There are several famous examples of servant
leadership throughout history including Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Martin
Luther King Jr., etc. Pick one individual from history who embodies the
characteristics of a servant leader and explain your choice in the context of
your readings on servant leadership. For your two responses, evaluate the
claims of your classmates within the context of your understanding of the
theories.
In our readings Northouse stated, authentic leadership
is a pattern of leader’s behavior which is grounded in the positive
psychological qualities and strong ethics.
Mahatma Gandhi is arguably one of the most authentic leaders of our
time. It was once stated, “people
followed him not for what he was but for who he was”, a transparent leader who
experience racial discrimination, prejudice, massacre, and violence that was
imposed upon him and other Indians. This
was the turning point which encouraged him to work for the people to fight back
the injustice, poverty, and famine of his people.
Servant Leadership
There are many people who consider Mahatma Gandhi to
be one of the greatest leaders of the twentieth century. His leadership can be attributed to different
leadership styles and traits. But the
servant leadership theory could be the top of the list of theories or
approaches describing Gandhi’s leadership, throughout his life. Gandhi displayed ten characteristics of servant
leadership identified by Spears (2002) from Robert K. Greenleaf’s work on the
subject of servant leadership.
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “If you change how you think
then you will change how you feel and what actions you take.” Mahatma was one of many Authentic leaders who
touched the heart and mind of people across the nations through his
servanthood. Gandhi’s traits and practice of leadership broke the traditional
leadership mold. He exhibits a
personable style of leadership that was humble and totally devoted to the
service of helping others.
Through Gandhi’s awareness, stewardship, and
conceptualization he exposed the oppression that both Hindus and Muslims
faced. He fought against the oppressors
using his platform to organize followers to resist the oppression in a
non-violence manner. Gandhi influence to
keep his followers from combating violence with violence even in during the
onslaught of the 1919 Amritsar massacre the led to the death of thousands of followers.
In 1930, Gandhi led the salt march which demonstrated
conceptualization and stewardship.
Gandhi tracked 10 miles per day in a 24-mile journey to arrive in time
to meet the press in the effort to mitigate the British oppression of India by
bringing this injustice to the world news.
Unfortunately, Gandhi was met with an untimely death
as he was assassinated on the grounds of Birla House, New Delhi. Gandhi had a desire to improve the lives of
others and propagated non-violence.
Mahatma Gandhi, who was known as the “Father of the Nation” led the
independence struggle for India.
Gandhi’s motives were both intrapersonal and interpersonal as he worked
to clean up the villages, building of schools and hospitals placing the good of
his followers over his own interest.
Northouse (2016), tells us that a servant leader is attentive to the
concerns of their followers, empathize with them, and nurture them. Gandhi once said, “our prime purpose in this
life is the help others” I believe this is the framework of a servant leader.
Reference:
A&E Television Network. (May 4, 2018). Mahatma
Gandhi Biography. The Biography.com. Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/people/mahatma-gandhi-9305898
Gandhi, M. (n.d.) Service Quote. Retrieved on April
20, 2015 from http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/5810891.Mahatma_Gandhi
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership:
Theory and practice. (Seventh Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
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