Servant leadership Research paper

Running head: BIBLICAL INTEGRATION PROJECT

2

BIBLICAL INTEGRATION PROJECT

Biblical Integration Project – Group Paper

Dontaye Taylor, Orion Barnes, Randy Lew, Anthony Brown, & Gloria Patterson

School of Business, Liberty University

Author Note

Dontaye A. Taylor, Orion Barnes, Randy Lew, Anthony Brown, & Gloria Patterson

We have no known conflict of interest to disclose.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dontaye A. Taylor.

Email: [email protected]

Abstract

Leadership is the opportunity to influence others and model the love of Christ, by helping others see Christ in you. Leaders influence others to perfect and shape their character to reach maturity levels that are life changing and leading individuals to Christ. We are not to be selfish, but we are to be unselfish in order to help others advance in their development of becoming a leader. Robert K. Greenleaf says it best, “The most effective leaders are those who serve.” We are all here in this world to serve and develop our character for Christ. It is a high priority for us to serve others like Christ did. Jesus is the greatest leader and role model that helps us as individuals to think of others before ourselves. This paper will analyze the perspective of Robert K. Greenleaf’s servant leadership perspective in a biblical structure and model for us to follow. The goal is to determine if Greenleaf’s servant leadership guide lines up with principles and facts of what Christians learn from the word of God, and biblical resources. Servant Leadership is not to be taken lightly. People will be held accountable for their leadership responsibilities and duties as Christians and servant leaders. “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31, King James Version). .

Key Words: Greenleaf, servant leader, Christ

Part I: Synthesis and Overview

As a class, there had been discussions and readings behind Robert K Greenleaf’s theory of servant leadership and its correlation to the Christian faith. Comparing Greenleaf’s theory to the biblical perspective, there are several things that contradict with. As a team, we focused on pointing out the deficiencies between Greenleaf’s theory and the leadership of Jesus. His form of reflection represents optimism in leadership, which could help in building a serving society. Leaders have to model principles that are counterintuitive to the concept of leadership (Eva et al., 2019). As presented by Greenleaf, a servant leader is considered a person who has a feeling of serving others (Hodges, 2019). Servant leadership is based on the fact that Jesus called us to serve, as indicated in John 12:26. The main aspect of servant leadership based on Greenleaf is the primary recipient of our service (Tran & Spears, 2020). The servant leader serves first rather than being served.

Greenleaf’s servant leadership theory capitalizes on serving others first, while the biblical perspective is to serve God first (Matthew 22:37-38), then others (Matthew 22:39), and lastly, yourself (Duby,2009). In Greenleaf’s book, Servant Leadership, he focuses on true servant leaders has the natural tendency to lead and serve others first as the main priority. The desire to serve others ultimately comes down to the will of the leader, but Christians are servant leaders for their identities in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). This idea comes from an insightful desire to serve others, assuring the needs of others are fulfilled over that of the leader’s (Blanchard & Hodges 2005). Greenleaf provides the unworldly aspect of being a servant leader. The attitude and action of serving followers is what separates a servant leader from a regular leader. One of the main teachings of Jesus is “just as the Son of Man do not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28, New International Version (NIV), 1978). Servant leadership is an aspect of realism and ownership that was conceived by Robert Greenleaf. He defines a servant leader as an individual who focuses on the needs of others before their own, thus a servant (Gandolfi & Stone, 2018).

The servant leadership aspect is based on the biblical foundation of Jesus Christ as a leader who acknowledges other people’s perspectives and focuses on their needs (Burch et al., 2015). Servant leadership theory is on leaders whose primary aim is to serve their followers while developing employees to their fullest potential in different areas such as task effectiveness, community stewardship, self-motivation, and the development of their leadership capabilities (Van Dierendonck & Patterson, 2014; 2015). Greenleaf knew the value of leadership which is helping others and transforming minds in the way that if they followed simple principles they were on their way to stewardship. When you have a strong willingness and a desire to help others you are own the right path. Serving God comes first, and Greenleaf focus was on the needs of man rather than the needs of God first.

