Want to Be a Servant Leader? This Book is for You!

I love it when I hear about a hidden gem, like a book that has really impacted a person, or even a whole organization.  Such is the case with the book The Servant.  Though it has been an international best seller, published in a dozen languages with over 2.75 million copies sold, I had never heard about it.  Until a few weeks ago.

Author James C. Hunter has dished up this allegory in Patrick Lencioni style to teach and inspire the reader with the true essence of leadership.  John Daily, the fictional character whose life is beginning to fall apart, reluctantly attends a week-long leadership retreat at a remote monastery.  The people he meets and the concepts they discuss are transformational for him, and for the reader.  I think this is as important and applicable in the family as it is in the workplace.

Make no mistake about it, the main point of this book is that the true essence of leadership is servant leadership.  It makes that point very well, but it’s more than just warm fuzzies or spiritual mandates.  Servant leadership is also the most effective form of leadership.

Hunter does a great job of comparing power to authority.  He defines power as the ability to force or coerce someone  to do your will, even if they would choose not to, because of your position or might.  He defines authority as the skill of getting people to willingly do your will because of your personal influence.  Every leader faces choices as to when to use power and when to use authority.  Hunter makes a compelling case that although power has its place, authority is almost always preferable as a leadership style. “Power erodes relationships.  You can get a few seasons out of power, even accomplish some things, but over time power can be very damaging to relationships.”

The quest then becomes one of how we can develop greater authority.  If authority is indeed the skill of getting people to willingly do your will because of your personal influence, then building your personal influence is key.  The author lays out a normal progression that leads to greater personal influence and authority.  So, it all goes like this:

• Leadership comes from authority
• Authority comes from service and sacrifice
• Service and sacrifice come from love (the verb rather than the noun)
• Love comes from the will (it is a decision)

There is so much more depth to this, but this gives the guiding framework.

This book is full of great quotes.  One of my favorites is “In the workplace, employees will spend roughly half their waking hours working and living in the environment you create as the leader.”  That is absolutely true.  As leaders, we create the environment in which our people do a whole lot of working and a whole lot of living.

I recommend this as a great read now, at the beginning of 2010.  Enjoy!