Question

In his second essay, The Institution as Servant , Greenleaf wrote that “not much will change until the builders of institutions, those who have competence and strength, begin to move.” 5 He introduced the important role of board members in leading the institution toward distinction as servant. He discussed organizational structures, and argued for a team or “council of equals” instead of a single chief at the top of the organizational pyramid. He described the difference between conceptual and operating talent, and discussed the challenges of large businesses, universities, and growing edge churches. Thoughts?

Answer 1

The type of leadership mentioned by Greenleaf is Servant leadership which can be categorised as participative leadership. Under this type of leadship, as the name mentions, considers all the employees working in an organization as servants of the organization playing an equal role in the growth and development of the business. He mentioned such people who are on higher positions but need to participate in the business goals as both leaders to the subordinates and servant to the organization and hence termed as servant-leaders. This is a fruitful style of leadership where every level employee involves in the attainment of goals in their best efficient way and do not only work as a top authority to give order. They dont tell others what to do but instead do it with them showing them how to do things and encouraging them to be involved in the same way as they are. In this type of leadership the leader plays a role of one of them and makes it work as a strong built team. This way he can also build a strong bond with the team members and understand their capabilities and backgrounds which can help in proper distribution of work and responsibilities. By all means an organization that works on servant leadership with equal participation of the higher level of employees in the organization can make it work for effectively and bring new growths to the business.