Servant Leadership for Mariott International's CEO

Servant Leadership
Name
Institution
Servant Leadership
“Take good care of your employees and they will take good care of your customers.” These words have been echoed many times by executive chairman and former CEO of Marriot International, Bill Marriot, Jr. In fact, they are the core of the Marriott management philosophy, which basically illustrates his willingness to serve his followers. These words are also part of the core values at Marriott International (Marriott International, n.d.). This forms the cornerstone of servant leadership and Marriot has demonstrated this in several situations. One of the principles that Marriot has demonstrated is the principle of listening. This principle entails paying attention to what others are saying so as to identify what their will is (Fields, Thompson, & Hawkins, 2015). Marriot has demonstrated this leadership principle throughout his leadership career. He never makes decisions on his own but listens to what others are saying, or not saying, and asks them what they think about a project. If some people are not on board with the project, Marriot allows them to explain why and on some occasions, projects that would have otherwise been unsuccessful have been canceled because he listened to his followers (Forbes, 2014). Another principle of leadership that describes Marriott is the principle of empathy. This principle entails accepting others and showing genuine care (Fields, Thompson, & Hawkins, 2015). Marriot has been able to demonstrate this through his concern for employees. He established the Guarantee of Fair Treatment policy which provides a platform where employees’ problems can be expressed and addressed (Marriott International. n.d.). Through this policy, he is able to genuinely provide employees with solutions and can actually put himself in their shoes. Lastly but not least, Marriot has demonstrated the building community principle, which involves providing a conducive work environment where employees can live harmoniously. Through Marriott’s leadership, employees have been able to view each other as family, with most staying with the company for an average of 25 years (Gallagher, 2015). His leadership principles have helped him cultivate employee loyalty within the industry.
Marriott has inspired followership through several strategies. He applies a hands-on management approach and as such, other managers have applied the same in inspiring followership (Marriott International. n.d.). Through a hands-on approach, Marriott has a better unders...