepting duty to
family, God, and country. I later learned integrity also has a much deeper meaning. I learned
integrity is about being honest with oneself as well as others, and about being true to one’s

beliefs and morals, despite whatever influences may exist to cause a man or woman to sacrifice
them to the whims or opinions of others.
I believe in being brutally honest with myself. I have to be able to recognize and accept
my limitations. Without this awareness and self-reflection there is no capacity for growth. I’m
certainly not into mental self-flagellation, but I am not afraid to accept when I am wrong. I feel
this is a special form of integrity – the ability to be humble and accept when change is necessary
for personal growth. It is this type of integrity that leads me to admit that I am partially
responsible for the accident that prevented me from joining the military as a youth. I made the
decision to get in the bed of a truck, knowing it was illegal. I made the decision to tell the girls
we were with to ride in the cab, because I knew it was safer. I made the decision not to stand up
to the driver and tell him it was a bad idea to pack that many people in his truck in the first place.
And because of this integrity, this acceptance of the truth, I take ownership of my mistakes. In
this way I rule my destiny, instead of letting the past rule me.
In a business setting, honesty and integrity are critical in developing trust. Like many
servant-leadership qualities, honesty and integrity are not static achievements that once attained
are forever added to the wall of diplomas. Honesty and integrity are internal values and external
perceptions that can fluctuate and shift over time – they are dynamic virtues that require constant
maintenance over a lifetime. A decade of hard work to establish a reputation for integrity takes
only a second to crumble into oblivion (Anderson, 2012).
Managers have a special role in business. They are not just men and women who make
managerial decisions for the business, but they are also representatives of that business. If a
manager does not establish a pattern of honesty and integrity, how does that reflect on the
business that chose them? Along with the responsibility of being the “manager”, there exists an

awful power to do both magnificent good and crippling damage to both employees and the
business.
Competence
Competence is more than just possessing knowledge and skills. The ability to perform a
task and know the details involved in it is not enough. Competence suggests understanding, and
understanding suggests the ability to teach it to others. Thus, in my humble opinion, true
competency in any field or skill should manifest itself in both the ability and the proclivity of one
human being to share or encourage competency in said field or skill with others.
As I mentioned before, I am an archer. I have developed my skills to the point that I can
disassemble any bow down to its smallest elements, and reassemble it in at least as good a
working order as it was when delivered to me. I custom build my own bows, construct my own
arrows, and make my own modifications and repairs. I can also shoot nearly every design of
archery equipment with above average accuracy within minutes of putting my hands on it.
However, I do not believe I developed a “competence” in archery until I learned how to teach
others these same skills. It was only after I became a “coach” that I understood that knowing how
to do something, and knowing it so well that I could easily explain it to others, were two
monumentally different abilities.
As quoted in our text, Tom Peters once wrote that there are three “areas of competence”
in successful companies. Those three areas are: superior customer service, internal
entrepreneurship, and “a ‘bone-deep’ belief in the dignity, worth, and creative potential in every
person in the organization” (as cited by Spears, 1995, p.83). The first two competencies will
enhance business performance and other measures of business success, but the third competency
is what truly sets a business apart. Coincidentally, it is also the heart of servant leadership.

Influence
Power, authority, influence – all of these imply a relationship between two elements
where the balance is tipped in favor of one over the other. This is not necessarily an inherently
flawed situation. Indeed, it is usually an essential requirement for effective operations involving
groups. The military, for example, relies heavily on clear lines of authority that leave little room
for question or hesitation. However, in the business world, militaristic commanders seldom
inspire trust, loyalty, or cooperation in employees. In fact, I would suggest such a leadership
style is a sure way to make everyone hate you.
All is not lost – for a perceptive and dedicated leader. Managers have the ability, and
responsibility, to influence employees and colleagues in positive and productive ways. The key
to achieving this kind of influence is self-awareness of one’s flaws and limitations. The manager
who understands that he or she can (and most assuredly will) make mistakes, is more willing to
see and accept when changes are necessary. These kinds of managers are free from bondage to
their own hubris, and can avoid problems like escalation of commitment to a failing policy or
procedure, and irreversible degeneration of relationships due to their own arrogance.
The idea that leaders need to be aware of their failings is not a new idea. Marcus
Aurelius, a Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher, wrote these words around 170 to 180 AD:
If any man is able to convince me and show me that I do not think or act right, I will
gladly change; for I seek the truth by which no man was ever injured. But he is injured
who abides in his error and ignorance. (1980, p. 236)
Marcus Aurelius was, by all accounts, an exceptional leader (he is counted as one of the five
great Roman emperors), and he apparently understood that not only do servant leaders have a
responsibility to influence others positively, but also a responsibility to allow themselves to be

