MAKING A DIFFERENCE: SERVANT LEADERSHIP IN THE ONLINE
CLASSROOM
Andree C. Swanson, EdDLora L. Reed, PhDAshford University
ENCOURAGERS OF LEARNING
Online faculty members are not Sages on the Stage in the
asynchronous classroom.
Effective faculty are true guides on the side, facilitators of
learning.
Effective online faculty are encouragers of learners who are
often isolated and feeling alone on the other side of the
computer.
SERVANT LEADERSHIP
At their finest, effective online faculty
members are true servant leaders
sharing the Robert Greenleaf’s vision
of servant leadership to provide
student-centered teachable
opportunities in the virtual classroom.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
“Servant leadership makes a difference. It might not be the
quickest, safest, and simplest approach to teaching, but it is
effective” (p. 5).
Our goal is to demonstrate how you can make a difference
using a servant leadership approach in the classroom.
NO LITERATURE ON THE TOPIC
Servant leadership and the field of education have
been studied in the past; however, servant
leadership as a desired form of leadership in the field
of online learning has not been studied.
HELPING STUDENTS
Patterson (2003) stated, “By empowering followers, servant leaders
are allowing them freedom to proceed toward their goals, helping
them make dreams reality.”
Online faculty are empowered to help their students.
CONTINUED HELP FOR STUDENTS
Patterson (2003) states that "the focus of the leaders is on
followers and his/her behaviors and attitudes are congruent with
this follower focus."
Servant leadership is a virtuous theory focusing on leading people
who have good intentions, high values, and are morally sound.
SERVANT LEADERSHIP
(a) agapao love,
(b) humility,
(c) altruism,
(d) vision,
(e) trust,
(f) empowerment, and
(g) service" (Patterson, 2003, p. 2).
A MODEL FOR ONLINE FACULTY
Niewold (2007) stated, "Servant leadership in its secular
form is based on non-Christian secular and religious ideas" (p.
1).
For these reasons, Servant Leadership appears to be a
model for the effective, successful online faculty member.
FOLLOWER BEFORE GREED A servant leader is one that puts the follower first before profit and greed.
A popular style of leadership is the transformational leader who does not put the followers first but the organization has priority.
Students before Profit
AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP
"Note that the focus in servant
leader is to benefit the follower,
even at the expense of the
organization, which is in
contrast to Transformational
leadership that has a focus on
benefiting the organization
(Bass, 2000)" (Winston, n.d.).
Servant leadership is an
authentic form of leadership
that can be modeled by those
who strive to put others before
their own goals.
THE INCUBATOR IDEAImage(s) from Microsoft Clip
Art.
FACULTY AS LEADERS
If faculty do model Greenleaf’s vision, are online faculty who
model servant leadership in the classroom and other interactions
with learners assisting in leader development?
Do faculty model the type of leadership that is conducive to
innovative organizational cultures?
Do they create trust and meaningful relationships that sustain
both student and faculty as continuous learners?
FUTURE RESEARCHImage(s) from Microsoft Clip Art. Copyright © ZSRS 2013
QUESTION
Can the concept that faculty as servant leaders as a
method of enhancing online learning and especially
leader development be tested?
NOW IS THE TIME
Student engagement, as a challenge that affects leaders and would
be leaders becomes a more important consideration for academic
institutions in a time of unprecedented technological change, as
well as amidst leadership crises the likes of which Greenleaf (1978,
1986) attempted to caution society about.
If there was ever a time when Servant Leadership was needed,
some say that time is now on a variety of levels.