SERVANT LEADERSHIP FOR LIBRARY EFFECTIVENESS HOW THE BEST LEADERS SUCCEED PRESENTED BY AVA L. BARRETT

GOALS FOR THIS PRESENTATION 1. To help participants to better understand the concept of Servant Leadership 2. To recognize an example of this leadership style in another organization 3. To introduce the seven dimensions of Servant Leadership 4. To help participants understand how they could apply the dimensions 5.Participants will see the viability of this leadership style for libraries

HOW DO YOU DEFINE SERVANT LEADERSHIP ?

HISTORY OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP Contributors to its Development

ROBERT GREENLEAF

GREENLEAF’S DEFINITION

SOME SERVANT LEADERSHIP QUOTES “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.” ― Max De Pree “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” ― Mahatma Gandhi “Life’s most urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” ― Martin Luther King, Jr. “One of the great ironies of life is this: He or she who serves almost always benefits more than he or she who is served.” ― Gordon B. Hinckley “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” ― Rabindranath Tagore

POST-GREENLEAF SERVANT LEADERS

POST-GREENLEAF Larry Spears: President/CEO of Greenleaf center for 25 years. Author of hundreds of publications on Servant Leadership. Founded the Spears Center. James Autry: President of magazine group for Meredith Corporation. Author of eight books. Focus on implementation. James C. Hunter: 25 years in Servant Leadership. Two of the most popular books on Servant Leadership. Consulted many of the world’s most admired companies. Others: Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Peter M. Senge, Jim Collins Used by Permission Following Greenleaf, a wealth of Servant Leadership experts emerged.

EXAMPLES OF MODERN SERVANT LEADERS Used by Permission Introduction > Background > Characteristics > Paradoxes > Practice > Examples > More Herb Kelleher Howard Behar Sam Walton Jimmy CarterThe Dalai Lama Nelson Mandela Countless Unknown

ORGANIZATIONS PRACTICING SERVANT LEADERSHIP Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For: 1/3 of Top 10 of America’s Most Admired Companies Used by Permission Introduction > Background > Characteristics > Paradoxes > Practice > Examples > More

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES : SERVANT LEADERSHIP AT WORK

SOUTHWEST’S MISSION Southwest Airlines is dedicated to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride and company spirit. (Freiberg and Freiberg, 1996)

SOUTHWEST’S COMMITMENT TO ITS FIRST CUSTOMERS – ITS EMPLOYEES Employees receive equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged for improving the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines. Above all, employees will be provided the same concern, respect and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest customer.

SOUTHWEST’s ACHIEVEMENTS Named one of the Top Five Best Companies to Work for in America by Fortune magazine several years in a row. Fewest customer complaints 18 years in a row, as reported by the DOT Air Travel Consumer Report. Profitable for 31 consecutive years. Named the Second Most Admired Company in America by Fortune magazine. Has an average employee turnover rate of less than 10. $10,000 investment in Southwest Airlines in 1972 would be worth more than $10 million today. Developed strong employee and customer loyalty - a feeling of devotion, duty and attachment to Southwest.

SERVANT LEADERSHIP’S IMPACT ON ORGANIZATIONS

SERVANT LEADERSHIP’S IMPACT ON ORGANIZATIONS (Cont’d) 1. High Organization Performance 2. High Employee Performance 3. Heightened Trust 4. Greater Team Performance 5. Low Staff Turnover 6. Greater Employee Satisfaction 7. Greater Employee Commitment

Dimensions of Servant Leadership Emotional healing – sensitivity to other’s feelings Creating value for the community - genuine concern for helping the community Conceptual skills - knowledgeable enough to assist and support others Empowering - encouraging and facilitating others Helping followers grow and succeed - genuine concern for others' career growth and development Putting followers first - words and actions to assure high regard of follower’s needs Behaving ethically - interacting openly, fairly, and honestly with others

HOW TO BECOME A SERVANT LEADER: Translating the dimensions into real-world practice

BALANCING THE PARADOX OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP Used by Permission StrongBe Open To Chan ge Busy Listen Admit You Don’t KnowWise Serious Laugh RightSay, “I’m Wrong” Compassionate Discipline PlannedBe Spontaneous GreatBe Without Pride LeadingServe Introduction > Background > Characteristics > Paradoxes > Practice > Examples > More Enough To

