1. Seven Factors of Servant Leadership
Matt Stephen, Ed.D.
Servant Leaders in Education

2. Matt Stephen, Ed.D. www.ServantLeadersInEducation.com Resume
Retired Educator
Studies on Servant Leadership
Resume
Copies of all PowerPoints
Resources for Servant Leadership

3. Connecting with People
Servant Leadership
Personal Character
Connecting with People
Service Attitude

4. History of Servant Leadership Theory
Robert K. Greenleaf (The Father of Modern Servant Leadership)
Greenleaf is widely recognized as the one who coined the term, servant leadership. Greenleaf spent 40 years at AT&T as a manager of research, development and education. Upon retirement, Greenleaf spent the next 25 years in a pursuit of creating a better, more caring society. Greenleaf remarked that he had great concern for leadership in America, “the outlook for better leadership in our leadership-poor society is not encouraging.” Greenleaf founded the Center for Applied Ethics in 1964 which was renamed the Robert K. Greenleaf Center in 1985 (
Greenleaf stated in his 1970 ground-breaking essay for servant leadership entitled, The Servant as Leader, “The servant-leader is servant first…It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.” Blanchard (1999) agreed with Greenleaf that servant leaders are first servants before they become leaders when he stated, “Strong natural servants…will assume leadership only if they see it as a way in which they can serve.”
Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. New York: Paulist Press.
Blanchard, K. (1999). The heart of a leader. Colorado Springs, CO: Honor Books.

5. Ten Characteristics of Servant Leadership Spears (1996)
Listening – Servant leaders’ communication skills are enhanced through a deep commitment to listening intently to the followers. Servant leaders seek to identify and clarify the will of the group. Receptive listening and reflection are essential to the growth of a servant leader.
Empathy – Servant leaders strive to understand and empathize with others. They accept and recognize followers for their unique spirits; and they assume others have good intentions, even if they disagree with behavior or performance.
Healing – Servant leaders are adept at healing others as well as themselves. They help make others whole by facilitating the healing of broken spirits. Servant leaders share with followers the search for wholeness.
Awareness – Servant leaders exhibit a general awareness of what is happening in the organization. They possess a keen sense of self-awareness and an understanding of issues involving ethics and values. Servant leaders are often described as disturbers and awakeners.
Persuasion – Servant leaders employ persuasion rather than position authority when making decisions within the organization. They prefer to convince rather than coerce followers. Servant leaders are very effective with building consensus within the group.

6. Conceptualization – Servant leaders do not deal only with short-term goals and thinking. They are able to stretch their thinking to encompass broader-based conceptual thinking. Servant leaders can nurture the abilities of others to “dream great dreams” and to think beyond day-to-day realities.
Foresight – Servant leaders are capable of understanding lessons from the past, seeing the realities of the present, and predicting likely consequences of decisions. They are adept at intuitive thinking.
Stewardship – Servant leaders are dedicated to holding their institutions in trust for the greater good of society. They are committed to serving the needs of others.
Commitment to the Growth of People – Servant leaders believe in the intrinsic value of people beyond their tangible contributions as workers. They feel responsible for nurturing the personal, professional and spiritual growth of employees.
Building Community – Servant leaders are dedicated to rebuilding the sense of community that has been lost with the shift to large institutions.

7. Seven Virtuous Constructs of Servant Leadership Patterson (2003) Patterson, K. A. (2003). Servant leadership: A theoretical model. Servant Leadership Roundtable. Regent University School of Leadership Studies, Virginia Beach, VA.
Agapao Love – Love is the cornerstone of the servant leader-follower relationship. Servant leaders see followers as whole persons with different gifts and talents. They are able to focus on followers first, then on their talents and how those talents benefit the organization.
Humility – Servant leaders are able to keep their accomplishments and talents in perspective. They focus on others rather than themselves. Servant leaders have an authentic desire to help others, and they search for ways to serve others through staying in touch with their followers.
Altruism – Servant leaders help others just for the sake of helping. They have an unselfish concern for others which often involves personal sacrifice. Servant leaders’ behaviors are directed toward the benefit of others even when those behaviors are against their own personal interests.
Vision – Servant leaders have a vision for their individual followers. They help others to see the big picture by enabling them to develop a clear sense of purpose and direction. Servant leaders develop within others the mission to serve and encourage followers to become more than they thought possible.
Trust – Servant leaders develop trust through demonstrating integrity and concern for others. They create open environments where everyone has a voice and they work collaboratively.
Empowerment – Servant leaders empower others with the best interest of those being served in mind. They teach and develop people as leaders through shared decision-making and shared responsibility. Servant leaders make it a priority to grow new servant leaders.
Service – Servant leaders choose the interests of others over self-interests. They see leadership as a calling - a life mission. Servant leaders accept the responsibility for serving others; and they are committed to an authentic, personal involvement with followers through the giving or their time, energy, care, and compassion.

