THE SERVANT LEADERSHIP

He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel and girded himself.After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.—The Bible, St John, 13: 4-5 

Sardar Sirdar (He who sacrifices the most is a leader).—Guru Gobind Singh

India is going through an unsettling period of change, and we yearn for leadership in all walks of life- in politics, science, administration, management etc. Our Ex-President Dr Kalam said, “When the leader of any institution empowers his or her people, leaders are born, who can change the nation in multiple areas". That is why; leadership is the need of the hour, which can change the systems and processes through shared vision to a developed nation.

At the heart of any change process is a man who sees the difficulty, a man who sees the future first, who resolves to change the status quo. He can not do it alone whatever field we may take. He energizes people and creates a sense of optimism, hope and direction. He carries fire in his belly to free people from the shackles of the present. Leaders do not exist without followers. This raises the very basic question? How does one become a leader?

There is a legend that goes like this. A group of people undertake a spiritual journey. Leo, who joins them in the capacity of servant takes, cares of them with his best of ability. All goes well until Leo disappears and the group members find that they cannot proceed without him. The lowly servant had played an indispensable role. The group disintegrates. Years later, the narrator rediscovers Leo and finds that he was in fact the head of a monastic order, a great leader. This story moved Robert Greenleaf, a retired AT&T executive, in 1977, who went on to write a book on ‘Servant Leadership’. The central meaning of the story is that great leader first experienced as a servant and this simple fact is central to his greatness. True leadership emerges from some one who earnestly desires to help others. Such Servant leadership is evident from life of great people.

Take the life of Jesus Christ. The night of the Last Supper, he ceremoniously washed the feet of his disciples and admonished them: “…If I then, your Lord and Master, has washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.” On another occasion, he said: “… but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister. And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (St Mark: 10, 43-45).

Just another instance from war history. Commanding General Lear of the Second Army was speaking to several hundred newly commissioned second lieutenants. The general quickly and simply stated his leadership philosophy: “Always serve your troops first that you may command them better.” He went on to challenge us to always “Feed your troops and they will fight like hell for you. And when I say feed, I don’t mean just the belly, but that is important. I also mean to feed the mind, the heart, and the spirit. In fact, grow the total soldier.” The leader is the first servant of the entire mass.

Writes Greenleaf: “The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to

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lead. He or she is sharply different from the person who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions.”

Wally Rude’s thesis (2004) dealt with Servant Leadership as a leadership approach aimed to reduce burnout and enhance job satisfaction in organization due to its emphasis on character, vision,team work, serving and empowerment. He concludes: When there is the presence of the positive aspects of servant leadership, and the absence of Power and Pride, subordinates report higher levels of Job Satisfaction, Professional Efficacy, and lower levels of Emotional Exhaustion and Cynicism.”

In his second major essay, The Institution as Servant, Robert K. Greenleaf articulated what is often called the "credo." He said: " This is my thesis: caring for persons, the more able and the less able serving each other, is the rock upon which a good society is built. Whereas, until recently, caring was largely person to person, now most of it is mediated through institutions - often large, complex, powerful, impersonal; not always competent; sometimes corrupt. If a better society is to be built, one that is more just and more loving, one that provides greater creative opportunity for its people, then the most open course is to raise both the capacity to serve and the very performance as servant of existing major institutions by new regenerative forces operating within them."

The servant leader’s motivation first and last is service. Here, for instance, is what Mahatma Gandhi, the quintessential servant-leader, says of his own motivation: “…service to the poor has been my heart’s desire and it has always thrown me amongst the poor and enabled me to identify myself with them.” It is the service motive that makes servant leadership a spiritual idea, for all true service comes from an understanding of the unity of creation. 

Stephen R. Covey, author of the pathfinding 7 Habits series, argues “We’ve got to produce more for less and with greater speed than we’ve ever done before. The only way to do that in a sustained way is through the empowerment of people. And the only way to get empowerment is through high-trust cultures and an empowerment philosophy that turns bosses into servants and coaches and structures and systems into nurturing institutionalised servant processes.” Thus, modern economy can carry on with the strength of servant leader.

In recent years, a number of institutions have jettisoned the idea of a hierarchical model, where the leader decides everything and have replaced with a group oriented approach to decision making and execution. It also emphasizes the principle of making consensus and persuasion. Thus, effectively, it makes the pyramid reverse in the organization. In his essay Greenleaf titled ‘Trustees as Servants’, he asks two central questions, ‘Whom do you serve and for what purpose?’