Duby (2009) states that the Greenleaf Servant leadership perspective is anchored on an optimistic model that encourages leaders to legitimize their power and help build a collective serving society. The leaders must have a desire to serve, and the principle should be inherent in the leader. Servant leadership begins with the natural feeling that one wants to help others. For Christian faithful, the concept of Servant leadership is not new as the teachings in Mathew 20:26 state "……. if one wants to be great, he must be a servant for the rest” (1769/2017). All aspiring servant leaders must first gauge if they are ready and willing to subscribe to Jesus' teachings as outlined in the Bible.

Greenleaf's perspective on servant leadership is also based on the greatest commandment where God is first, then others. The perspective is built from proverbs 1:7, which states that “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” The basic message on the verse is that good servants are those who fear the Lord since he is the source of instruction and wisdom (Tran & Spears, 2020). Proverbs 3:3-7 goes further to insist that good leaders should trust the Lord with all their hearts and should not depend on their understanding (Locke, 2019). Trusting the Lord is the real meaning of servant leadership, which entails keeping his commands, laws, and decrees (Duby, 2009).

Spears (1996) state Greenleaf's Servant leadership perspective as a way of every leader balancing on leading and serving other people within their own lives. Greenleaf's philosophy is to encourage those in a leadership position to primarily focus on helping other people and encourage those in follower positions to grab situational opportunities that provide leadership. Individuals in institutions have adopted servant leadership as a principle guiding philosophy. Greenleaf focused on servant leadership as applied to the board of directors and trustees within institutions. Greenleaf argued that those in leadership positions in institutions must be ready to answer the simple questions of "Who do they serve" and, "For what purposes”? Individuals in such leadership positions must undergo radical shifts in how they approach their roles to help create institutions with great depth and quality, leading to a more significant impact on society.

Through the open-mindedness of a servant leadership the leader must be open to teach, act, develop, and learn to withdraw and return. A function of servant leaders is the teaching and developing followers to be servant leaders. The word of god is the best place to start for servant leaders. “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16, NIV, 1978). A servant leader must be clear minded before taking action to achieve the best results. “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ,” (1 Peter 1:13).

Finally, a servant leader must have the ability to withdraw from a bad situation and return to it. “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed, (Luke 5:16). Spears (2004) view Greenleaf's perspective of servant leadership to build upon an individual's principles, including listening to others, empathy, healing, awareness, and commitment to other people's growth. Servant leaders must be ready to identify the will of other people and help clarify. Individuals in Servant leadership positions must accept and recognize their unique and unusual spirits. Healing of others and self is essential in servant leadership. Greenleaf asserted that servant leadership must have an understanding of wholeness for the people they lead.

Part II: Biblical Foundation

The servant leadership style is the main type of leadership that is shown throughout the bible. Jesus started to lead when he was a young boy (Luke 2:41-52, NIV, 1978). Learning to integrate how Jesus led (servant leadership), into our modern-day society, Dr. Fischer’s covenantal model helps us to put “historical and practical framework for leadership” in our current organization (Fischer, 2011). Leading and serving is misconstrued because leadership is viewed as asserting dominance and serving is passive. This view is wrong because, “leadership and service are not separate and contradictory terms, but are two sides of the same coin” (Duby, 2009). As God sent his Son, Jesus, to earth, Jesus is that bridge between God and man. He came for the purpose to show people their identity and purpose in Christ. Servant-leaders are molded to take care of the needs of the people fist, while developing and accomplishing the organization’s goals (Andersen, 2009).

Looking into Module 3’s presentation, the top-down hierarchy model and down-top model are the same. Employees are to be at the top of the pyramid, taking care of organization’s goals, while leaders are serving the employees and supporting their employees (2020). A servant leader must possess the willingness to seek God’s wisdom and direction acquire the leadership skills necessary for success. Greenleaf’s emphasis “growth, not in terms of external achievement, but in the things that are important in the quite hours when one is alone with oneself…”(Greenleaf 1996).

