Leadership

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Leadership

• Servant Leadership
• Conference
• 20th March 2006
• Hilton College

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Who is Ntombi Langa - Royds

• 40 year old Black woman
• Mother to 17 yrs old and a 5 yrs old
• Wife, Daughter, Friend, sister etc
• Holds 2 legal degrees
• Holds executive and non executive directorships
  in various companies
• Attempting to be a Entrepreneur
• Student of Life

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Topics to be covered

• Background to Servant Leadership
• Characteristics of servant leaders
• Areas of application
• Why Servant Leadership
• Conclusions

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Background

• Robert Greenleaf proponent of Servant
  Leadership
• Influenced by Hermann Hesse Journey to the
  East and the story of Leo, the servant
• Lesson the great leader is seen as servant
  first, and that simple fact is the key to his
  greatness

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Who is a leader?

• ANGELES ARRIEN THE FOURFOLD WAY
• Guidelines
• SHOW UP AND BE FULLY PRESENT
• PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT HAS HEART AND MEANING
• TELL THE TRUTH WITHOUT BLAME OR JUDGEMENT
• BE OPEN TO OUTCOME, BUT NOT ATTACHED TO IT

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Leadership Characteristics

• Peter Senge Fifth Discipline
• SHARED VISION
• MENTAL MODELS
• PERSONAL MASTERY
• TEAM LEARNING
• SYSTEMS THINKING

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Who is a leader?

• Greenleaf says A leader initiates, provides
  the ideas and the structure, and takes the risk
  of failure along with the chance of success. A
  leader says I will go, follow me while knowing
  that the path is uncertain, even dangerous. One
  then trusts those who go with ones leadership
• Begins with initiative
• The provision of ideas in relation to the
  initiative
• The provision of structure
• The taking of the risk associated with the
  initiative

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Litmus test

• 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?
• Robert Greenleaf

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Characteristics

• Listening Lord, Grant that I may not seek so
  much as to be understood as to understand St.
  Francis of Assisi
• Test Nothing is meaningful until it is
  related to the hearers own experience.
• Empathy The ability to accept and recognize
  others for their unique and special skills
• Healing Recognition of the opportunity of making
  whole those with whom one comes into contact
• Persuasion convince rather than use coercion
• Awareness the ability to view most situations
  from a more integrated holistic position e.g.
  Jesus saying let the one who has never sinned be
  the first to strike her with a rock .

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Characteristics

• Foresight the ability to understand the lessons
  of the past, the realities of the present, and
  the likely consequences of a decision on the
  future.
• Conceptualization the ability to think beyond
  the day to day operational realities-to dream big
  dreams
• Commitment to the growth of people activation of
  the belief that all people have intrinsic value
• Stewardship P. Block Holding something in
  trust for another
• Building community Greenleaf says All that is
  needed to rebuild community as a viable life form
  for large numbers of people is for enough servant
  leaders to show the way, not by mass movements,
  but by each servant leader demonstrating his/her
  unlimited liability for a quite specific
  community-related group.

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Characteristics

• A new one maybe
• CALLING
• Not yet fully defined but relates to the natural
  urge to serve others, it is deeply routed and
  value based!
• Lynham, Taylor, Naidoo and Dooley -2005

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Sands of TimeThe Economic Era

• Hunter Gatherer
• Stone age
• Iron age
• Industrial Age 19th century
• Manufacturing Era 19th-20th century
• Technology Era 20th century
• Relational Era 21st century

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World of Work

• World of Work Characteristics
• Physical strength, Speed, agility, optimal
  utilization of resources, low storage.
• Higher storage requirement, strong arms,
  resilience, longer lasting products, rudimentary
  tools, basic planning
• Tools, heavier products so needed storage and
  transportation capacity

• Economic Era
• Hunter Gatherer
• Stone Age
• Iron Age

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World of Work

• Economic Era
• Industrial Age 19th century
• Manufacturing Era 19th-20th century
• Technology Era 20th century
• Relational Era 21st century

• World of Work Characteristics
• Heavy machinery, lots of hands and people to work
  machines, pattern of work similar, growth of
  worker rights
• Manufacturing emphasis on the capability of
  machine, reduction of labour intensity,
  separation of categories of work and workers
• Reliance telecommunications abilities and
  convergence of the capability
• EQ, Influencing skills, Servant Leadership
  characteristics.

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Generational Theory

• Silent Generation were born before and during the
  Great Depression and World War II. They are
  conservative, hard-working and structured,
  preferring rules, order and formal hierarchies.
  They are founts of great wisdom, having lived
  through some of humanitys most profound
  change-moments in the last 8 decades.
• Baby Boomers are the postwar generation, the
  drugs, sex, rock n roll set who grew up during
  a time of grand visions. They invented Thank
  God, its Monday! and the 60-hour (plus)
  workweek. Boomers are passionately concerned
  about participation in the workplace, motivated
  by vision and strategy, and care about creating a
  fair and level playing field for all.

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Generational Theory

• Generation Xers grew up as latchkey kids during
  the era of crises (from Watergate to June 16,
  1976 from the energy crisis to the collapse of
  communism). They need options and flexibility
  they dislike close supervision, preferring
  freedom and an outputs-driven system. They love
  change so much they actually need it. Xers strive
  for balance in their lives - They work to have a
  life they dont live to work.
• Millennial kids are the upcoming optimists,
  willing to co-operate, work and learn. They value
  diversity often not even noticing it. They are
  confident almost arrogantly so. They seem
  destined to become good scouts. Bill Strauss
  and Neil Howe, authors of Generations, predict
  they will inherit the mantle of patriotism and
  self-sacrifice personified by the GI generation
  (the generation who came before the Silents,
  represented by such people as Nelson Mandela,
  Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher,
  and others).

