Hi Folks
What a terrific conversation.
I share Joan's understanding of servant leadership - but confess to
agreeing with Robyn's assessment about the slippery nature of the
terminology. From my perspective working and researching in the
community sector there is a strong heroic agency alive and well,
manifesting strongly in martyrs and warriors - both of whom burn out
very quickly . My sense is that Greenleaf was keen to change the
leadership paradigm in certain large and corporate organisations, but I
have long worried about its interpretation in the community sector.
Thanks Robyn for articulating this tension.
Warmly
Lynda
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From: Practitioner-Researcher
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Joan Walton
Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2010 7:17 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Brief thoughts on Servant Leadership
Dear Robyn, Alan and All
My understanding of Servant Leadership (also based on the writings of
Robert Greenleaf, who was interested in the management of large
organisations) was that he was challenging the idea of leadership as
being hierarchical and / or 'leading from the front' - but rather
organisations would work better if people were operating on the basis
that they were serving each other. This led to more collaborative
practices, good team working etc.
So rather than seeing the leader as a servant, I think he was trying to
encourage everyone to see themselves as serving - and then ask
themselves that in serving, what leadership role they could play....
Joan
On 2 August 2010 21:43, Alan Markowitz <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Dear Robyn et al,
The concept of Servant Leadership goes far beyond servitude. The thought
that you may give up serving to assume leadership is far off of the mark
of this paradigm. As our institution is training leaders in all aspects
of education, we encourage them to invert the hierarchical pyramid so
that the leader is now in a position to see and assist all of the others
in the organization in moving it forward. I again encourage people to
review the work of Robert Greenleaf and Larry Spears. There is now an
international network on Servant Leadership that is actively growing..
Asking oneself what I can do to improve what I do may be facilitated
through the lense of Servant Leadership. Servant Leadership, in fact,
encourages self- reflection within your own contextual set of
relationships.
I look forward to the possibility of further dialogue
Dr. Alan Markowitz
Director, Graduate Programs in Education
On Mon, Aug 2, 2010 at 1:47 PM, 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
--
Dr Joan Walton
Director of the Centre for the Child and Family
Faculty of Education
Liverpool Hope University
Hope Park
Liverpool
L16 9JD
Phone: 0151 291 2115
Email: [log in to unmask]