corrected by others when necessary. This quotation also indicates that, among the literate and
educated at least, servant leadership was understood and practiced almost 2,000 years ago. It
continually amazes me how much our “civilized” world has lost to the ravages of time.
Listening
My mother used to yell at me (especially when I was a teenager), “You’re not listening to
me!” What she usually meant was that I was not doing what she wanted me to do. In fact, I was
listening closely to everything she said, and to this day I remember clearly things she adamantly
denies ever saying, but I was consciously making a choice not to follow through on what she was
demanding from me. My point is not to vilify my mother – I freely admit that I was a jerk as a
teenager and deserved her ire. My point is that listening has nothing to do with action, but has
everything to do with introspection and internal processing. Listening to others means more than
just hearing what they say; it requires a mind adept enough to hear what another person means or
needs. This suggests that listening is a skill that can be honed and perfected with time and study.
According to Spears (1995), listening is listed as one of ten critical characteristics of
servant-leaders, and is described as an ability to “identify and clarify the will of a group” (p.4).
Spears also notes that listening to oneself, and striving to understand one’s internal needs of
body, mind, and spirit, are also essential components to listening. Therefore, listening is a skill to
be applied both externally (to others), and internally (to oneself) in order to be effective. In other
words, a good servant-leader does not just hear, but also reflects on what they have heard.
Communication
As someone who has been married more than once, I am a firm believer that effective
communication solves nearly every relationship problem in existence. I am also convinced that
poor communication is the root of most contention human beings face. I cannot count the

number of times something I said in complete honesty and with the best intentions was
completely misconstrued to mean something I did not intend. As frustrating as that is, what
grieves me more is when the other party then closes the door for clarification or explanation.
I think that leaders have to be careful about what they are communicating, but I also
believe employees have the right and responsibility to demand clarification when confusion
arises. What causes most communication issues is the inability or refusal to explain, question, or
compromise when misunderstandings occur.
Dr. John Lund is an expert in communication, especially for family relationships, but has
also served as a business consultant to help companies improve communications. In his book,
For All Eternity, Lund (2008) describes communication as not merely a presentation of words,
but an exchange of understanding. I find this description to be helpful in understanding where
problems arise in the communications process. Especially in a technologically dependent world,
I think we take for granted that simply typing a memo or sending an email will accurately
convey the needs or ideas we intend. Just because I write the words, does not mean people
understand. ¡Por ejemplo, muchas personas no comprenderán lo que estoy escribiendo aquí!
Granted, writing something in another language is obviously a stumbling block to any
communication, but do we not all speak different languages to some degree – languages colored
and constructed by our past experiences, cultural predispositions, and present expectations? A
servant-leader must understand that it is not the words that make the communication effective, it
is how well the receiver of the communication understands the intent of the words.
Service
An important distinction to service in this context is that it is voluntary and it is
directional. Service does not require compensation, it does not demand recognition, and it insists

on no reward. Service is also an action performed by one who is willing, for one who is in need.
If one were to reverse the directionality, and make service compulsory, it is no longer service – it
becomes slavery. Slaves do not provide service to a master – they obey out of fear for their
personal well-being. Likewise, employees should never be required to serve managers under
threat of repercussions affecting their job or reputation.
Similarly, if a higher administration makes a manager’s service mandatory, it ceases to be
service and becomes duty. Duty is an obligatory requirement, where service should always be
offered out of genuine goodwill. The manager who has learned to see and recognize what his or
her employees need, and then acts without command or guile, with the sole purpose of easing
another’s burden – that manager has learned service.
In the Book of Mormon, a scriptural work for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, there is the account of King Benjamin, who both loved and served his people.
In a speech to his people, King Benjamin lays out the pattern of what servant-leadership should
look like. He speaks of how he has not demanded gold or silver from them, has not unjustly
imprisoned any of them, has upheld the rule of law and of God, has taught his people how to be
good and faithful, and has labored among them with his own hands. He then assures them that he
is not reminding them of these things in order to boast, and utters this great pearl of wisdom:
“And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye
are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2: 9-17).
In modern times, the current spiritual leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints had something similar to say. Referring to the scripture, “For whosoever will save his life
shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 16:25, KJV),
the president of the church proclaimed:

