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What I like about the idea of servant leadership is that it poses the question as to what my leadership is in service to..........just my own ego/needs or those of the organization I belong to or something beyond both those? In Jack's way of thinking, what are the living values I am trying to realise/serve? -- "Education is Not the Filling of a Pail, but the Lighting of a Fire" (William Butler Yeats) It's *déjà vue *all over again http://livingandworkinginmexico.wordpress.com/ Dr Paul Roberts Calle Independencia #32-2 Ciudad Guzmán Jalisco México C.P. 49000 On 2 August 2010 12:47, Robyn Pound <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Dear All > > I find this an interesting discussion but may have missed some important > aspects of it and I am happy to be corrected. > > When I saw the title *Servant Leadership* I reacted on an instinctual > level (ie without words -a value mismatch -at first I was uncertain why ) A > more thoughtful response - there is something undemocratic in the notion. I > thought of the number of people in caring professions who are already > 'pleasers' and like to do everything for other people for all the reasons > that we 'pleasers' do. It is not necessarily very educational for the > receiver if it perpetuates inequality. I like the implied impulse to reduce > power relationships and in my own research named my intention to start where > the other people are is and go with them to the places they wanted to go. > This works in that it builds co operation and motivation and progress > happens when the others feel their power to influence; can recognise > themselves as legitimate knowers of stuff with control over their future. > > What it doesn't do is encourage the others (or me) to think about me and > what my my role is in this dynamic. This is still the biggie for me - how > do I take responsibility in response to things I see in the other's > behaviour? Where do the boundaries (sorry Alan Rayner) lie for what is me > and what is you? As a professional I might know things useful to the > situation or I may need to act on behalf of someone less powerful (a child) > against the others. For this reason I found enquirying into my own > practising by asking 'how can I improve what I am doing here?' such a help. > I was able to consider the expressed needs of the others in their > context and my own motivations (values) and question them. Where do my > values come from?, Why are they important to me? Do I actually do as I > claim, or wish to? Why not? This latter is where new sometimes competing > values come to light and the complexity of democratic being where I can work > at holding true to all of my values and confront the inappropriateness of > being a 'pleaser' in my search to do my best for the others. > I try not to be a scoundrel deliberately but I like the idea that it is > human, impossible, to get things right all of the time. It is therefore > useful and important to me that I foster relationships with the people where > there is room to move and imperfections in each of us can be tolerated. We > are living an aspect of our lives together as we all try to do life > nearer to the way we believe it should be. > > I don't know how much sense this makes but it was usefuk for me to think > about why I no longer wish to be a servant in my leadership role. > > I too feel emotional when I read the words of Lilla Watson's on my wall. > She said it for me: > *"If you've come to help us, we dont need your > help. * > * But if you've come because your liberation is bound > up * > * with ours, then let us work > together." * > ** > Robyn > * * > > > > > -- "Education is Not the Filling of a Pail, but the Lighting of a Fire" (William Butler Yeats) It's *déjà vue *all over again http://livingandworkinginmexico.wordpress.com/ Dr Paul Roberts Calle Independencia #32-2 Ciudad Guzmán Jalisco México C.P. 49000 tel: +52 (341) 412 6940 cel: +52 (341) 102 0774