Do We Need a Shift in Leadership Perspectives?
Leadership is an exercise in humility and responsibility. As the recent leadership issues in the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico has shown us, the ability to admit when a leader is wrong and the acceptance of responsibility for an error or problem can go a long way to preserving or destroying the image of an organization or (in this case) several organizations. BP is not the only organization to have taken a serious public relations hit because of the lack of active leadership and disaster planning. The Minerals Management Service, the Interior Department, along with the Executive and Legislative Branches of the U.S. Government have also taken quite a hit because of lax regulations, cronyism, and too much stock in the Great Man Theory. I think we need a shift in leadership culture in this country.
For millenia almost every culture on the planet has been led by “Great Men” who have been rich or influential enough to garner enough power and strength around them to run things by force or strength of will. Perhaps we need to get away from following such people and look for more of what Robert K. Greenleaf calls Servant Leaders. These types of leaders are not interested in amassing power for the sake of building up themselves and their interests. They are interested in serving others through leadership so that everyone benefits, not just their friends and followers. Becoming a Servant Leader takes a change in mind-set from most of the examples given in the past. Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. were Servant Leaders. Their protégés haven’t had the same successes that they did because they don’t seem to understand how to be Servant Leaders.
Is it possible to get away from the tyranny of the Great Man Theory of leadership in the United States? I don’t know. Servant Leaders are a rare breed, but perhaps if more leaders were to espouse this newer theory and begin working for the betterment of everyone rather than for just themselves and their followers, we would begin to see real change in the world. Perhaps corporations would learn to make money for their shareholders while also being good to their workers and the environment. Perhaps politicians would work for the benefit of their constituents rather than their donors. We need to start expecting this from our leaders if we ever hope to get it.
What are your thoughts on this? How can we switch to Servant Leaders? Are Servant Leaders and Great Men (or Women) mutually exclusive or can they blend techniques? Please share…
If you want to know whether a leader can be both servant pf theit people and a geat man/woman, look to Nelson Mandela. Case rested, I believe.
Hi Michele! You are correct. Nelson Mandela is an excellent example of a Servant Leader. Thank you for sharing. I wasn’t arguing that there are no servant leaders, however. I was saying that we need our leaders to stop trying to be autocratic “top dogs” and start working for the betterment of everyone (like Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr.) instead of just the betterment of themselves and their friends. If we can get leaders to start acting with broader and better intent rather than just greed, the world will be a much different and more improved place. Your thoughts on this?