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Interaction Paper 1
COMS 560 – B02
Sheena Patrick
February 14, 2016
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Abstract
This paper will discuss servant leadership along with the importance of and significance
of forgiveness in resolving conflict. Servant leadership will be defined and the traits of servant
leaders will be discussed. The importance of forgiveness will be presented along with the
importance of forgiveness in resolving conflict. The purpose and the answer to the question
presented by surveying journal articles.
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The Importance and Significance of “Forgiveness” in Resolving Conflict
How does servant leadership contribute to the importance of and significance of
forgiveness in resolving conflict?
Leadership
Leadership is when one attempts to motivate, influence, or mobilize an individual or a
group. “Leadership produces change by establishing direction, aligning people, motivating, and
inspiring” (Ortmeier & Meese III, 2010). Another definition of leadership is, “Leadership has
been described as the process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and
support of others in the accomplishment of a common task” (Malos, 2011). There are many
qualities of leadership, competencies of leadership, traits of leadership, and styles of leadership.
Some qualities of leadership are understanding, courage, compassion, respectfulness, and
genuineness. “Accordingly, contemporary authors often focus on leadership competencies—that
is, the abilities to do things rather than feel things” (Ortmeier & Meese III, 2010).
Traits of Leaders
The key leaders traits are: drive, which includes achievement motivation, ambition,
energy, tenacity, and initiative; leadership motivation; honesty and integrity; self-confidence;
cognitive ability, and knowledge of the business (Malos, 2011). “While all leaders have the
ability to manage, only a small portion of managers have the necessary skills to become strong
leaders, leaders with edge, and this is stifling business growth” (Richardson, 2013). Although
most leaders occupy positions of authority, leadership is not management. “Leadership, which is
broader than management, occurs anytime one attempts to motivate, influence, or mobilize an
individual or a group” (Ortmeier & Meese III, 2010). Leadership is a position of power but
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effective leaders don’t let power distract their agenda. “Effective leaders do not see power as
something that is competed for but rather as something that can be created and distributed to
followers without detracting from their own power” (Malos, 2011).
Servant Leadership
“Servant leadership is a long-term, transformational approach to both life and work”
(Finley, 2012). Robert Greenleaf came up with the term servant leadership in 1970. The
perspective behind servant leadership is that the servant-leader is first a servant. Serving is
natural to the servant leader and then their conscious makes them want to lead. “Servant leaders
are concerned with mutual trust and a desire to shift from self interest to service” (Finley, 2012).
Change is welcomed by servant leaders. Servant leaders are influenced by others are they are
willing to accept new experiences and new challenges. “A true servant leader helps others grow
and live through a new dynamic role, one with risk and responsibility” (Finley, 2012).
One of the highest priorities of a servant leader is to encourage, support, and enable
subordinates to unfold their full potential and abilities. Servant leadership is associated with the
participative leadership style. Participative leadership style is when a leader encourages and
facilitates participation by his or her subordinates in making decisions and solving problems that
the leader would normally do alone. “Participative leaders encourage different ideas and
opinions from subordinates and intentionally promote task conflict among subordinates” (Yan,
2011).
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is a process that consists of letting go of feelings of revenge and desires to
retaliate. When a person forgives, their thoughts are changed about the transgression and the
transgressor. The process of forgiveness happens over time. Forgiveness is necessary to help an
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individual grow and the choice not to forgive can become unhealthy. Forgiveness is a mental
process, an individual’s response toward another person in a hurtful situation. Just because a
person forgives, that does not mean that reconciliation has or will take place. Forgiveness is
better for us and the other person, as it allows us to act freely again and not react out of past pain.
Forgiveness begins with the transgressor understanding, recognizing, and admitting to
their offensive nature. This is usually followed by an apology and asking for forgiveness. The
offended person may choose to not forgive or forgive the other. Transgressors may be willing to
change, realizing their errors of their ways, and are truly sorry for their transgressions. Once a
person forgives, they must let go of their anger, resentment, and revenge. The offended person
may choose to communicate their forgiveness to the offender or they may not communicate their
forgiveness. Often times, it is easier to forgive when the other person admits guilt or offers an
apology.
Conflict and Forgiveness within Servant Leadership
Conflict exists in everyday life, but is more prevalent where there is leadership. Conflict
arises within service leadership because the followers are not humble and willing to follow their
leaders. A major quality of a great leader is that they are understanding. Servant leadership is a
different type of leadership because its focus is to serve others. A servant leader is supposed to
help others grow and we know that forgiveness is a process that helps us as individuals grow.
When conflict arises, a servant leader has to be sure that they demonstrate forgiveness. As a
servant leader, leading by example is extremely important. Followers of leaders must be able to
trust their leaders. A servant leader is supposed to demonstrate the work of the God, so leaders
must be sure that their followers can trust them.
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References
Cahn, D., & Abigail, R. (2014). Managing conflict through communication fifth edition
Finley, S. (2012). Servant leadership: A literature review. Review of Management Innovation &
Creativity, 5(14)
Malos, R. (2011). Leadership's trait theories. Economic Studies
Ortmeier, P., & Meese III, E. (2010). Leadership, ethics, and policing challenges for the
21st century second edition.
Richardson, A. (2013). How to be a leader with edge. Management Services, 57(4),
Yan, J. (2011). An empirical examination of the interactive effects of goal orientation,
participative leadership and task conflict on innovation in small business. Journal of
Developmental Entrepreneurship, 16(3)
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