The core principles and values of servant-leadership is serving first (Washington, Sutton, Field, 2006). Blanchard and Hodges (2003) states that self-serving leaders are people who are power hungry, want recognition, and is more afraid of losing their position than giving majority of their efforts to their employees, while servant-leaders emphasize their highest priority is to serve others. Leaders empower their employees by helping them mold into a better person, and by making them better, they will naturally want to accomplish the organization’s goals. This is an example how Christ mentored his disciples, by showing them their purpose in Him, they became better people, who eventually changed the world. By building trust and loyalty, this makes more effective teams, which will reflect on the leader. This is accomplished by having your “heart right”, “If you don’t get the heart right, your leadership will never reflect how Jesus led” (Blanchard, Hodges, Hendry, 2016)

Being an effective servant-leader takes time. By creating a positive environment, trust and loyalty is built. Lynch (2013) states that, “striving to build a spiritual workplace and working to improve society-completes the paradigm and makes it more valuable as a leadership theory.” Christ was paving the road to God, so we will be saved even though we are not deserving of it. Servant-leaders are of the same, they pave the way even though some people may not be deserving of their time. Servant-leaders put aside time to ensure that their employees are taken care of, so that they want to come to work.

Leadership is a heart issue and changes from the inside, which is a foundation of leading like Christ. Proverbs 4:23 states that above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (NIV, 1978). Leading as Christ starts from getting our hearts right (Blanchard, 2018). Romans 10:10 insist that it is by one's heart that one believes that one is justified, and they believe (1978). It is through one’s heart that belief in Jesus changes everything (Blanchard & Hodges, 2016). The heart is very important in leadership since love is restored, and scriptures are banked there. The heart includes the soul, the will, and the determination to lead like Christ. Behaviours in leadership can only change with a change of the heart.

Another biblical foundation of servant leadership is love. Matthew 22: 37-39 states that loving the Lord and one’s neighbor is the first and great commandment. The greatest description of love is in 1 Chorinthians13:4-7, which is vital in understanding why, how, and what to do in service (1978). Servant leadership must be based on loving as Jesus deed (Blanchard & Hodges, 2016). The scriptures insist on the need to do everything in love, which has a blessing. Jesus, in his mission, did all things in love; he healed the people because he loved them and not because they deserved it. His death on the cross is a clear depiction of love. Serving others as Jesus did must be founded in love, guiding everything one does and says.

Van Dierendonck (2010) defines servant leadership as leadership inspired by ideas and is more people-centered. Servant leadership is demonstrated by leaders who are ready to develop and empower other people in society. A servant leader should express humility, authenticity, interpersonal acceptance, stewardship, and clear direction for others. Servant leadership is based on the servant's functions but not as a master for individuals who subscribe to the Christian teachings. The biblical perspective of any servant leadership is to learn from Jesus' teachings and works towards serving other people. We are guided to be aware of false and evil leaders (Liberty University, 2020). Mathew 15:14 states “Let them alone: they are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (King James Bible, 1769/2017).

Servant leaders must acknowledge that leadership is a transformational journey. As a servant leader the way you serve the vision is by developing people so that they can work on that vision even when you’re not around (Blanchard, K., & Hodges, P., 2003). Gordon (2003) state that Jesus Christ is the embodiment of servant leadership. The current leaders should lay aside anything associated with prestige or the world's success and control ideas. Leaders should be ready to serve their juniors just as symbolized by Jesus when he washed his disciples' feet. From the biblical foundation of Servant leadership must discover and accept the Lord in their life to get Biblical instructions and guidance on serving other people. . Our servant leadership is to be a living statement of who we are in Jesus (Blanchard, K., Hodges, P., & Hendry, P., 2016). Without a proper understanding of the word of God on leadership, many are bound to fail. The Bible readings of week two under Proverbs 1:7 stipulate that "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline" (2020).