I believe the Savior is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is
little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up
and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others
grow and flourish – and in effect save their lives (Monson, 2012, p.66).
In short, service is a spiritual gift that does not command or demand, but instead humbles
and strengthens the giver, while uplifting and teaching the receiver.
Stewardship
As an avid fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings, I understood the concept of stewardship by
the time I was seven years old. Thanks to Tolkien, I also understood the abuses of it. A key
element is the realization stewards are caretakers of what belongs to another. I feel managers
need to see this responsibility from two angles; as stewards of business, and stewards of people.
As stewards of business, managers are responsible for taking care of the investments of
shareholders. Careful planning, strategy, and resource use, are all good business stewardship.
The financial scandals of the past few decades are often a result of CEO’s forgetting they are
merely stewards, and the businesses they manage are not their personal business playground.
As stewards of people, managers are faced with an awesome responsibility. Employees
place their livelihood in the hands of managers. Families, reputations, and careers can be
destroyed by an irresponsible or uncaring manager. This kind of stewardship is also linked to
business stewardship, since any company’s greatest resource is its people.
According to Block, stewardship is “accountability without control or compliance” (as
cited in Spears, 1995, p.103). His definition suggests that stewardship is closely related to my
previous definition of true service, in that it is not enforced or commanded from on high, but is
instead an internal realization of responsibility toward others. For the manager who seeks to be a

servant-leader, stewardship must become more than a byword and pretty concept, but an integral
part of one’s perception and identity as a manager.
Appreciation of Others
The first jobs I accepted after my car accident in 1997 were summer positions as a camp
counselor. My specialties were archery and challenge education, especially team building, low
ropes courses, and climbing walls. I was once asked, “What exactly do you do as a climbing wall
instructor?” I nonchalantly answered, “I yell encouragements at people’s butts all day.” The joke
was well received, but it was an indication that I was starting to lose appreciation for the job I
had so enjoyed. Then I worked at a camp that specifically served disabled children and adults.
Since then, I am a firm believer that every young adult should spend one summer working with a
similar group of campers. Never in my life have I seen individuals with so much right to
complain, yet spend so much time smiling, encouraging, and uplifting those around them.
Despite my own disability, I learned that summer that no matter how bleak life may seem, there
is plenty to appreciate and be grateful for.
I also learned that this same concept applies to people. All people experience challenges,
have bad days, or may frustratingly lack a specific skillset – but at the same time all people have
the ability to overcome, shake off the negative, and have some skill they are exceptional at. A
prime example of this is a camper we will simply call “Rebecca”. Rebecca was confined to a
wheelchair. I do not use the word confined lightly. She could not walk, stand, hold her head up
on her own, speak, or control the spasmodic movements of her arms. The only modicum of
control she had was in a computer module mounted near her head. Small movements of her head
could control her power wheelchair, and even construct very basic sentences. Of all the campers
I have worked with in over 15 years of experience as camp staff, Rebecca is the one that stands

