ethics news & views: Employee Council initiates servant leadership program

February 01, 2001

Employee Council initiates servant leadership program

Twenty years ago Julia Leon of the Employee Council read an essay by Robert Greenleaf. When she heard of the Ethics and Servant Leadership program, she quickly initated contact with Melissa Snarr, Mary Sue Brookshire, and Andy Fleming. The following is a brief summary of developments since.

From the Employee Council. The Employee Council envisions Emory as a great place to work. People will deeply enjoy their work at Emory because they will be members of one or more campus communities that support their individual growth, that answer their call to serve others and give meaning to their work. Respectful relationships will exist among employees and between employees and customers. People will be assisted in a multitude of ways with their effort to improve their way of communication.

The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership states that the aim of servant leadership is to “fundamentally improve the caring and quality of all institutions through a new approach to leadership, structure, and decision making. Servant-leadership emphasizes increased service to others; a holistic approach to work; promoting a sense of community; and the sharing of power in decision making.” Servant leadership principles are followed by many companies in Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For:” Synovus Corporation, Container Store, Southwest Airlines, TIIndustries, and AFLAC. The University of Michigan Housing Facilities Department and Butler University.

In support of this vision the Employee Council will initiate an ongoing dialogue with faculty, staff (including administrators) and students to explore and learn to practice servant leadership. A common ground for us to build from is our love and caring for Emory.

While it is expected that the improved well-being of employees will favorably improve productivity and customer satisfaction, servant leadership is not concerned with these business objectives. Servant leadership offers a way for individuals to relate to their work and the people in their work that will enliven them and improve the experience of everyone they have contact with. People may practice servant leadership in the context of existing management techniques.

We realize that for ongoing, systemic change to occur a group of people are needed who feel passionately about the mission and will be the “heartbeat” of it. Caring for this group deliberately will be part of the plan. There will be a way for people to join the group, and a way for the group to continue their study and work together.

[ Posted by Julia Leon at February 1, 2001 10:47 AM |