The Power of Servant-Leadership

Introduction

LARRY SPEARS

“The servant-leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. The best test is: do those served grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?”

Robert K. Greenleaf, The Servant as Leader, 1970

With that initial definition of servant-leadership in 1970, Robert K. Greenleaf planted a seed of an idea that continues to grow in its influence on society with each passing year. In fact, during the 1990s, we have witnessed an unparalleled explosion of interest and practice of servant-leadership. In many ways, it can be said that the times are only now ...