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Woman of the Millenium 4cs

• This womans Choice is shaped by her feelings
  about
• Career- which one?
• Cash- How much to target?
• Children- how many and how ?
• Article World of women

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What about the women in organizations then?

• This is not an article about getting more women
  into organisations although I believe that this
  is necessary Creating feminine values is not
  about women. It is about those behaviours which
  will drive the cultures and strategies required
  in the current and emerging competitive
  environment in South Africa.
• To view in favour of creating more feminine
  values is based on two key premises
• The emerging competitive paradigm will demand a
  set of values and behaviours which emphasise more
  of the so-called feminine attributes
• Traditional masculine values have a number of
  limitations when applied to the task of
  leadership in modern organisations.The Wits
  Business School Journal, November 2004. It was
  written by Norman Chorn, Visiting Professor in
  Strategy at WBS from Sydney, Australia.

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More from Norman Chorn

• Feminine values are more suited to the task of
  integrating the various processes into strategic
  capabilities. Because they emphasize
  collaboration, exploration and interdependence,
  they promote behaviors which allow the
  organization to develop these integrated
  capabilities.

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Chorn concludes

• In order to develop the feminine values, he
  emphasises the role of leadership throughout the
  organisation. The role model of leaders is
  obviously critical, but in addition to that he
  recommends a few steps that can be taken share
  your vision and principals generously, engage
  your people, argue strongly with your colleagues
  about the things you believe in, know when to be
  a follower, accept failure in tragedy as part of
  the route to success, and seek time out and learn
  about other cultures
• This will require a new style of leadership. One
  that is open, sharing and supportive, and that is
  engaging in ongoing learning from continual
  experimentation and innovation. We are not
  suggesting that all the traditional masculine
  values should be swept aside. Far from it. They
  have contributed much to the success of our
  organisations, but going forward, they need to be
  complemented by another set of values that have
  so much to offer the future.

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Servant leadership atorganizational level

• Appropriate to the dominant economic era!
• Teamwork and community
• Involvement in decision making
• Ethical and Caring (including tough love!)
• Enhancing people growth
• Improving caring and quality of institutions
  visibly
• Strategically operative and conscious Board/
  Trustee participation

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Peter Senge Leadership

• A leaders story, sense of purpose, values and
  vision establishes the direction and target.
• His relentless commitment to the truth and to
  inquiry into the forces underlying current
  reality continually highlight the gaps between
  reality and the vision.
• Leaders generate and manage this creative
  tension -not just in themselves but in an entire
  organization. This is how they energize an
  organization.
• That is their basic job. That is why they
  exist.
• (From The Fifth Discipline)

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Local is Lekker

• Ruth Tearle
• Ride the Wild Tiger
• Lovemore Mbigi
• Ubuntu
• Albert Koopman
• Corporate governance
• Nelson Mandela
• Various works
• speeches

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Local is Lekker

• According to Lynham, Taylor, Naidoo and Dooley
  Corporate leadership for economic, social, and
  political change lessons from south Africa ( in
  press)
• Business leadership has taken many forms in the
  last decades. It is our belief that the business
  leaders in this study closely patterns that
  espoused by servant leadership
• the participant interview data bear a striking
  resemblance to the above characteristics.. the
  findings can be easily related to the
  characteristics of Servant leadership. those
  particularly reflective of the value-centered and
  servant type nature of this business leadership
  experience..

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Servant Leadership in South Africa

• Ubuntu
• Motho ke motho ka batho
• Pre-colonial role of
• SERITI / ISITHUNZI
• African Workgroup
• Moral emotional elements VALUES
• UMHLANGANO/KGOTLA
• Open Space Technology
• Adapted from African general meeting techniques

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Areas of Application

• Institutional philosophy and model profit and
  non-profit organizations
• Trustee education boards of directors
• Community Leadership development arena
• Experiential learning schools and universities
  etc.
• Leadership Education and training particularly
  in programs like continuous improvement,
  community building programs etc.
• Personal and spiritual growth programs links in
  to work done by Scott Peck, Parker Palmer,
  Margaret Wheatley and Peter Senge.

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Why servant leadership?

• Our history requires us to adopt a much more
  inclusive leadership style
• The legislative environment encourages us to use
  these principles- OBE, Industry Charters, BEE,
  LRA, SDA and EE etc.
• The Relationship Economic Era or connection
  Era requires the use of these competencies
• Cannot lose anything for trying

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Food for thought??Next steps

• Awareness and Education on the subject is
  essential, create more servant leaders
• Familiarize ourselves with the writings of R.
  Greenleaf
• Go out and be disciples of the teachings
• Customization to SA model
• Fortunately, this is not a new way it is
  perhaps an elaboration of what we know and maybe
  could have also decided as people not to
  acknowledge and practice?

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LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE!! Our deepest fear is not
that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that
we are powerful beyond measure! It is our Light,
not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask
ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not
to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small
doesn't serve the world. There's nothing
enlightened about shrinking so that other people
won't feel insecure around you. We are born to
make manifest the Glory of God that is within
us. It's not just in some of us. It's in
everyone. And as we let our own Light shine, We
unconsciously give other people permission to do
the same. As we are liberated from our fears, Our
presence automatically liberates others. --
Marianne Williamson (in her book "A Return to
Love" ) 1992
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Acknowledgements

• Robert Greenleaf The Servant as Leader
• Lance Bloch and Associates
• Various articles from Tomorrowtodaybiz
• Greenleaf Centre for Servant Leadership USA and
  SA
• Michael E. Porter Competitive Advantage
• Jacqui Loewen The power of strategy
• Lynham, Taylor, Naidoo and Dooley (in press)
• Corporate leadership for economic, social and
  political change Lessons from South Africa

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Thank you for your attention

• Questions and Remarks