out most to me. Not because of her challenges, but because of her smile. In the entire week I
spent helping Rebecca, I never saw her without a smile on her face. I realized that this was her
gift to those around her. It was her special ability – to brighten the lives of others with the one
thing she could give freely.
It was not until I met Rebecca that I understood the philosopher’s wish, “A tear to unite
me with those of broken heart; a smile to be a sign of my joy in existence” (Gibran, 1950, p.3).
Learning to appreciate others is a skill that every manager should learn. Each manager
must find the conviction within his or her own heart that every person has an intrinsic worth that
transcends the momentary frustrations of the day. Once this conviction is firmly ensconced in a
manager’s repertoire of tools, they begin to see the virtues, strengths, and unique abilities of the
individual, instead of focusing on the negative aspects of what they lack. Like Rebecca, no
matter how much someone can’t do, there is always something they can do.
Persuasion
As a motivational speaker, the essence of any presentation I give is persuasion. I usually
speak about how to overcome challenges, and I try to persuade people to take accountability for
their own lives and happiness, embrace independence as much as possible, and find a reason that
drives them on a daily basis. This is what I call the “A.I.R.” philosophy. I cannot tell you how
difficult it can be to try and convince people their happiness and satisfaction with life is a result
of their ability to take ownership of that life, and accept that only their decisions and actions
determine their destiny. It is also just as difficult to persuade a generation so used to immediate
gratification that no one is going to solve their problems for them, and they must independently
exercise their agency if they want to succeed. However, no matter how difficult it may be to

persuade my audience, I know persuasion is the only way for the concepts to take root. Ordering,
commanding, and haranguing an audience does nothing but alienate them.
According to Lopez, persuasion consists of two basic principles: the reinforcement of
hope, and the ability to independently exercise agency (as cited in Spears, 1995). Lopez also
suggests several ways for managers to help people see themselves as empowered (as cited in
Spears, 1995, p.156). These are:
 Check your own quotient of hope.
 Point out the possibilities for others.
 Develop a patient attitude.
 Do not expect quick results but notice the beginnings of change.
 Share your joy.
 Smile often.
Of these suggestions, share your joy seems one of the most important. A fervent and heartfelt
testimony of joy can be a powerful persuasive tool.
Modeling
My father’s favorite phrase is, “Actions speak louder than words!” I heard it so many
times I grew sick of it. But, as is often the case, age brought maturity and understanding, and I
later began to recognize the value of this truth. No matter how good a person claims to be, no
matter how well they preach righteousness or advise wisdom, unless he or she lives what they
profess then their words count for naught. Hypocrisy is a murderer of great teachings, and no
lesson is believable if the teacher cannot show the merits of following their example.
Kouzes and Posner valued modeling so highly they placed it at the top of their list of five
keys to success as a leader (Caruso & Salovey, 2004). Managers need to understand nothing
speaks more profoundly about the values, expectations, and acceptable practices of an
organization more clearly than the actions of those who lead it. Contrary to our American

cultural demands for privacy and separation of work and private life, this admonition to model
the values and behaviors that leaders desire in their employees extends to “off-time” activities as
well. A preacher known for drunkenness can hardly expect parishioners to place value on the
same preacher’s lessons concerning sobriety. In contrast, nothing speaks more highly to the
benefits of a virtuous life than the living testimony of those who practice what they preach.
Encouragement
When I was fourteen I started competing in cross-country races for my high school. As a
loner, introvert, and proud nerd I was more than happy to get involved in a sport that really did
not require a lot of team co-dependence. I ran the best I could, competed against my own times,
and didn’t have to compare myself to others or feel that I might somehow let the team down. All
I had to do was run, and it was wonderful. However, I quickly learned that mindset worked well
for training and practice, but competitions were another matter.
In my first race, I watched as the fastest runners exhausted themselves as they finished
their race, but then dragged themselves (as soon as they caught their breath) to a point
somewhere in the last half of the race route to cheer the runners who were slower, and those who
were competing in divisions after theirs. It wasn’t long before I noticed that most runners
performed better in races, where they were being encouraged continually through the last mile or
so, than they ever did in practice.
I have noticed this trend extends beyond my experiences as a runner. In life, business,
education, work, and dreams I have seen how encouragement from those we value and respect
goes a long way toward helping us achieve the goals we have set.
Emerson said, “Our chief want in life, is, somebody who shall make us do what we can”
(2015, Kindle Location 10728). Servant-leaders have an obligation to find ways to encourage

