Nooyi: Servant Leaders

1. What is the historical basis of servant leadership? What are the unique, underlying values of his perspective?

The Servant by James C. Hunter lays a foundation of required strategies that are commonly learned throughout life. The concepts that are laid out in this book are quite interesting and similar to the laws of love. There is an unfortunate amount of successful and unsuccessful people who acquire the “I know best” leadership style that John portrays. Having the “I know it all” mentality can be a person’s biggest downfall. Within this story, you can see the consequences of that mentality as John is losing his grounds in all leadership roles within his life. These strategies are not difficult or new but understanding the foundation of these strategies may be quite challenging for some. When reading this book I recognized to become an efficient leader

The type of leadership most noticeable in the service activity was servant leadership. Servant leadership was first introduced in 1970 by Robert K. Greenleaf in the essay “The Servant Leader”. In his essay Greenleaf says “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. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.” (Greenleaf, 1970) Greenleaf essentially

In his book Maxwell shows the reader the paths that are adoptable to achieve the role of a leader. This book emphasizes on the servant leadership and about the significance of helping others to achieve the common goal. The techniques mentioned in the book revolve around instilling love and confidence in the followers and gaining their respect. Maxwell accepts the diversity among people and

Barker, R. A. (1997). How can we train leaders if we do not know what leadership is? Human Relations, 50(4), 343-362. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/231429531?accountid=458

Servant leadership theory’s emphasis on service to others and recognition that the role of organizations is to create people who can build a better tomorrow resonates with scholars and practitioners who are responding to the growing perceptions that corporate leaders have become selfish and who are seeking a viable leadership theory to help resolve the challenges of the twenty-first century (Parris & Peachey, 2013, p 378).

Servant leadership, as it applies to the modern world, is a concept that Robert Greenleaf defined in his influential 1970 essay, The Servant as Leader. Greenleaf’s essay explains that servant leadership is an amalgam of concrete leadership styles and “fragments of data” that came to him through “intuitive insight” (1970). Having worked at AT&T from 1926-1964, he accumulated a number of leadership qualities throughout his professional career. After retirement he began teaching at Harvard Business School, but became distressed by younger generations and their rebellious attitudes. After careful consideration, he decided institutions were doing a poor job of serving, so they were doing a poor job of leading. His

Casse, P. (2014b). The new drivers of leadership. Training Journal, p. 29. Retrieved from academicguides.walden.edu/library

In order for an organization or movement to have success, it is extremely important that their leaders are effective. Every leader does not possess the same qualities and skills as the next leader, but that doesn't make them less effective. Each leader may also have a different leadership style than the next person. This paper will define a leader as well as servant leadership and transformational leadership styles. Finally, Eleanor Roosevelt's leadership style will be determined to be either servant leadership, transformational leadership, or both.

The leader I have chosen is Indra Nooyi. At the year 1980, Nooyi got her master degree of public and private management. After Nooyi graduated from Yale University, she started her career in India as a product manager for Johnson & Johnson and textile firm Mettur Beardsell. After that, she worked at Boston Consulting Group for six years as an international corporate strategy director. Nooyi also worked at Motorola's automotive and industrial electronic group. Her outstanding talent quickly made her become the vice president and director of corporate strategy and planning in year 1988.

Finally, this paper will address how the practice of servant leadership would affect everyone from the lowest enlisted men to the most senior flag officer and everyone else in-between. Leadership goes well beyond the following definition: “Leadership is the art of influencing and directing people in such a way as to obtain their willing obedience, confidence, respect and cooperation.” In fact, when it comes right down to it, “there are no quick and easy answers to becoming an effective and efficient leader.” Leadership is difficult and enduring work. It is a lifelong process of building and molding not only your skills but also the skills of your subordinates. In a society of instant gratification, we look for the quick fix. Yet the problem is the quick fix or plug and play solution, rarely serves the long-term goals of an organization.

Robert Greenleaf and James Hunter are both experts when it comes to leadership. Greenleaf coined the term “servant leadership” and published his first essay regarding this topic in 1970. Hunter is a world renowned author and speaker because of his leadership forte, and has worked with thousands of business executives on developing leadership skills that create successful businesses (Hunter 1998). Both of these men are distinguished professionals because of their philosophies and approaches to efficacious leadership, but they each have a different approach of how they present and represent these ideas.

From the group Biblical Integration Paper, it was understood that servant-leadership is not only a gift of purpose that God places in the hearts of His people, but it is also a calling in one’s life to truly touch the lives of others in need. Living a successful life, as a servant-leader is not one that focuses on self-fulfillment, rather it is in seeking a fulfillment that comes from Christ when one pours him/herself out for the sake of others. It is through servant-leadership that one is able to bring hope into hopeless situations (Group Integration Paper,

Leadership and management for many go hand in hand, and may be perceived as one in the same. In the book titled, The Servant (1998), James C. Hunter challenged this mainstream view, and literally turned this concept, which so many are coached on, upside-down. The notions of what characterizes a virtuous leader, as well as what it means to serve others, are the primary focal points of Hunter’s book. He did an eloquent job of revealing his theory concerning effective leadership by using an allegorical approach which, made the content easier to digest and much more personable. The Servant deeply resonated with me, and I gained significant value from the attitudes Hunter presented which, I can apply to my schooling, personal life, and future career paths. I was also able to discern what I felt to be applicable elements regarding the mark of a worthy leader, and arrived at my own theories.

DAFT, R. L. (2011). Leadership mind and body. In Leadership (pp. Chapter 5 120- 150).