Thanks, Sea Breeze for your thoughts on Transformational Servant Leadership (TSL), Servant Leadership (SL), and Strategic Leadership.

I also believe that a transformational servant leader is a strategic leader. You mention that a transformational servant leader “is a visionary leader” and you also mention that such leader “has an eye on the future.” As much as that is key, we cannot forget that strategic leaders and transformational servant leaders are not just focused on the future, but they also have a good understanding of the present. Hughes, Beatty, and Dinwoodie (2014) remind us that a strategic leader has a good understanding of the challenges he or she faces as referring to the present (p.85) In your reflection, you go on and also high light this idea as you say that a TSL teacher knows where students are. A transformational servant teacher knows what the students needs at the moment to bring him or her to her future goals. We see the future yet do not forget the present.

Regarding keeping servant leadership (SL) central to strategic leader. I very much believe that SL helps foster engagement and improves the work environment. From my experience in Paraguay, I would like to add that some staff members are not yet ready for SL, which is why I would advocate for situational servant leadership in some cases and with some staff members. I have realized the last few years in Paraguay that some of my staff members do not respond well to some servant leadership skills I use. I hope that eventually, I can bring them all into a place where they will learn to appreciate SL and practice SL.

To finish, thank you for your faith statement in your last paragraph. I appreciate your openness. You said that TSL could be practiced fully in a Christian school setting. I agree, but I am reminded every day that it is challenging even among Christian teachers to practice TSL. I remember an observation posted on the Seventh Adventist online website that says “it seems hypocritical that we as Christians who love Jesus and that follow Him as his disciples practice secular styles of leadership” (Service and Servant Leadership, 2017). Maybe we have used leadership skills that are contrary to what Jesus teaches for too long. Many times we are also conditioned by our culture and our surrounding which can make it especially tricky to practice TSL.

Blessings,

 

Reference:

Hughes R., Colarelli-Beatty K. & Dinwoodie  D. (2014) Becoming a strategic leader. San  Francisco: Jossey-Bass Second Edition.

Service and servant leadership. (2017). Retrieved from            https://www.sabbathschoolpersonalministries.org/  html?code=RTFL2Q17WK07&file=/assets/earliteens/Lessons/2017/Q2/English/STUDENT/R-17-Q2-L07.pdf