8. Page and Wong’s 7 Servant Leadership Traits
Empowering and Developing Others
Vulnerability/Humility
Serving Others
Open, Participatory Leadership
Visionary Leadership
Courageous Leadership (Integrity/Authenticity)
Inspiring Leadership

9. Spears’ 10 Characteristics of Servant Leaders (1996)
Patterson’s 7 Virtuous Constructs of Servant Leadership (2003)
Page & Wong’s 7 Factors of Servant Leadership (2003)
Commitment to Growth of People
Empowerment
Empowering and Developing Others
Empathy
Humility
Vulnerability/Humility
Healing
Stewardship
Agapao Love
Service
Serving Others
Listening
Building Community
Open, Participatory Leadership
Conceptualization
Foresight
Vision
Visionary Leadership
Awareness
Altruism
Courageous Leadership (Integrity/Authenticity)
Persuasion
Trust
Inspiring Leadership

10. Seven Factors of Servant Leadership
Personal Character
Humility
Serving Others
Courageous Leadership (Integrity)
Visionary Leadership
Interaction with Others
Empowering and Developing Others
Open, Participatory Leadership
Inspirational Leadership

11. Humility “Who am I?” Self-reflection as a tool for personal growth
Humble Character
Providing a role model of Humble Leadership
Absence of ego, jealousy, and self-promotion
Putting needs of others first
Team membership (walk and talk)
Elevating and praising others
Mentoring others in humility and self-reflection

12. Humility
Vulnerability - Risks and rewards of an open, humble leadership style
Tenderhearted Leadership
Tenderhearted mercy (fair and caring)
Kindness (considerate toward others)
Humility (one of the team)
Gentleness (peaceful, calm, soft-spoken)
Patience (self-control)

13. Serving Others Personal Mission of Serving Others Nurturing Others
Servant role and attitude – Master vs. Servant Leadership
Living and articulating a personal mission of service
Mission as a motivator and stress reliever
Nurturing Others
Healing Others – Making People “Whole”
Listening and empathy
Understanding others’ situations
Accepting others’ unique gifts and spirits

14. Serving Others Stewardship – Accountability to the Community
Holding an institution in trust for the greater good of society
Active service in the community
Making Service-minded Decisions
Sacrifice
Living a life of giving to others
Balancing personal and professional life

15. Courageous Leadership
Integrity
Examining one’s integrity – values, beliefs, and guiding principles
“Character is made in the small moments of our lives.” Phillips Brooks
Actions of high integrity leaders – taking the high road
Integrity killers
Authenticity
Genuine leadership
Admitting to mistakes and asking forgiveness

16. Courageous Leadership
Awareness
Self-awareness and awareness of others
Building a purposeful reputation
Understanding issues involving ethical dilemmas
How Fear Affects Leaders and Organizations

17. Visionary Leadership Conceptualization Foresight Vision
Seeing the big picture and dreaming great dreams
Reflecting on the organization beyond day-to-day issues
Foresight
Leader intuition
Using lessons from the past and realities of the present to predict consequences of decisions for the future
Vision
Providing direction and purpose for people/organization
Articulating personal vision
Creating a shared vision and buy-in from the team
Navigating an organization through shared vision

18. Empowering and Developing Others
Connecting with Others
Getting to know and understand one another on a personal level
Getting to know and understand one another on a professional level
Building long-lasting relationships
Commitment to the Growth of Others
Making a commitment to grow others
How to help others grow
Maxwell’s Enlarging Process
See potential
Cast a vision for their future
Tap into their passions
Address their character flaws
Focus on their strengths

19. Empowering and Developing Others
Professional and Personal Development
Focusing on the needs of those in the organization - personal, professional, and spiritual
Learning for continuous improvement
Fighting isolation
Creating professional learning communities
Growing New Leaders
Providing a model for servant leadership
Mentoring new leaders
Delegating
Matching abilities and interests to tasks
Sharing power

20. Open, Participatory Leadership
Effective Communications in an Organization
Listening
Listening to individuals
Listening to the will of the group
Promoting kindness, trust, honesty, and openness in all interactions
Setting high standards for self and others
Promoting vital conversations in organizations
Dealing with confrontations
Visibility and Accessibility
Building Cooperative and Collegial Teams
Shared decision-making and shared power
Trust building
Building positive culture

21. Inspiring Leadership Influencing Others Getting the Best from Others
Persuasion vs. position authority
Becoming a leader of influence
Getting others to embrace the vision and mission
Getting the Best from Others
What makes a leader inspiring
Visionary Leadership + Courageous Leadership = Inspiring Leadership
“Power is created when individuals perceive that their leaders are honorable, so they trust them, are inspired by them, believe deeply in the goals communicated by them, and desire to be led.” Stephen Covey, Principle-Centered Leadership
Connecting with, believing in, and motivating people
Optimism
Celebrating