Biblical servant leadership : an exploration of leadership for the contemporary context /: an exploration of leadership for the contemporary context. (2018)

• Record Type: Book
• Further Information: Note: Steven Crowther.
• Authors: Crowther, Steven
• Contents: Chapter 1 – The Foundation of Servant Leadership Theory Abstract: The ideas and concepts for servant leadership have been around for centuries in different forms. Even when Aristotle and later Aquinas discussed leadership they pondered the concepts of virtues as an important component of human life and leadership. Other philosophers such as Plato discussed leadership but with some different ideas that became mainstream ideas for ruling and power. This focus on power carried the day in leadership thinking with concepts of leadership like in Machiavelli's 'The Prince' that endorsed a power center to leadership. Nevertheless in the 1970's in the midst of a hotbed of leadership theory development Robert Greenleaf proposed an idea at first about the servant being the leader. This idea grew into a concept of leadership in the writings of Greenleaf that was developed and popularized in the writings of Greenleaf and later several other authors like Larry Spears. Then in the 21st century there was an explosion of literature in many areas of leadership theory and thinking. Some of these areas included virtues and even spirituality as an important component of leadership and leadership development. In this context there emerged several new ideas concerning servant leadership. Some of the foundational ideas came from Winston and Patterson. Winston gave us some new terminology for this constuct in using the word agapao for the leadership idea of love. Then Patterson developed a virtue based model for servant leadership that built upon the ideas of Greenleaf but expanded it. In her model the virtues of leadership are the central issue however; it is done in such a way that it facilitates the ability to research this theory of leadership. As a result there has been several other authors who have entered this field of research for Servant Leadership doing research in different cultures and contexts. Many scholars have worked on developing a model of servant leadership recently. In this endeavor there are some researchers who have begun to look at the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures for guidance in this search for a more developed theory of leadership. This study expands this research in looking to the Scriptures for divine perspective on Servant Leadership and other implications for leadership that can be applied in the multiple contexts of the 21st century, to the church, government, military, nonprofits, education and the world of business. The question is whether the Scriptures endorse, critique or expand the concept of servant leadership. Further the deeper question is whether the Scriptures provide a model of leadership other than servant leadership or that builds beyond this model of leadership. A. Servant Leadership According to Greenleaf B. Servant Leadership in 21st Century Literature C. Servant Leadership According to Patterson and Winston D. Servant Leadership Research E. The Next Steps in Leadership Chapter 2 – Servant Leadership in Context Abstract: Servant leadership has been developed and applied in the midst of a very hot economic climate and in the context of an abundance of new leadership research in general. As a result there are many new ideas to which to compare it for developing the fine nuances of the theory. However, the negative side is that it gets confused with other theories with some similarities. There has been an explosion of research and development in the area of leadership theory from the end of the 20th century which has intensified with the coming of the 21st century. Servant Leadership is one of several new and developing theories of leadership beginning with Transformational leadership theory but then moving to more current theories like Authentic and Adaptive theories. Each of these theories has its own distinction and yet there are a few connections with Servant Leadership. Especially in the context of Transformational leadership there is some confusion as to the differences between these growing theories. However, in studying the connection between transformational and servant leadership there can be some further nuances developed in the understanding and applying of servant leadership. Transformational leadership is a theory that has been developed and refined through research in many large universities. However, Servant Leadership has been applied and researched in the business world in both for profit and nonprofit sectors as well. Greenleaf began to do his research in AT&T in the clearly for profit business world. However, it is not just here but also in government and military sectors that this model has been applied with good results. Of course, one area where Servant Leadership seems to fit well is in the context of the church and Christian ministry. Nevertheless, it is apparent that church leaders are more often autocratic rather than servant leaders. This is an area of concern especially in the context of growing research for the effectiveness of Servant Leadership. So, this area needs further development in its connection with Jesus and His teachings since He is the