Greenleaf writes: A servant-leader is a person who begins with a natural feeling of wanting to serve first — to help, support and encourage and lift up others. And because of their noble role-models others begin to lead by serving.
In addition to desiring ‘to serve first’ I invite you, Gentle Reader, to consider that a servant-leader is:
Concerned with the following three dimensions which are rooted in Trust: The servant-leader is concerned with the Personal dimension– Who I am? Who I am choosing to become? Why I am choosing to become this. . .? The servant-leader is concerned with the Relational dimension — Who are we? Who are we choosing to become? Why are we choosing this…? Servant-Leadership is relationship oriented — first, there is the relationship that the person has with him or herself and at the same time there is the relationship that the person has with the other. The servant-leader is also concerned with the Organizational (Institutional or Communal) dimension. Organizations are individuals and relationships writ large and so servant-leaders are called to (and charged with) caring for the organization and they are called to (and charged with) serving the organization so that it grows (see Greenleaf’s ‘Best Test’ and apply it to organizations). This is possible because organizations are organic and thus developmental with growth potential (they are not inorganic). The development and the growth of the organization requires that individuals and relationships also develop and grow.
Concerned with ‘good and evil’ (Greenleaf’s words) or ‘virtues and vices’ or ‘light and darkness.’ As Greenleaf notes, when we humans are our healthiest we are ‘living paradoxes.’ Some adherents of Greenleaf’s concept only focus on the ‘light’ and seem to deny the ‘darkness.’ Greenleaf asks: ‘When is serving potentially immoral?’ The wonderful poet, William Stafford reminds us that ‘the darkness around us is deep.’ Because we are living paradoxes, the servant-leader is also concerned with forgiveness, reconciliation and healing (to make whole again). Each of us has great potential for good and great potential for evil. The Dutch reminded me of this when I first visited The Netherlands. I was told stories about ‘common folks’ who were moved to doing great deeds of good (e.g. hiding Jews from the Germans) and often paid the price for doing so with their own lives and they also told me stories of ‘common folks’ who chose to do great acts of evil (e.g. turn in their long-time neighbors as Jew-hiders). It is imperative, I think, that we each believe that we are capable of ‘good’ and ‘evil.’ We need to be ‘on guard’ and awake and aware — and, of course, we will choose.
Concerned with ‘entheos.’ Greenleaf offered us this interesting word, ‘entheos.’ Entheos is the spirit that animates us and sustains us. How often do we conceptualize ‘spirit’ in this way? I often hear people speaking of ‘spirit’ in negative terms: ‘My spirit is depleted.’ ‘The team’s spirit is low.’ ‘Our team has lost its spirit.’ The source of the word ‘Entheos’ is the Greek enthousiasmos, which ultimately comes from the adjective entheos, “having the god within,” formed from en, “in, within,” and theos, “god.” Some refer to ‘our inner guide’ or to ‘the teacher within’ or to ‘the quiet voice that washes over us like a soft breeze.’ The ‘dark side’ of Entheos equates to one being ‘possessed by a dark spirit’ — or guide or teacher [see Star Wars and ‘the Dark Side’].