What is the paradoxical nature of servant leadership?

Paradox: The servant leader is humble, not selfless. Servant leaders need to be assertive about their own needs and interests while also cooperative about the needs and interests of others.

What is wrong with servant leadership?

Servant leaders can fail to establish their authority and mastery. They might take refuge in the comfort of serving their employees, not wanting to engage up the chain as much (which can be the opposite of comforting) and thus not establishing as strong a presence with their leaders.

Who coined the paradoxical term servant leadership?

Robert K. Greenleaf
The Servant as Leader While servant leadership is a timeless concept, the phrase “servant leadership” was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay, Greenleaf said: “The servant-leader is servant first…

Is the term servant leadership offensive?

Servant leadership is not a politically correct phrase. It conjures up images associated with the dark ages. Think of slavery. The unpleasant and embarrassing memory lingers in many parts of the English-speaking world, making its association with slavery somewhat offensive.

What is the opposite of servant leadership?

autocratic leader
An autocratic leader is one who looks out for themselves primarily. That’s the opposite of the servant leadership model. To be an effective leader, it’s important to develop your selflessness. This means you look out for the goals and well-being of others before you think about your own goals.

Is servant leader a bad term?

What servant leadership is not?

Servant leadership is not about acquiring power or gaining control over others. The assumption underlying each of these myths is that members of the organization will serve only their own interests.

What does leadership paradox mean?

A Leadership Paradox outlines such an alternative view of leadership and provides a model for achieving differentiated (defined) leadership. A Leadership Paradox highlights the idea that leadership is one of the few critical levers capable of transforming systems of fear into systems of freedom.

What is embrace paradox?

Embrace a paradox mindset — embrace opposing demands, opposing perspectives, and seeming contradictions — could result in looking at old problems in entirely new ways. And finding solutions you never would have considered.

What is the difference between authentic and servant leadership?

In comparison with authentic leaders, who focus on self-development of themselves and followers, servant leaders emphasize responsibilities to the organization, to its customers, to soci- ety, and to other stakeholders (Ehrhart, 2004; Walumbwa, Hartnell, & Oke, 2010).

How is servant leadership different from other leadership?

With a traditional leadership approach, the leader encourages people to do their jobs by providing them with guidance, direction and motivation. Servant leadership occurs when the leader’s main goal and responsibility is to provide service to their people.

Why is servant leadership considered a paradox?

The paradox of servant leadership relates to how two terms that are opposite to each other are used together to create a leadership approach. The servant leadership approach implies that the leader should be a servant first and should have the desire to serve the employees, customers and community at large.

What are the tenets of Servant Leadership?

Tenet 3: It takes proactive movement. The servant leader is not one who sits around and wits for his followers to make requests. He doesn’t stand at the proverbial door like a butler waiting for orders. The servant leader anticipates the needs and desires of those being lead and seeks to meet those needs.

What does servant leadership really mean?

Servant leadership is a leadership philosophy in which an individual interacts with others – either in a management or fellow employee capacity – with the aim of achieving authority rather than power.

Is ‘Servant Leader’ an oxymoron?

Servant leadership is not an oxymoron . An oxymoron is a combination of contradictory or incongruous words. “Open secret” and “cruel kindness” are examples. “Jumbo shrimp” is one of my favorites. In examples like these, the words are opposites.* That’s why servant leadership is not an oxymoron. The opposite of “servant” is not “leader.”