ultimate leader in the church. This also raises the question of whether Jesus taught Servant Leadership or Transformational Leadership or another model of leadership. Then the question arises as to whether this way of leading can be applied in global contexts. In high authoritarian cultures the very word servant is a problem. There are some areas of the world where this is an insult to be considered a servant in any form. In addition, there are those who have been forced into servanthood or slavery and in this context servant leadership could be and is resisted. So, this asks the question of whether this model can be applied cross culturally in some of these areas where there are deep cultural resistances to the concept of servant. This model has been research and tested in some of these contexts with good results but it takes large amounts of explanation for the theory and its application. We must look for a way ahead for this issue since the principles appear to be universal. A. In the Context of Leadership Theory B. In the Context of the Business World C. In the Context of the Church World D. In the Global Context Chapter 3 – The Strengths of Servant Leadership Abstract: Servant Leadership has several components as has been seen earlier in this study. Several of these components combine to create some unique strengths to this model of leadership. At its core Servant Leadership is driven by virtues or deeply held values in the leader. In this way servant leadership addresses the issues of ontology in the leader. The leader becomes a servant, the leader does not just attach serving behaviors. It is an issue of the soul or the person and even of their worldview or of their sense of reality. It is deeply embedded in the person. Then since this way of leading is very person oriented for the leader and focus oriented on the other person it is very personal. Yet it can be applied in large group settings as well as small ones. Aristotle discussed four virtues to become a flourishing person but Servant Leadership develops more concepts of virtues that are closer to the concepts of Jesus than to Aristotle or even Aquinas. This model looks at the connections between leader and follower as important and aims to facilitate growth in the follower first. In doing this the leader develops qualities and actions that are other oriented that be classified as ethical. Ethics then is part of this theory of leadership. Other theories consider ethics as an adjunct to effectiveness but not so with Servant Leadership. Most leadership development plans that use different leadership theories teach the leaders how to succeed but they do not teach them how to handle this success. This is an internal issue of the person of the leader. Servant Leadership uniquely prepares the leader to handle the coming success. Servant Leadership in the senior levels of an organization has been seen to impact how others interact with each other in the organization. This impacts the culture of the organization. Servant Leadership in the higher levels of the organization can even impact the employees' interactions with those outside of the organization. The ideas and the doings of Servant Leadership transfer into the workings of the organization. One of the areas that has not been researched as much as leadership theory is that of how to do leadership development. In this model leadership development is inherent in the model. This theory is ontological in that it impacts the person of the leader. People in an organization become who the leaders really are for good or ill. All of the teaching on transformational leadership will rarely produce a transformational leader unless there is one who becomes a transformational leader for others to follow. In Servant Leadership this is inherent in the model of leading. Servant Leadership focuses on different goals that are person centered rather than organization centered however; these goals still make for a strong model of leadership that impacts both the organization and the community. Yet, there are weaknesses in this model. One weakness would include the focus of the leader in if the leader focuses on the followers then who will drive the organization. However, it is here as in other places that the Scripture can helps us learn how to become a servant leader while driving the organization. A. Values Driven Leadership B. Effective and Ethical Leadership C. Servant Leadership and Organization Culture D. Servant Leadership and Leadership Development E. The Goals of Servant Leadership E. Servant Leadership and the Negative Chapter 4 – Servant Leadership in the Old Testament Abstract: There is much we can learn from the Old Testament Scriptures concerning Servant Leadership and its application to real situations in diverse contexts. The classic story of a servant leader is the story of Joseph. The OT shows
• Publisher Details: Basingstoke, Hampshire : Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication Date: 2018
• Extent: 1 online resource, illustrations (black and white)
• Subjects: 206.1; Leadership -- Religious aspects -- Christianity; Servant leadership -- Religious aspects -- Christianity; Leadership -- Biblical teaching
• Languages: English
• ISBNs: 9783319895697
• Notes: Note: Description based on CIP data; resource not viewed.
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