ORGANIZATION HIERARCHY Used by Permission Change the perspective of this structure. Introduction > Background > Characteristics > Paradoxes > Practice > Examples > More Frontline Staff Supervisors Director CEOCirc. Circ. DeskCirc. Staff Ref. Ref. DeskPeriodicals Traditional

ORGANIZATION HIERARCHY Used by Permission Changing the perspective on the structure. Introduction > Background > Characteristics > Paradoxes > Practice > Examples > More Flipped Pyramid Director Supervisors Frontline Staff Supervisors Director

ALIGNING JOB DESCRIPTIONS Traditional job descriptions – non-Servant Leader approach. Objective: command and control. Created once, revised only during turnover. Written by hiring manager each time. New job descriptions – Servant Leader approach. Objective: mutual understanding. Dynamic, reviewed annually. Initial draft by employee. Performance standards – Servant Leader approach. To meet my performance objectives this quarter, I must… Employee initiates, manager reviews. Servant Leader must ensure staff does not take on too much. Used by Permission Introduction > Background > Characteristics > Paradoxes > Practice > Examples > More

DEVELOPING SERVANT LEADERSHIP MUSCLES James C. Hunter Recommends the “Three F’s” to Support Your Servant Leadership Development, including: Step 1: Foundation Training, research, mentoring – understanding what is expected. Step 2: Feedback 360° feedback on Servant Leadership gaps. Pair with measurable action plans to close gaps. Step 3: Friction Require S.M.A.R.T. objectives. Answer to a panel or advisor on performance against objectives. Used by Permission Honing servant leadership skills requires tracking progress and feedback. Introduction > Background > Characteristics > Paradoxes > Practice > Examples > More

Provide Emotional healing – be sensitive to other’s feelings Create value for the community - be genuinely concerned to help Exercise Conceptual skills - knowledgeable enough to assist and support others Empower – be encouraging and facilitating Help followers grow and succeed – be genuinely concerned Put followers first - act assuringly Behave ethically - interact openly, fairly, and honestly TRY SERVANT LEADERSHIP THE SOUTHWEST WAY IN YOUR LIBRARY

DNA OF HIGH PERFORMANCE “I’ve spent years researching the DNA of high- performing companies, and much to my surprise the leaders at most of those companies did not fit commonly espoused theories of leadership. Many people believe great leaders are charismatic, have a commanding presence, are visionary and educated at elite schools. Almost all of the leaders of the high-performing companies that I studied had none of those traits. Instead, they are what I call servant leaders.” — Edward D. Hess, Washington Post 8/28/13

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Websites: Compilation: lichtenwalner.net/servantleader lichtenwalner.net/servantleader Greenleaf Center: greenleaf.orggreenleaf.org Spears Center: spearscenter.orgspearscenter.org Consulting/Development: JamesHunter.com JamesHunter.com Introduction > Background > Characteristics > Paradoxes > Practice > Examples > More

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Books: Servant Leader (Greenleaf, 1977) The Servant (Hunter, 1998) The Servant Leader (Autry, 2001) Practicing Servant Leadership (Spears & Lawrence, 2004) World’s Most Powerful Leadership Principle (Hunter, 2004) Recommended texts

HELPFUL ARTICLES 1.hquickbase.intuit.com/blog/2010/09/20/what-is-servant-leadership-thoughts- from-southwest-airlines-president-colleen-barrett/hquickbase.intuit.com/blog/2010/09/20/what-is-servant-leadership-thoughts- from-southwest-airlines-president-colleen-barrett/ 2.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/servant-leadership-a-path-to- high-performance/2013/04/26/435e58b2-a7b8-11e c7e0ea97057_story.htmlwashingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/servant-leadership-a-path-to- high-performance/2013/04/26/435e58b2-a7b8-11e c7e0ea97057_story.html 3.Rivkin, W., Diestel, S., & Schmidt, K. (2014). The Positive Relationship Between Servant Leadership and Employees' Psychological Health: A Multi-Method Approach. Zeitschrift Für Personalforschung, 28(1/2), doi: /ZfP Rivkin 4.Ja'afaru Bambale, A. (2014). Relationship between Servant Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors: Review of Literature and Future Research Directions. Journal Of Marketing & Management, 5(1), 1-16.

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