In support of this concept, who time of the idea has come, there are many votaries advocating the concept . Dr N.H. Athreya , a management consultant says : “Either as a strategy or as conviction, unless you subscribe to the spiritual reality of things, servant leadership cannot work. For it comes from the realisation that all are children of God, and when serving mankind, you are serving God.” Suresh Pandit, another management consultant says: “In India we do not say, ‘do this’ or ‘do that’. We say: ‘Be like the sun or the tree or the cow. The sun serves the whole world without discrimination by burning itself to give light. The tree and the cow both abundantly give of themselves to the service of the world. Mothers are the best example of servant leadership. So are gurus, for they give without limits to their disciples.”

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Bhagawan Baba stated during Divine Discourse on 11th April 2005 that “A person cannot name himself a human being merely on the basis of his birth and educational qualifications. Actually, real humanness cannot be found in academic degrees. Even birds and beasts can be taught certain skills to perform wonderful feats imitating human beings. It is no credit to a human being deriving satisfaction simply by empty rhetoric, quoting Scriptures and relating to others. Real humanness consists in practising ideals in one's life and setting an example to others. Man has no authority to teach ideals to others without putting them into practice himself first.”

One of the key qualities of the true servant leader is that he is chosen by the people. When Mahatma Gandhi was returning to India after the conclusion of the case for which he had gone to South Africa, he was given a farewell party by his client, Seth Abdullah. Over there, he mentioned his concern for the Bill that was then before the House of Legislature that sought to deprive Indians of their franchise. Before he quite knew it, he had been elected by the people to stay on and fight for their rights. This was the beginning of his mission to serve humanity.

The servant leader serves others, rather than others serving the leader. Serving others thus comes by helping them to achieve and improve.There are two criteria of servant leadership:

The people served grow as individuals, becoming 'healthier, wiser, more autonomous and more likely themselves to become servants'

The extent to which the leadership benefits those who are least advantaged in society (or at least does not disadvantage them).

Larry Spears, former head of the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership identified in Greenleaf’s writings 10 characteristics of servant leaders. They are by no means exhaustive but he views them as central to the development of servant leaders. (They are, primarily, behavioral in nature.) The attributes are listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of others, and (a concern for) building community. Unlike the models mentioned earlier, which gaze at leadership through the prism of top-down organizational hierarchies, servant leadership emphasizes collaboration, empathy, trust, and the ethical use of power.

Given the context, a leader would like to follow the Servant Leadership Model. How do you know that you are close to a Servant Leader? You may ask yourself the following questions. If you answer is Yes to 7 or more questions, then you are close to a Servant Leader.

1. Do people believe that you are willing to sacrifice your own interest for the good of the group?

2. Do people believe that you want to hear their ideas and will value them? 3. Do people believe that you will understand what is happening in their lives

and how it affects them?4. Do people come to you when something catastrophic happens in their lives?5. Do people believe that you have strong awareness for what is going on?6. Do others follow your requests because they have to?7. Do others communicate their ideas and vision for the organization when you

are around?8. Do others have the confidence in your ability to anticipate the future and its

consequences?9. Do others believe that you are preparing the organization to make a positive

difference in the world 10. Do people believe that you are committed to helping them to develop and

grow?

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11. Do people have s strong sense of community in the organization that you lead?

Swami raises the concept of Servant Leadership to a higher plane. The problem with the management concept is that you may be thinking that you are doing a great job while helping others. Ego reduces the effectiveness of service. Swami tells that you think you come to Parthi to do Seva, but you come to serve your own self, just as you eat food for filling your own stomach. Man undertakes every activity for his self-fulfillment. Baba elaborated on the skills required for Sevadal by stating that “If you plant a sapling, it will grow into a plant in due course and yield beautiful flowers. However, the sapling by itself is not attractive. When the plant grows and yields flowers, the beauty of the flowers and fragrance therein will provide joy to one and all. There are several petals in a flower. The flower appears beautiful as long as there are petals in it. Once the petals fade and fall down, the flower ceases to exist. Hence, you should be like the petals of a beautiful flower. Let everyone experience the beauty and enjoy the fragrance of the flower in which you are like the petals.” This ensures that the Servant Leader makes himself redundant while giving his best for the humanity.

We can all practice the principle of Servant leadership provided we think that we are the first servant of the Lord and we are the instruments to serve the humanity. When ego disappears, spirit of servant leadership will elevate us to transform ourselves to achieve Divinity.

Tesham sukham saswatam. Tesham shanti shaswati (Infinite happiness   and infinite peace   come to him who sees the Self within and serves the Self in all beings).—Katha Upanishad

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