International Journal of Servant-Leadership
Volume 19 Article 18

Written by Rocky Wallace

Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.gonzaga.edu/ijsl

In an age when improved customer service is receiving increased attention across the corporate landscape, current organizational thought is devoting a renewed emphasis on servant-leadership. Ironically, although often with a macro corporate focus, this “leading from the heart” is also transformative in the classroom and aligns well with what should be the core value, non-negotiable for all educators in the world of higher education.

INROADS INTO THE MAINSTREAM
Since Robert Greenleaf’s (1977/2002) seminal work on servantleadership almost 50 years ago, the steady expansion of this philosophy on how to better care for customers, employees, and other stakeholders has made significant inroads that are shaping the thinking and daily habits of leaders from all walks of life. More recently, Ken Blanchard has written a treasure trove of books that have helped thrust this timeless model into mainstream consciousness across our society. In his Leading at a Higher Level, Blanchard (2018) outlines a detailed process that grows servantleadership one person at a time, as he covers the spectrum from self-leadership and one-to-one mentoring to effective team development and
growing healthy, high-performing organizations.

The reality is that the practice of “others first” resonates with people from all walks of life. Why? Because it emphasizes great respect for the individual on the receiving end—flipping the traditional top/down hierarchal model of leading by controlling. Instead, the serving leader empowers and equips those around them to cultivate their unique abilities, thus using their array of talents in unselfish ways to make a difference in this world.

And there is no venue where modeling servant-leadership is more needed than in the college classroom. In his bestseller, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen, David Brooks (2023) delves into how individuals respond when in authentic relationships, being listened to intently and without prejudice. Quentin Schultze tackles this increase in focus on the other person in his provocative challenge for teachers in higher education. In Servant Teaching, Schultze (2023) illustrates chapter by chapter details of how he has learned over the years to facilitate his classes with a daily devotion to seeing the course through the eyes of his students and inviting them into an incubator of earnest dialogue and free sharing of perspective and insights. New York Times best-selling author Joseph Michelli expands on this notion of flipping the outdated top-down model with amazing stories of how organizations that excel over time train their employees to not just wait on their customers but to go out of their way to show uncommon service and respect for the people who, in reality, make their salaries possible. In fact, Michelli has been chosen by Campbellsville University to help develop and launch a new Institute for Service Excellence. A brainchild of Campbellsville’s president, Dr. Joe Hopkins, via the university’s strategic planning process, this think tank on how to better model servant-leadership on a college campus and with local, state, and global partners is already having an impact.

Malcolm Gladwell (2024), one of the most-read authors of this generation, writes about tipping points and the phenomenon of how, at a certain level of working against the grain, individuals and groups change the tide of a prevailing culture. Hopkins envisions this very construct continuing to transform his university (starting in the classroom) in the ever-changing and often volatile world of higher education.

THROUGH THE EYES OF COLLEGE STUDENTS: SCENARIO
Michael and John were best friends, and when graduating from high school, they made the difficult choice to go in different directions as they made decisions about college. Michael landed at a highly recognized university that specialized in an area of study he was good at and would also lead to a high-salaried career. It wasn’t his first choice in preparing for a meaningful vocation, but it was logical. John considered a variety of popular schools, but was caught off guard by how he was treated when visiting a smaller college he had been introduced to by one of his senior class teachers. From the moment he set foot on campus, it simply felt right. Everyone he met seemed genuinely concerned about his future and went out of their way to make his day helpful. No pressure—just people who took time to be friendly and were ‘real.’ John told his parents later, “It felt like home.” Michael and John had a meal together when they were back in their hometown for Christmas break.

John: “I got a little homesick at first, but not in a bad way. My instructors were great. Yes, the work was harder than in high school, but their courses were enjoyable and relational, and they were focused on helping me as a freshman to succeed. One of them, Dr. Thompson, was so passionate about what he kept referring to as ‘his calling,’ it was contagious. I’ve decided on my major, Mike. I want to live out in the real world later on as more than ‘making a living.’ I want to follow the call.” Michael: “I envy you, John. My experience was nothing like that. I was in a couple of classes that were so large and impersonal, I’m not sure the instructors ever really knew me or even knew my name. I felt like a number working on an assembly line. I’m taking the spring term off, and then, hopefully, I’ll find a school where I can experience what you’re experiencing. In the meantime, my uncle is going to hire me to work in his business. I’m not excited about it—but it does pay well.”

There are those who would push back on this all too common story, arguing that college is not like high school and that kids need to buckle down and grow up. But the reality is, 17 and 18-year-olds are still “kids,” however mature they may appear. But regardless of age, people from all walks of life flourish when in a “laboratory” of safe space and innovation that is all about respect and helpful relationships. Grace with accountability grows health and productivity. Lack of emotional intelligence and lack of compassion grow hostility and futility.

