Third Post - Servant Leadership

Hey everyone! This is my third entry in this new blog. Hope you like it!

A quote that stood out to me is, 

“The ends you serve that are selfish will take you no further than yourself but the ends you serve that are for all, in common, will take you into eternity.” - Marcus Garvey

I absolutely love this quote. It sums up a very strong point about leadership and how it relates to social justice. I would define social justice as trying to establish a society upon principles of equality and valuing the individual human rights of everyone in that society. This quote relates to leadership by explaining how a leader cannot be successful if he/she is selfish. If they are only justifying themselves with their actions then they will not accomplish much. However, if one were to serve others, then the benefits would be endless, and that would include social justice among the people.

I actually really enjoyed the Servant Leadership workshop. I went into the workshop not having any idea as to what a servant leadership meant. I was actually very surprised to learn about this way of leadership. I had thought about the idea of leaders actually being servants to their people, but very in such detail. I loved the concept and think that it truly represents the qualities that a leader should have.

In terms of the servant leadership point of view, I think that my strongest characteristic would be listening. I am always open to the views and opinion of other people. I believe that that will best help me in making the smartest decisions and will also help me be aware of everyone’s viewpoints, which is what servant leadership is all about. I also feel like I have a commitment to the growth of the people. Everyone is important in a group and as a servant leader, it is your job to help everyone grow and achieve their full potential and hopefully help them improve to become future leaders. 

I was easily able to pick out the characteristic I was weak in that a servant leader should have. I need to learn to share power. I prefer to have control over everything. I’ve always believe in myself and that I can handle everything that is given to me and that I don’t ever need anyone’s help. I now understand that it is sometimes necessary and almost always beneficial to share the power and workload for the betterment of the group. It can help improve the quality of the work being done and improve skills of others. 

I also found a nice, short video here that summarizes the main characteristics of Servant Leadership and also shows examples of some of out great leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Check it out!

My dream job has always been to be the head doctor of an NFL Football Team. I’ve always wanted to travel around with the team and be able to personally handle the injuries and problems of the players and to help make sure they are healthy enough to play. It is a perfect combination of not only my love for football and sports in general, but of my desire to help improve the lives of others as well. I will be in a leadership role with the team and will be serving the players by helping them reach their full potential.