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If someone asks whether you are a leader you might say no because you don't have that sort of role. To make matters worse, you may look up to leaders to such an extent that you don't think you could ever be one yourself. It is important to be sure that your self-perception doesn't become a self-fulfilling prophecy, that because you think you can never be a leader, you never will be one. This is a problem for many people because we are so strongly inclined to idealize or look up to leaders as if they were on a lofty plane out of reach of the rest of us ordinary mortals.
Traditionally, the leader sits at the top of a hierarchy. This is a very primitive concept of leadership. Most higher animals also form themselves into hierarchies, which is biologically and psychologically primitive. Why have we not progressed beyond our animal cousins?
Our primary image of the leader comes from the military. Great leaders have always been heroes, especially military heroes. Hero worship is OK if it inspires us to greater heights. But bad if it disempowers us, making us dependent on heroes. Military heroes know where to go and how to get there so can lead from the front. Organizations today need everyone thinking about new directions to pursue.
We are told that leaders inspire others and facilitate success. But we shouldn't confuse motivation and coaching with leadership. We need to get back to the basics of what leadership is all about. Leadership has always been, fundamentally, about indicating what direction to take. Business today is too complex for those at the top to determine direction all the time. Expecting only those at the top to be leaders, we distort the concept to fit what they do.
Advocates of servant leadership have admirable values and aims. It is thus unfortunate that they confuse the meaning of leadership with its application. We need a different concept, one that everyone can accept: the post-heroic manager.
It is widely assumed that a vision is essential to lead others. The truth is that leaders provide direction but that can range from a good idea for a minor change to a grand vision like JFK's vision of putting a man on the moon by the end of the 1960's.
Why is leadership portrayed in terms of how managers manage people? How can you be said to LEAD people when you have the authority to tell them what to do? Business leadership is often portrayed as a decision making exercise. The CEO decides what to do and that is called leadership. But, another way of looking at this situation would be to conceptualize this action as a managerial or executive act, not one of leadership. An interesting point here is that the field of leadership studies has been dominated by people interested in CEO and business leadership but this is a narrow lens through which to study leadership.
Servant leadership is a very popular leadership model. It was developed by Robert K. Greenleaf in 1970. The servant leader serves the people he/she leads, which implies that employees are an end in themselves rather than a means to an organizational purpose or bottom line. Servant leadership is meant to replace command and control models of leadership, to be more focused on the needs of others.
What traits distinguish servant leaders from other kinds of leaders? What is so special about a servant leader? And, do you have what it takes to be one yourself? Here is a list of proposed servant leader characteristics.
We spend a lot of time thinking about leadership. When things go wrong, we blame leaders - a useful scapegoat. When we feel anxious, we look to leaders to make us feel better. As the pressure to succeed grows, so does our need for leaders. What does it say about us that we so strongly need leaders?