A CULTURE OF CARE: GENERATIVE LEADERSHIP
We all can think back to that one professor who went beyond the norm in nurturing a classroom experience that inspired us to embrace the privilege of learning in the higher education environment. For me, it was Dr. Pearson. I was shy, insecure, and taking an overload with two majors. One class with him, and I changed my thinking. He let me know he saw the potential in me, he expected me to grow into it, and he would help me to do so. If today I could visit for an hour with one mentor from my past (other than my dad), it would be Dr. Pearson. I am blessed to be in his “coaching tree.” He inspired all of us with his “culture of care,” and thus indeed, was modeling what it means to learn and grow from mentors and then pass it on to others—“Generative leadership.”

 

TEACHER DISPOSITIONS: EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE In The 8th Habit, Stephen Covey (2004) describes a transformative, unselfish approach to life and relationship as finding our “voice,” so we 371 can then help others to find their “voice.” This focus on emotional intelligence is key to maintaining healthy, generative relationships with others. In recent years, increased attention has been paid to this domain, as followers, colleagues, and even those at the top of the hierarchy need empathy, genuine care, and authentic relationships with others. The phrase “emotional intelligence” (EI) was relatively obscure in the literature and mainstream discussions on how it impacts relationships until Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee’s Primal Leadership was published in 2002. Soon, the EI factor became a legitimate variable that needed to be taken more seriously in personal and professional life. The feeling of acceptance and well-being a person gets when in conversation with a supervisor or colleague does matter—a lot. The mood and ambiance of the board room, break room, office suite, or classroom is not something to be taken lightly, but instead a critical part of the culture needed to grow healthy relationships and organizations. In Greenleaf’s writings, Spears (2010) has identified 10 key characteristics of servant-leaders—including listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, and building community. Indeed, these are core values any person and any organization can live by. Perhaps Greenleaf (1977/2002) captured the heart of servantleadership best when he said: The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived? (p. 22) 372

 

CLOSING THOUGHTS

From this growing abundance of literature, several common themes emerge that can serve any teacher well in growing into a mentor with a servant’s heart:

• Servant-leaders come in all shapes and sizes, from all walks of life, and are not dependent on position or status.
• Servant-leaders hear a “call,” or feel a yearning inside, to make a difference by investing in the lives of others.
• Servant-leadership is a way of life, not a strategic position or aura one takes on for personal gain.
• Servant-leadership is immersed in character, ethics, and a sense of worth inside that then extends itself to all in one’s circle of influence.
• Servant-leaders are couched in humility, thus often deflecting the praise they receive. Servant-leader teachers are not:
• Data-driven to the point of ignoring the affective needs of their students.
• “Bosses,” working in their own silo or kingdoms.
• Chronically distracted by the political forces that often polarize a school community. • Disrespectful to students, colleagues, parents, or supervisors.
• Locked into a mindset that sees their work limited to a career choice, with the bottom line being personal gain.

 

Students Need:

• Instructors who are engaged in the work with them.
• Instructors who model a passion for their own calling to teach.
• Instructors who make time for community (culture of care).
• Instructors who will challenge them and hold them accountable, but with grace.
• Instructors who will facilitate the class more from the student’s perspective and needs.

These simple “best practice habits” will make the holistic learning experience for college students so much more memorable and fulfilling, facilitated by professors with strong emotional intelligence—caring mentors, servant-leaders growing servant-leaders, generative leaders! In Talent is Not Enough, John Maxwell (2007) explains the unfortunate gap that can exist between knowledge and a culture of care. He stresses that other people are our work, and they need us to connect with them in an engaged, relational manner that goes beyond the various other duties that often preoccupy our day. Our students in the college classroom are thirsting for real, ethical, unselfish leadership—service excellence.

References Blanchard, K. (2018). Leading at a higher level (3rd ed.). Pearson/F.T. Press. Brooks, D. (2023). How to know a person. Random House. Covey, S. R. (2004). The 8th habit. Free Press. Gladwell, M. (2024). Revenge of the tipping point. Little, Brown and Company. Goleman, D., Boyatziz, R., & McKee, A. (2002). Primal leadership. Harvard Business School Press. Greenleaf, R. K. (2002). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness (L. C. Spears, Ed.; 25th anniversary ed.). Paulist Press. (Original work published 1977) Maxwell, J. C. (2007). Talent is never enough. Thomas Nelson. Schultze, Q. (2023). Servant teaching. Edenridge Press LLC.Spears, L. C. (2010). Character and servant leadership: Ten characteristics of effective, caring leaders. The Journal of Virtues and Leadership, 1(1), 25- 30. 

Dr. Rocky Wallace is Professor of Education at Campbellsville University and has helped develop the graduate education leadership 374 program for CU. He has served in a similar capacity for Morehead State University and Asbury University. Wallace is currently the co-chair of the university’s ‘Institute for Service Excellence’ initiative. He is a former principal of a U.S. Blue Ribbon School, writes extensively in the domain of organizational health, and has published 12 books on servantleadership and school improvement with Rowman & Littlefield.