Servant Leadership Is a Great Idea That Doesn’t Really Work
admiredleadership.substack.com
With some notable workplace exceptions, servant leadership works better in theory than in practice. The idea of selflessly leading others by putting their needs first sounds like a masterful approach to creating a positive workplace replete with motivated team members and collaborative processes. Until reality gets in the way.
Thanks for putting this concept out there and critically examining it. Platitudes and theories-- even well accepted ones such as the once-embraced US Military theory of Effects Based Operations sometimes fall apart on examination or turn out not to be doable in a particular bureaucracy.
Sometimes a competing theory that is not as good works better in the environment, e.g., early attempts at Electric cars before Lithium ion batteries, and cryptocurrency before wide scale adoption of blockchain technology.
I never understood my Navy buddies dining protocols when I was in the Army. In the Army leaders always ate last when in the field, and we had to regularly sample food in the mess hall to be sure it was acceptable. In the Navy the Captain has his own private meals apart from others on the ship. And his subordinates generally eat better than their subordinates and better than the skipper. One of these exhibits servant leadership and the others something else that is apparently more suitable to that environment.
Thanks for putting this concept out there and critically examining it. Platitudes and theories-- even well accepted ones such as the once-embraced US Military theory of Effects Based Operations sometimes fall apart on examination or turn out not to be doable in a particular bureaucracy.
Sometimes a competing theory that is not as good works better in the environment, e.g., early attempts at Electric cars before Lithium ion batteries, and cryptocurrency before wide scale adoption of blockchain technology.
I never understood my Navy buddies dining protocols when I was in the Army. In the Army leaders always ate last when in the field, and we had to regularly sample food in the mess hall to be sure it was acceptable. In the Navy the Captain has his own private meals apart from others on the ship. And his subordinates generally eat better than their subordinates and better than the skipper. One of these exhibits servant leadership and the others something else that is apparently more suitable to that environment.
What an excellent post! It’s an AND, not an OR.