Question

Write 250-450 words, about the following: • Analyze how a servant leader in your organization or community exercises leadership through the act of serving. • Evaluate how service in your organization or community builds character, integrity, and inspires professional growth.

Answer 1

Servant Leadership is a kind of leadership in which an individual gives priority to serve others over self-interest. This choice to serve others is a conscious choice, a way of being, in which the individual,i.e the leader takes an active role in serving others through leadership. In an organization, they serve the subordinates or employees through the act of serving by building a community, showing empathy towards the employees, healing, listening, and showing the trust in their employees. Building a community refers to the basic involvement of the leader with the community. It is emphasizing that local communities are essential in a person's life. In the organization, servant leader shows empathy i.e he understands others and accepts subordinates with how they and what they are because they believe in nurturing the professionals and spiritual growth of others. Listening which is an important part of communication lacks in most of the leadership styles, but servant leaders in the organization listen to his subordinates and thus he can easily find the potential strength and weaknesses in the employees. Trust helps in creating the ethical environment in the workplace. If a leader trusts the employees, it creates an ethical environment in the workplace and sends a message to the subordinates that trusting each other, can lead to a positive atmosphere in the workplace and thus also encourages the exchange of ideas. This, in turn, leads to creativity and innovativeness in the activities carried out in an organization.

Service is the core of servant leadership. Service in leadership has a moral imperative. Building character includes core characteristics like wisdom and knowledge, courage, humanity, and justice. Service helps in building all these characteristics through training and development programs in the organization. Integrity is also called faithfulness. Servant leaders are true to their word and can be trusted under any condition. Trust in the employees and employees' trust in the leader both play a major role in the organization. Service in the organization makes the employees trust their leader because the leader gives preference to serve others over self-interest. Commitment to serve others is the most important aspect of service in an organization. Service also inspires professional growth. An individual who has been served by a servant leader in the most appropriate manner will become servant leaders of others. Servant leaders in the organization focus on nurturing professional and thus their service inspires the professional growth of employees. Service brings the involvement of the leader with the community at a basic level so that they can understand the will of the employees. After identifying the will of employees, a servant leader can improve the employee in the most effective way.