423__INFORMATIVE
Being a servant leader means being a servant first. A servant leader’s primary focus is leading, doing things to guide others through selflessness and not with the idea of any personal gain. Servant leaders devote their time and skills to put the well-being of others, their careers, and their working environment first. A servant leader will get the task at hand done with the best interest of others in mind. The Army would not flow the way it does without these types of leaders.
Being a servant leader significantly affects soldiers and their personal lives and morals in the workplace and the unit itself. These leaders strive to put the soldier before themselves. First, an example of this concept of leadership in the Army would be the people-first concept. The needs of others are more important than their own needs. This makes soldiers feel cared about and builds trust within the unit. Building a family-like bond within the ranks. Some may say servant leaders shape the army today.
Servant leaders are selfless. “Servant leadership seeks to move management and personnel interaction away from controlling activities and toward a synergistic relationship.” Meaning these leaders intend to make the person feel more accessible and less controlled but at the same time build them into leaders themselves, giving them something to pass onto others—Building and mentoring on a personal level as well as the workforce. Rather than controlling the people, servant leaders influence and allow the people to participate in the plan of action.
Within this style of leadership, there are ten characteristics to include listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of an individual, and building communities. These key attributes are what make leaders servants to those they lead. Each attribute is vital to making sure everyone feels a strong bond and wants to comply to get the mission done and grow as a person, into a leader. When a person is led by a servant leader this form of leadership tends to pass down and continue the form of great leadership.
In conclusion, a servant leader is someone that leads by putting the needs of the people first in order to accomplish a mission. This type of leadership is valued in the army as it helps develop leaders to care about their soldiers on a higher and more detailed level. Building that level of trust and a bond between the soldiers and their leaders is a way that has worked for many years. Servant leadership has shaped the army into what it is today and it will only progress in the years to come through servant leadership.