those they serve to reach their greatest potential. In business, most individuals want to grow and
progress. Promotions usually come with higher salaries, and we must be frank and honest with
ourselves and admit that financial gain is an incredibly potent motivator. Employees want to
advance in their field, but often do not know how to achieve that growth. Servant-leaders should
discover ways to fill that need, by encouraging others to pursue avenues to success they may not
have known to take.
Visibility
As a “non-traditional” older student, I have the advantage of work experience in various
fields. I have worked for non-profits, government agencies, sporting goods retail, and aviation
firms. In each job, I can look back at how visible the managers were, and make correlations to
shared values, work environment, employee satisfaction, and trust in the organization. In each
instance where managers were closed off, sequestered, and distant, employees had little faith in,
or trust toward those managers. But, the best managers, and the happiest employees, were the
ones that worked together.
Probably the best manager I ever had was one that was more often than not on the sales
floor talking to customers, asking employees questions, and even stepping in to do the same
work from time to time. Employees had little trouble talking with him, sharing concerns, asking
for advice, and sharing their victories.
In 2000, Fiore found that successful educational leadership, from an administrative
standpoint, cannot be accomplished from inside the confines of an office, and admonished
principals and other administrators to become more visible, accessible, and involved with
students and educators (as cited in Ellis, 2009). Similarly, business administrators must be more
visible to employees, fostering an environment of open communication and trust, in order to be

effective servant-leaders. I find this to be an interesting correlation, since American education is
based on a business model, and much of business training uses educational models.
Teaching
I have always believed that training employees to do as much as possible gives them the
best chance at success. A carpenter cannot carve without wood chisels, a blacksmith cannot work
steel without a hammer – every job requires specific tools in order to accomplish it. The same is
true in business, but in the fast-paced digital age there is seldom enough time or resources to
train employees properly. Often new hires are thrown into the workforce with only a rudimentary
awareness of expectations and job-related skill sets, and forced into a “sink or swim” scenario.
Almost every job I have worked involved only a few days of preparation before diving into the
bedlam that is a new job. I have never had a manager take the time to start training me for
promotion. This is a sad testament to how easy it is for us to accept the status quo and seek the
easy equilibrium, instead of the challenge of growth. Servant-leaders should not only be willing
to reach behind and lift up others, but should also actively seek out opportunities to do so.
If we hold to Greenleaf’s assertion that the best test of a servant-leader is whether “those
served grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more
autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants” (as cited in Spears, 1995, p. 4), then
implied in this test is the responsibility of servant-leaders to teach those they serve how to
develop said traits – else how will they acquire the skills to grow, learn, and serve others?
Teaching is another form of serving, and every servant-leader should embrace it as a staple of
their leadership experience.

Delegation
The further I travel along a path toward my master’s degree, the more I realize that great
leadership comes not from being able to do everything, but from teaching others how to
complete tasks (or hiring people who already know how to do so), then allowing them to grow
and learn more by doing them. This is what delegation means to me. I think the best leaders
actually take the time to teach, support, and encourage those they supervise, but all that attention
is meaningless if he or she doesn’t let them use what they have learned.
I also believe that team projects are much more efficient, run smoother, and have greater
productivity with proper delegation. Team leaders need to learn to identify the strengths and
assets of individuals within the group, then guide group members to use their skills to fulfill
certain portions of the task. A team leader who can also create checkpoints and accountability,
without being over-bearing, suggest changes or alternate options, and weld not only the group
but also the assignment into a successful enterprise, is destined to be a great leader.
Empowerment
Empowering fuses many servant-leadership traits together. It is more than encouraging,
teaching, persuading, and appreciating, but it involves all of these and more. Empowerment
involves risking one’s own power and prestige by giving it to others, but the risk has an
enormous payoff. There are a plethora of benefits to empowering individuals, such as increased
business performance, better employee contentment with their work, higher customer satisfaction
and therefore higher retention rates and return business – and the ripples continue to grow.
According to Bethel, “Training people, giving them new experiences and ideas means sharing
power because knowledge is true power” (as cited in Spears, 1995, p.144).