References

Andersen, J. A. (2009). When a servant-leader comes knocking… Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol.30, Iss.1. Retrieved from: https://search

proquestcom.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/226929647/D2ADF3B1406E47F0PQ/1?accountid=12085

Blanchard, K. (2018). Servant leadership in action: How you can achieve great relationships and results (1st ed.). Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Blanchard, K., & Hodges, P. (2003). The servant leader: Transforming your heart, head, hands & habits. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. ISBN: 9780849996597.

Blanchard, K., Hodges, P., & Hendry, P. (2016). Lead like Jesus Revisited: Lessons for everyone from the greatest leadership role model of all time. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. ISBN: 9780718077259.

Burch, M. J., Swails, P., & Mills, R. (2015). Perceptions of administrators' servant leadership qualities at a Christian university: A descriptive study. Education, 135(4), 399-404. https://www .scirp.org/(S(i43dyn45teexjx455qlt3d2q))/reference/Reference sPapers.aspx?ReferenceID=2056190

Coulter, Gordon L. (2003). The servant leader. Christian Education, 7(1), 23-45.

Duby, D. G. (2009). The greatest commandment: The foundation for biblical servant leadership. Liberty Business Review, 7, 52-57. Available at: http://works.bepress.com/david_duby/2

Eva, N., Robin, M., Sendjaya, S., van Dierendonck, D., & Liden, R. C. (2019). Servant leadership: A systematic review and call for future research. The Leadership Quarterly, 30(1), 111-132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2018.07.004

Fischer, K., & Duby, D. (2011). Self-Directed Learning and the Impact of Leadership: Analyzing Keys for Success from a Covenantal Perspective. American Journal of Educational Studies, Vol. 4, No.1. Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.liberty.

edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1045&context=busi_fac_pubs

Gandolfi, F., & Stone, S. (2018). Leadership, leadership styles, and servant leadership. Journal of Management Research, 18(4), 261-269. https://www.lasnny.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Leadership-Leadership-Styles-and-Servant-Leadership.pdf

Hodges, D. Z. (2019). Servant leadership generates faithful followers. Dean and Provost, 20(6), 3. https://doi.org/10.1002/dap.30549

King James Bible. (2017). King James Bible Online. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/

(Original work published 1769)

Liberty University. (2020). BUSI 502: Servant leadership. Bible Readings for Module/Week 1. https://learn.liberty.edu

Liberty University. (2020). BUSI 502: Servant leadership. Bible Readings for Module/Week

2. https://learn.liberty.edu

Liberty University. (2020). BUSI 502: Servant leadership. Bible Readings for Module/Week 3. https://learn.liberty.edu

Liberty University. BUSI-502 Servant leadership Module/Week 3. The head of a servant leader. [Audio Presentation]. Available from http://www.liberty.edu.

Locke, L. G. (2019). The clay feet of servant leadership. Journal of Biblical Integration in Business, 22(1). 34-42. https://cbfa-jbib.org/index.php/jbib/article/view/519

Lynch, J., Friedman, H. H. (2013) Servant Leader, Spiritual Leader: The Case for Convergence. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics. Vol 10, Iss 2, Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/145914 3599/D2ADF3B1406E47F0PQ/5?accountid=12085

Spears, Larry. (1996). Reflections on Robert K. Greenleaf and servant leadership. 

Leadership & Organization Development, 17(7), 33-35.

Spears, Larry C. (2004). Practicing servant-leadership: Leader to Leader.

Tran, D. Q., & Spears, L. C. (2020). Servant-leadership and community: Humanistic perspectives from Pope John XXIII and Robert K. Greenleaf. Humanistic Management Journal, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41463-020-00089-4

Van Dierendonck, D. (2010). Servant leadership: A review and synthesis. Journal of Management, 37(4), 1228-1261. doi: 10.1177/0149206310380462

Van Dierendonck, D., & Patterson, K. (2014; 2015). Compassionate love as a cornerstone of

servant leadership: An integration of previous theorizing and research. Journal of Business Ethics, 128(1), 119-131. doi:10.1007/s10551-014-2085-z