Response to Tom Williams’ Post on Servant Leadership

This is my response to Tom Williams’ post on servant leadership (Unit 1 Activity 5).

Just like Tom, I find that persuasion is the greatest challenge for me to incorporate in my practice!

Tom posed the question “how do you navigate tough decisions that need to be made quickly and without time for feedback/input while trying to maintain servant leadership principles?”.

Northouse (2016) states that “servant leaders are ethical and lead in ways that serve the greater good of the organization, community, and society at large” (p. 226). While it is important to seek feedback and input as listening is a vital characteristic of servant leadership, the reality is that sometimes time does not always allow leaders to do so in every situation. I believe that in situations like this, it is important that servant leaders act ethically and make the best decision for the group as a whole. This is why foresight is another important characteristic mentioned by Northouse (2014) on page 228. Ultimately, servant leaders are accountable for decisions that are made and the outcomes that stem from those choices.

I believe that servant leadership is a process and shown over a period of time. Followers can recognize servant leadership qualities in an individual over a series of interactions and situations. When a servant leader is put in a situation where he or she needs to make decisions without first consulting the group, I believe the group would show an understanding of the situation as the relationship they have formed allows them to put trust in the leader to make the best choice for the organization.

References:

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.