Unit 5. Greenleaf: Pioneer on His Journey
Robert K. Greenleaf has been acclaimed as the “grandfather of servant leadership,” a pioneer, prophet, pathfinder, and teacher of its precepts. He not only coined the phrase (1970) servant leadership (“the servant as leader”), but over decades forged ahead into a wilderness of institutions and organizations with concepts and disciplines of inestimable impact on the whole practice ofleadership. His major contributions include schools, churches and other non-profit organizations.
Activity 5:
- Read and share with others–even briefly–Greenleaf’s story on the page below as an attempt to inspire a continued interest in servant leadership.
- Reflect on your own journey into servant leadership.
- Write down your insight–especially about your own servant leadership journey.
1) Robert K. Greenleaf, a Summary (1904-1990)
1904–Born in Terre Haute, Indiana, of practical, principled parents.
1920’s— When Greenleaf was a senior at Carleton College, a sociology professor advised students to choose a career in one of the big institutions and seek to influence it from the inside. Upon graduation, he wanted no more formal education and intentionally settled for a bachelor’s degree.
1926–First job out of college as a lineman on a crew for AT&T–a common laborer carrying tools, digging holes, and stringing line.
1929–Moved to New York where he spent the rest of his 38-year career with AT&T: as a director of training; and, for his last seven years was Director of Management Research (he refused a position title of Vice President of AT&T).
1964–Retired from AT&T at the age of 60 to pursue a second career–a broader field of research consulting, lecturing, and writing.
1964-1990–Founded what is now the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana; published extensively, held a joint appointment as visiting lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management and the Harvard Business School; consultant to Ohio University, MIT, Ford Foundation, R.K. Mellon Foundation, Lilly Endowment, Inc., the American Foundation of Management Research, and the Mead Corporation.
2) Servant Leadership Concept
Greenleaf considered that one of his “life markers” came in early 1960 with the reading and reflection on a novel by Hermann Hesse–Journey to the East:
Among a travelling band on a mythical journey, Leo is the menial servant of chores, spirit, and song. When Leo disappears, the group falls into disarray and the journey is abandoned. Years later, the narrator discovers that Leo the servant was in fact the titular head of the Order that had sponsored the journey, its guiding spirit, a great and noble leader.
From Leo’s journey, and sixty years of his own experience, Greenleaf concluded that the meaning of the story was that great leaders must first serve otbers (Greenleaf, p.7).
PERSONAL REFLECTION:
- Do you have a book, a person, an experience that has greatly influenced the foundational concepts and direction of your life?
- Reflect–then record your own sense of discovery about your journey.
3) Publications: The Servant as Leader (SL)
This first essay, published in 1970 at age 66, was Greenleaf’s first of a dozen essays and books on servant leadership. His collection published in 1977 was titled Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness. More than 500,000 copies of his works have been sold around the world (Reflections p. 3).
4) Influence on Others
Peter Drucker writes that “Bob is one of the few truly wise men I ever met” (Reflections, p.51). His influence is enthusiastically claimed by other significant leaders:
– Max DePree–Leadership as Art, Leadership Jazz
– John Gardner–Leadership
– James Kounzes–Leadership Challenge and Credibility
– Parker Palmer–The Active Life
– M. Scott Peck–The Road Less Travelled
– Peter Senge–The Fifth Discipline
5) As a Quaker
Greenleaf made a life-long discipline of reflection on and contribution to The Religious Society of Friends. An emphasis on the “human spirit” was greatly influenced by this Quaker alliance. His last residence was in a Quaker retirement village in Philadelphia. Unit 6 takes up Greenleaf’s contribution to servant leadership as a way of life and leadership.
Activity 5 (continued):
- Return to Activity 5 at the top of this page. Make sure you have logged at least 3 to 5 major elements of your journey as a servant leader.
Back to Unit 4/Next to Unit 6/Back to Principles: Exploring the Journey