How A Leader Is A Servant
Jim Burns is a major in the U.S. Army and Chief of Occupational Therapy at Evans Army Community Hospital. His opinion of what the key aspect of leadership is aligns with Max Depree’s: selfless service.
The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality; the last is to say ‘Thank you.’ In between the two, the leader must become a servant.
While Burns identifies as a leader he emphasizes his personal values are foundational to being a servant. Those values are:
Discipline,
Motivation,
Altruism,
Physical Fitness,
Continuing Education,
Creativity, and being
Respectful.
Values are an internal force. They form our will to act and impact how we communicate. Values are directly correlated with the type of goals we set.
Action in the form of collaboration helps us to achieve something bigger than what we may do alone. This style of social communication is an exchange of shared values. We “sense-in” to understand who or what may support our vision, goal, and mission.
Leaders who attune their senses and surrounding to purposefully understand react less to situations. They respond through a "language in which the nervous system does its business,” according to Princeton University professor William Bialek.
Servant leaders actively listen, attentively observe situations then thoughtfully respond.
