Characteristics of Some Influential Servant Leaders
Unlike traditional leadership, servant leadership is a philosophy whereby leaders are committed and have a goal to serve instead of just taking power and taking control. A servant leader’s characteristics involve sharing power, prioritizing the needs of others before their own, and focusing on making the world just and a better place to live in (Allen et al., 2016). Servant leadership is important because employees express themselves, creating an environment where they can feel appreciated and respected instead of following strict rules. Robert K. Greenleaf created this servant-leader relationship in the “Servant as Leader,” which is an essay published in 1970 (Dierendonck & Patterson, 2010).
Some historical servant leaders like Nelson Mandela displayed characteristics such as showing empathy through his selfless service to the country and people, and he also understood people. Mother Teresa displayed compassion as she cared for the sick and poor all over the world, and to date, she still serves as a role model for the missionaries of charity. Martin Luther King Jr. displayed justice by encouraging people to fight for the cause, and he also listened to other people. Roberto Clemente used talents such as baseball to better children’s lives, and he also put himself first before others and involved himself in community service.
The servant leader characteristic could have been cultural, depending on the different cultures that they all came from. For instance, in some cultures, assertiveness and determination can be more valued than humility or selflessness and vice versa. However, I think the personal traits of these leaders majorly influenced their characteristics. In my opinion, among the servant leader characteristics, the challenging one would be trusting others and employees if put in the same conditions because I would not know if trusting others would result in a negative or positive outcome. However, this is not culturally influenced but influenced by my own personality traits. In conclusion, servant leadership, being philosophical, is determined by doing what is right for the community or country. It is very important to create a good and comfortable space for everyone.
References
Allen, G. P., Moore, W. M., Moser, L. R., Neill, K. K., Sambamoorthi, U., & Bell, H. S. (2016). The role of Servant Leadership and Transformational Leadership in academic pharmacy. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 80(7), 113. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe807113
Dierendonck, D. van, & Patterson, K. (2010). Servant leadership: Developments in theory and research. Palgrave Macmillan.
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Question 
Characteristics of Some Influential Servant Leaders
Arguably, some of the most influential servant leaders of our history have been Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Roberto Clemente. Thinking about one of them, what characteristics of servant leadership did they display? Do you think these characteristics were culturally influenced? Which of these would you have found personally challenging to display if you faced the same conditions? Do you think that challenge is culturally influenced? Strengthen your claims with supporting citations.