Servant Leadership

In my opinion, the majority of great leaders are those who are passionate and determined while also being extremely caring. I want to be a passionate leader who inspires people. The only way to inspire people to follow you is to give them a glimpse of the passion that drives you. I also believe being determined is essential. A leader must show that they are set on achieving their goals and will not let anything stop them. This lights a fire in those that follow and helps them continue working for a cause. Last, but most important, I want to be a caring leader. Behind every great leader are great followers. Achieving your goals is much easier when you have the support of others who believe in you. I believe every great leader should genuinely care for each person involved in their lives and put the followers’ needs before their own. In addition to caring about followers, I also want to be aware of the impact my actions has on the environment and the rest of my surroundings. One day, I hope to become a great leader who inspires others with these three traits.

The main idea behind servant leadership as defined by Greenleaf is that “The great leader is seen as servant first…” Servant leaders do not aspire to become leaders at first, they have a natural urge to serve others. They then make a conscious decision to become a leader based on their natural urge to serve. Greenleaf believes that for one to be considered a servant leader there must be a deep passion and concern for those being served. The leader should help those being served grow as persons. Essentially, a servant leader is one who puts others first through listening and understanding their needs while working towards achieving a great dream.

Leadership, as defined by Prentice, is “the accomplishment of a goal through the direction of human assistants”. This idea is similar to Greenleaf’s when looking at how each author describes the purpose of the leader. Both Prentice and Greenleaf believe that the...