Greenleaf Seminars©

The CEO as Servant Leader

October 10, 2012The Nonprofit Partnership

Erie, Pa.Facilitator: Bob PhippsContent providers: You !

© Copyright The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership 20081

Servant Leadership

IntroductionsThis is not a corrective seminar….rather it builds on

things you may have experienced as a leader or follower over the years !

Normal length is 3.5 hours/ we are limited today to 1 hour and 15 minutes, so it will be an introduction .

Materials come from similar seminars done for many companies/agencies/organizations under the auspices of The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership.

Questions and Answers About Servant Leadership by Kent Keith is our primary text with references to other materials found in the leadership field.

I am working on the concepts as well, and have been for a long time (i.e. connecting concepts to my own actions).2

Some expectations (of each other) for our time together

Listen care-fullyOption to passSpeak for yourselfExpect unfinished businessRecognize the variety of opinion

dimension in the room !Take responsibility for your own

learning !Note what is of meaning to

you….power point can be e-mailed if you so desire.

Agenda-To share with participants the background and

history of the servant leader approach.-To help participants understand the contrast

between the power model of leadership and the servant model of leadership.

-To assist participants in “personalizing” their approach to leadership and apply servant leader principles to their own lives.

-To introduce the seven key practices of a servant leader and help individuals incorporate these practices into their own leadership style.

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But first …

Draw a time line of your life from the early teen years until now…..

-Names (positions) of those who “mentored you” or who you would characterize as individuals who served you

-Characteristics of those persons….what were they like. What were things they did/didn’t do. Things they said/didn’t say !

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The desire to serveServant leadership begins with the desire to serve

Universal recognition of the importance of serving others can be found in many religions

Serving others is not just something we do– it ought to be the way in which we do our work !

Purdue University is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access instiution.

Power Based Service Based

DIFFERENCESPower Base Leadership

Making people do thingsHierarchyGrabbingPower is a goalFocus on personal creditCreate dependencyPatriarchy

Service Base Leadership

Help people do thingsAnybody can serveGivingPower is a toolFocus on the goalEmpowerPartnership

Purdue University is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access institution.

The Servant-Leader 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 lead

That person is sharply different from one who is leader first.

The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types.

ROBERT K. GREENLEAF, THE SERVANT AS LEADER © 1991, 2008

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Seven Key Practices(a review of the way in which a servant leader “lives”)

1.Self-Awareness2.Listening3.Dealing with the pyramid4.Developing your colleagues5.Coaching, not controlling6.Unleashing the energy and

intelligence of others7.Foresight

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Self-Awareness

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One’s own strengths and weaknesses. Emotional intelligence. The impact of one’s words and deeds.

It’s not just what we do (enhance the lives of those we touch by

empowering them to reach their goals), it’s how we do it ! Reflection. Humbleness. Being comfortable with myself which invites…trust, open

feedback, willingness to give up control.

“We recognize the importance of accurate information. We practice open, truthful, and timely communication with veterans, employees, and external stakeholders. By carefully listening and responding to their concerns, we seek continuous improvement in our programs and services.”

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Listening

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Key to understanding how to identify the needs of others

Servant leaders don’t begin with the answer- but with questions.

Indian talking stick used by Covey when facilitating the World Leadership Forum among Christians, Jews, and Muslims.

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Thinking about servant leadership… (focus person)

How would those you work with describe your leadership style. What is a leadership trait you are working at strengthening ?

What causes a person that desires to be a servant leader to migrate to the power model of leadership ? How do you safeguard against this ?

How can you be consistent and fair as a servant leader while upholding the business expectations of the organization ?

Dealing with the pyramid

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Structure in itself is not bad…we all need some structure !

In the traditional pyramid, the workforce is focused on the boss, not the customer.

Blanchard: Servant leader articulates vision, then inverts the pyramid to help colleagues implement.

A pyramid is lonely at the top: abnormal and corrupting for the leader.

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The Alternative:

Flatten the pyramid—have a team at the top!

Everyone serves down, across and up

You can influence within your “own” pyramid.

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Developing Your Colleagues

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Greenleaf’s business ethic: the work exists for the person as much as the person exists for the work.

Kendal Corporation starts before employment -hiring the right staff !

Volunteers may be seeking a new talent or gift they have not been able to develop elsewhere.

Four levels of learning.

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Four Levels of Learning

Unconscious Competence

Conscious Competence

Conscious Incompetence

Unconscious Incompetence

Coaching, not Controlling

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The traditional focus on “control”.

Servant leaders coach and mentor.

James Autry: list of six things he believes about leadership.

Developing others focuses on the potential leaders needs and desires.

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Unleashing the energy and intelligence of others

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Creating an environment where people are encouraged to use their energy and intelligence.

People become empowered when you provide them with three things: opportunity, freedom and security.

People are the biggest asset most organizations have, so not using that asset is wasteful.

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Foresight

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Greenleaf said foresight is the central ethic of leadership, the “lead” that the leader has.

Not predicting specific events, but the underlying trends, issues, patterns that help identify a future direction.

A good “chess player” looks five moves ahead…. foresight. A good hockey player skates to where the puck is going to be….

foresight. It takes a leader with vision to see the future leader within the

person (John Maxwell). Arie de Geus: example of forecasting when the rivers will swell

and flood the valleys. A& P vs Kroger.

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Three stories of servant leadership:

YMOT (Tom Stenavin)Robert Rogers (lose

yourself in service to others)

Six jars of peanut butter….

What to call it…

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The seven key practices can be called:Serving leadershipService-oriented leadershipNeeds-based leadershipLevel 5 leadership (Collins)Co-Leadership (Heenan & Bennis)

Robert K. Greenleaf

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The servant-leader is servant first … then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.

The best test (of servant leadership) is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?

And what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?24

The Paradoxical Commandments

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People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centeredLOVE THEM ANYWAY

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motivesDO GOOD ANYWAY

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemiesSUCCEED ANYWAY

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrowDO GOOD ANYWAY

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerableBE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest mindsTHINK BIG ANYWAY

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The Paradoxical Commandments

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People favor underdogs but follow only top dogsFIGHT FOR A FEW UNDERDOGS ANYWAY

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnightBUILD ANYWAY

People really need help but may attack you if you do help themHELP PEOPLE ANYWAY

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teethGIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU HAVE ANYWAY

© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, 2001 all rights reserved www.paradoxicalcommandments.com

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The Paradoxical Commandments

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Even when the world is going badly, we can still find personal meaning and deep happiness

As individuals, we can’t control external factors, but we can keep in mind the words of Viktor Frankl:

“Everything can be taken from a man but….the last of the human freedoms-to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way”

Viktor E. Frankl in Man’s Search for Meaning

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SummaryServant leadership is ethical,

practical, and meaningful.Serving others is not just something

you do. It’s what life is about.Be a servant leader and make your

organization a success.Be a servant leader and look back on

a life filled with meaning.

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So what….how could these two hours make a difference ?

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Identify one leadership trait you would like to work at strengthening.

Develop your strategy as to how you are going to strengthen that trait.

Find a “trusted” accountability partner that you can share your plan with and who can give you regular feedback on how you are doing.

Thank you!

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