Peter A Hunter reviews Robert Greenleaf’s Servant Leadership.

In Charles Darwins “Origin of Species we see in the title the essence of the work. Between the covers lie wrapped in the mysterious prose of the age the basic tenets that support the title.
I have tried and failed to find the connection between the title and the groundbreaking theory that followed its publication but assume that others must have.

I have similarly found in the title of Robert Greenleaf’s book “Servant Leadership” a great concept that leaps out of the title, the leader being the servant of those he leads, but reading the book have also failed to make the connection between the words in the book and the concept embodied by the title. My failure in no way compromises Greenleaf’s concept summed up so succinctly by the sleeve notes which tell us.

“The servant leader is constantly attentive to the needs of others. In this way the leader becomes a follower and in so doing ensures that those served grow as people to become more autonomous, wiser and freer.”

In keeping with real truths Robert Greenleaf is not the inventor of the concept of the Servant Leader he is simply the rediscoverer for our generation. What Stephen Covey writes in the forward is that “There is nothing as powerful as an idea whose time has come. Servant Leaderships time has come.”

Starting from the premise that “Traditional high control top down management is simply not working” Greenleaf sets out to show the reader why and most importantly, what the alternative is.

Most management initiatives regardless of where they originate require others to be bought into the idea so that they can use it to make a difference in the organisation and this “Buy In” seems to take up an extraordinary amount of time looking for the edge that will compel people to follow the new initiative.

Servant Leadership is not about changing the way that other people work by training them or having focus groups or otherwise compelling them to conform. Servant Leadership is an acknowledgement that the way that we ourselves behave as leaders affects the behaviour of our workforce. The leader, by behaving in a traditional directive management manner can prevent his workforce from performing, becoming the Servant Leader stops that from happening and allows the workforce to grow to their full potential.

The book paraphrased by Stephen Covey in the forward tells us that true leadership is an inner quality as much as an exercise in authority.

He tells us that a low trust culture characterised by high control management, political posturing, protectionism, cynicism, and internal competition simply cannot compete with those organisations around the world that do empower people.

The message of “Servant Leadership” seems very clear. The way that the leader behaves dictates the way the people led behave. When the leader is controlling and directive he creates the environment in which his workforce cannot perform. When the leader is supportive and attentive to the needs of his workforce he allows them to engage and grow into their full potential.

The difference in performance between these two types of workforce is astonishing and as he says, “Only those organisations whose people willingly volunteer their creative talent will thrive as market leaders”

“Servant Leadership” is an acknowledgement that as leaders we are responsible for the performance of those we lead, not by our example but by the way we make them feel about what they do.

Servant Leadership is above all based on practise not talk. Leaders can change the performance of their organisations by changing the way they behave towards their workforce, because the leaders behaviour changes the way that the workforce feel about what they do.

It comes down to a simple choice. Continue telling the workforce what you think they should be doing and you make them incapable of doing what you want. Be attentive to their needs and the leader can draw out and develop the best in his workforce.

“Servant Leadership” has changed the way that Leadership is defined, I hope this book helps leaders to understand the power of that new definition.