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Value and Servant Leadership

In: Business and Management

Submitted By 50friendsforever
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Values and Servant Leadership
I have personally experienced a huge organizational change in the last couple of years. I believe that unethical behavior occurs at all organizational levels. In my organization, senior executives tend to have significantly more positive perceptions of ethics in the organization than do lower-level employees. I have witnessed everyday ethical lapses such as fudging a report, personal use of company equipment, stealing company funds or property, bullying, and lying about being sick. I believe that Servant leadership plays a significant role in changing organizational culture. Servant-leadership focuses on increased service to others rather than to oneself. Because the focus of servant-leadership is serving others over self-interest, servant-leaders are less likely to engage in self-serving behaviors that hurt others (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013). Servant leadership has since 1970 described an entirely different approach to leadership than that derived from a mechanistic and bureaucratic view of organizations wherein workers are thought of as mere cogs in a machine (Hughes, Ginnett & Curphy, 2012).
Ten characteristics of the Servant-leader are (a) listening, (b) empathy, (c) healing, (d) awareness, (e)persuasion, (f) conceptualization, (g) foresight, (h) stewardship, (i) commitment to other’s growth, (j) building community (Hughes, Ginnett & Curphy, 2012). The concept of a servant leader is not such a modern notion, but can be found in the biblical account of the life of Jesus Christ. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them (Mark 10:42, New International Version). Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant (Mark 10:43), and whoever wishes to be first must

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