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International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Abstract

I don't know that I can define or articulate my leadership style. I can only think that I always tried to be prepared musically. Beyond that I guess I just tried to get the job done in a way that enables others to do their best and that affirms and supports them as professionals and as wondeiful people. -Henry Charles Smith A large portion of existing servant-leadership literature focuses on defining what it is, describing how it differs from other leadership practices, discussing its merits, verifying its efficacy, and persuading others to embrace and practice its principles across a broad spectrum of organizational contexts (Cheshire, 1998; Greenleaf, 1977; Spears, 1995, 1998; Spears & Lawrence, 2002). In addition, there are insightful essays and personal reflections on servant-leadership formation by servant-leaders (George, 2003; Melrose, 1995; Turner, 1999), as well as thoughtful, creative learning materials and training programs designed to foster the development of servant-leaders available from the Greenleaf Center for Servantleadership. Nevertheless, I believe this rich body of work has not yet articulated a complete understanding of how one becomes a servant-leader. Greenleaf offers his explanation of servant-leadership formation in the oftquoted passage, "It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead" (p. 13). This begs the question: Where does this feeling come from and how is this choice made?

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