Servant Leadership in Diverse Context

Servant Leadership in Diverse Context Name Institution Servant Leadership in Diverse Context Although servant leadership is an ancient philosophy, it has been studied more keenly by scholars over the last few decades. The term “servant leadership” was first used by Robert K. Greenleaf in an essay that he wrote and published in 1970. Since then, servant leadership has gained a lot of prominence and following as one of the most cherished styles of leadership. Ideally, apart from this, servant leadership has been related to many religious ideologies especially Christianity. However, many other religions, as well as cultures when examined closely, they have a huge connection to servant leadership (Coetzer, Bussin & Geldenhuys, 2017). For this reason, it is important to examine how servant leadership is evident in the Buddhism and the Chinese culture. One way that servant leadership is exemplified in Buddhism is through promotion of service to others. Coetzer, Bussin, and Geldenhuys (2017) argue that a servant-leader “is a servant first” in that one has a natural desire to serve others. Here, serving is more important than leading. In the same way, Buddhism also promotes service to others. According to Schuyler (2012), Buddhism calls its followers to serve others and not their own self-interest. For example, in Buddhist text Shantideva or the Path of the Bodhisattva it says, “If I employ others for my own purposes I myself shall experience servitude, but if I use myself for the sake of others I shall experience only lordliness” (Schuyler, 2012). In this case, serving others is exalted as the way to ensure that a person becomes dignified or noble. This shows that Buddhism believes in the value of being a servant to others so as to get rewarded. Further, the concept of servant leadership manifests in Buddhism through healing. Ideally, servant leadership denotes that leadership should develop healing relationships (Krдgeloh, 2016). A servant leader should have the ability to heal him/herself and also his/her relationship with others. In the same breathe, in Buddhism’s The Eightfold Path, the idea of healing through Samma Vayama is explored (Krдgeloh, 2016). Samma Vayama in Buddhism is a technique of encouraging good thoughts and suppressing the evil thoughts. Buddhism encourages making an effort using meditation to ensure that an individual does not fall prey to harmful thoughts and emotions by preventing these from emanating in the mind. Further, through mediation an individual is able to develop healthy thoughts and emotions (Krдgeloh, 2016). Even if those healthy thoughts are not available, a person should make an effort to arouse them in the mind. This analysis shows that Buddhism mirrors with servant leadership when it encourages leaders to recognize when the subordinates are not whole or enduring some distress. Servant leadership is also evident in Buddhism is through foresight. Coetzer, Bussin, and Geldenhuys (2017) claim that servant leadership involves the ability to foresee and identity a likely outcome. In servant leadership, foresight is a trait that helps a leader comprehend lessons from the past and the current certainties. Through foresight, a servant leader knows the likely outcome of a decision for the futu...