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As we approach the 21st century, we see that autocratic and hierarchical modes of leadership are yielding to a newer model.
THERE IS A DEEP HUNGER in our society for a world where people truly care for one another, where people are treated humanely and helped in their personal growth, where workers and customers are treated fairly, and where our leaders can be trusted to serve the needs of the many, rather than the few.
We seek a model of leadership based upon teamwork, community, and ethical and caring behavior. We seek involvement in decision making to enhance our personal growth, while improving the caring and quality of our organizations. This emerging approach to leadership and service is called "servant-leadership."
Servant-leadership. Robert Greenleaf wrote: "It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant to make sure that other people's highest priority needs are being served. The best test is: Do those served grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?"
Servant-leadership is not a "quick-fix" approach. At its core, servant-leadership is a long-term, transformational approach to life and work-a way of being that has the potential for creating positive change....