Pioneering
The United States was built on the foundation of a pioneering spirit. More than any
country, America owes its success to the ability of its founders and early settlers to look past the
status quo, ignore “how it’s always been done,” and seek out opportunities for change and
growth. It is not by chance that this pioneer mindset is inter-woven in the American psyche with
another of its core tenets – freedom. Leaders who allow the pioneering spirit to grow and flourish
in their companies liberate the entrepreneurial genius within their employees, find ways to serve
customers faster than their competition, and have the ability to reshape, regenerate, or invent
markets in powerful ways. An excellent example is the case of Amazon, whose founder Jeff
Bezos said, “If you're competitor-focused, you have to wait until there is a competitor doing
something. Being customer-focused allows you to be more pioneering” (Lake, 2013, quotation
6). By allowing his staff to focus on the need of a market, rather than the standards other
companies were setting, Bezos freed his idea generators to do what they do best! (For a personal
story concerning delegation, empowerment, and pioneering please see appendix A).
Summary of Actions
Servant-leadership is something I feel I have always innately understood to some small
degree, but had a difficult time putting into practice. In part, this is because of the military and
law-enforcement upbringing I had – the warrior ethos may embrace service and leadership, but
not in the way Greenleaf has described it, and probably for good reason. The military is not
business, nor vice-versa. There may have been a time when the business world was a realm of
commanders executing strategies, marshalling sales forces and resources, under a traditional
hierarchy, but no more. Such tactics have proven woefully inefficient, unproductive, and prone
to abuse. I am grateful that this class and this paper have helped me to separate the two ways of

thought, and learn how to implement servant-leadership in my management style moving
forward.
In particular, delegation is by far the most pronounced facet of servant-leadership I will
need to work on. I have a fiercely independent streak, and some rather egregious trust issues. I do
not like working in groups usually, and prefer to do things on my own. At least that way I know
it will be done right, and if it isn’t I know who to blame. Some of this stems from a steady stream
of disappointing experiences with group projects, where I invariably wind up carrying more
responsibility than any other group member. The exception to this is in my graduate studies,
which leads me to believe that people who are driven by the same goals, and invested in the
same direction will be much more pleasant to work with and easier to trust.
I also think that the other attributes of servant-leadership will help me learn to trust others
with delegated tasks. These attributes are not merely linked by one-to-one relationships, but are a
veritable web of interconnected concepts that aid each other in created the final masterpiece that
is a servant-leader.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Greenleaf’s epiphany of servant-leadership included the attributes of
vision, trust, credibility, honesty and integrity, competence, influence, listening, communication,
service, stewardship, appreciation of others, persuasion, modeling, encouragement, visibility,
teaching, delegation, empowerment, and pioneering (as cited in Spears, 1995). Each of these
attributes are requisite in the servant-leader, and a failure in one can impact performance in
others. This is the genius of Greenleaf’s work, to know and understand that the attributes of
servant-leadership are intricately interconnected parts of one great whole – much like humanity.

References
Anderson, A. (2012). Success will come and go, but integrity is forever. Forbes. Retrieved
3/19/2016 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/amyanderson/2012/11/28/success-will-
come-and-go-but-integrity-is-forever/#7a5e0cc61414
Aurelius, M.A. (1980). The meditations of Marcus Aurelius. (G. Long, Trans.). Danbury, CT:
Grolier Enterprises Corp. (Originally published circa 170-180 AD).
Caruso, R., Salovey, P. (2004). The emotionally intelligent manager: How to develop and use the
four key emotional skills of leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Ellis, B. (2009). Leader visibility: a case study approach. The Jethro Project. Retrieved from
http://www.jethroproject.com/LeaderVisibility_2.pdf
Emerson, R.W. (2015). Emerson: The ultimate collection. Titan Read: Kindle Edition.
Garvin, D., Margolis, J. (2015). Advice and credibility go hand-in-hand for managers. Harvard
Business Review. Retrieved 3/12/16 from https://hbr.org/2015/01/advice-and-credibility-
go-hand-in-hand-for-managers
Gibran, K. (1950). A tear and a smile. New York: Knopf.
Lake, C. (2013). Ten customer experience soundbites from Jeff Bezos. Econsultancy. Retrieved
from https://econsultancy.com/blog/63184-10-customer-experience-soundbites-from-
jeff-bezos/
Lipman, V. (2013). The foundational importance of trust in management. Forbes Leadership.
Retrieved 3/12/16 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2013/10/07/the-
foundational-importance-of-trust-in-management/#4205111b221b
Lund, J.L. (2008). For all eternity. American Fork, UT: Covenant Communications
Monson, T.S. (2012) A prophet’s voice: Messages from Thomas S. Monson. Salt Lake City, UT:

Deseret Book Company.
Spears, L. (1995). Reflections on leadership: How Robert K. Greenleaf's theory of Servant-
leadership influenced today's top management thinkers. New York: J. Wiley.

