Foundations of Servant Leadership

Through my religious upbringing I learned the value of Servant-leaders. I aspire to be a Servant-leader and work to assimilate principled based leadership into my competencies. This course emphasized the importance of listening. It takes discipline to listen-first with the intent to learn before attempting to influence. I reflected on my listening style and how it affects my ability to influence and led. Engaging in generative listening reflects my respect for the dignity of others. I listen to build relationships of trust. I listen to influentially persuade and invite dialog. When others feel heard and understood they are more likely to accept decisions even when their ideas are not selected as the course of action. 

Equally important to listening is becoming aware of my own words and emotions. As I attuned myself to the words I was speaking I noticed I often did not say what I meant. I started to pay attention to what I was feeling as I was speaking. As my awareness grew so grew the conciseness and truthfulness of my speech. This proved valuable as my ORGL 615 team worked together in the Everest simulation. Truthful speech and generative listening transformed my team. We became innovative, systems thinking oriented and collaborative which led to better decision making. Servant-leadership appeals to my aspiration to support growth in others and retain a systems-view of problems through collaborative decision making.