Appendix A
Servant-Leadership in action: A wooden medal.
I spent over a decade teaching summer camp with various non-profit organizations like
the YMCA, Easter Seals, and Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA). The second camp staff
position I ever held was as an archery instructor at YMCA Camp Oakes in the mountains of
southern California in 2002. Camp Oakes is affiliated with the YMCA of greater Long Beach, so
the socio-economic diversity of campers that would come “up the hill” was extreme, to say the
least. One week I had a group of young women wearing two hundred dollar sunglasses, brand
new expensive boots, and immaculate make-up (that probably took an hour to put on) show up to
try archery. The next week almost every camper was in thrift store clothing, worn shoes, and
most couldn’t afford sunblock, let alone designer sunglasses. It was in this latter group that I met
Robby.
Robby was an African-American child who was eight years old going on twenty (or at
least he thought he was). He knew everything, disliked everyone, and wouldn’t take instruction.
Every other program staff member of the camp could barely hold their frustrations in check
when Robby came to classes, and every evening the staff would have a new horror story about
him. Robby’s cabin wasn’t scheduled to come to archery until the last half of the week, and my
trepidation grew as the stories accumulated. When Robby and his group finally came to class, he
lived up to his reputation. No matter how hard I tried to show him how to shoot properly, he
continued to do things his own way. He didn’t listen, he didn’t trust, and he adamantly insisted
he could do it his own way. He never hit the target. But what impressed me most was that Robby
never gave up, and for the entire hour and a half class – in 95 degrees and 70 percent humidity at

an altitude of 8500 ft – Robby kept trying. The rest of the class had long since retired to what
little shade could be found, while Robby kept shooting.
After my experience with this camper, I spoke to some colleagues on what sort of awards
they handed out. Most did not do any kind of recognition, but had heard of many different
options. All the different suggestions just didn’t seem to measure up to what I wanted to do, so I
went for a hike and thought up some ideas of my own.
On the last day of camp, I enlisted the help of the camp maintenance man, and asked him
to fashion a “medal” for me out of wood. I explained to him a general idea of what I needed, told
him why I needed it, and asked if he could have it ready by the last day of camp. He went right to
work.
On the last day of camp, in front of the entire group of kids from his area, I presented
Robby with his medal. At first, he thought he was in trouble when he was called to the front of
the dining hall, but then I explained to him that I wanted to give him a special award. I told him
how I appreciated his efforts, and explained that anyone could be trained to hit a target, but not
everyone was strong enough to never give up. I knew he came from an extremely poor and
troubled neighborhood, and I hoped that the recognition and advice would be helpful later in life.
The boy smiled, went back to his seat, and left later that day. There were no tears or a “thank
you,” just a camp staff who felt he had done the right thing. I finished that summer and went on
to teach at other camps for many years.
In 2012 I had the opportunity to return to Camp Oakes for my last summer camp.
Frankly, my body couldn’t take much more of the intensely rigorous physical exertion summer
camp required for me in my wheelchair. At 34 I just wasn’t a spring chicken anymore. It was the
end of an era for me because I loved my work at summer camp, but realized it was time to move

on. By that time I had expanded my teaching repertoire to high ropes, low ropes, team building,
riflery, climbing wall, and several other camp events. On the first day of the week for one of the
groups, I was working the climbing wall, and a young man approached me. He was one of the
cabin leaders and an assistant director for the group. It surprised me that he was an assistant
director because he was very young. He asked me if I had ever worked at camp before, and I told
him I had, but under a different name (we all had camp names, and this time around I was
“Hotwheels”). He asked me if I had been “Superman” many years ago. I replied I was known by
that camp name the first year I worked at Camp Oakes. With tears in his eyes, he reached into his
shirt, and pulled out a worn wooden disc with an archery target and “Camp Oakes, 2002” carved
into it.
“This changed my life,” he said. “Thank you.”

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