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International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Abstract

Robert K. Greenleaf (1977) offers a foundational understanding of servant-leadership with this statement: The servant-leader is servant first. .. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve first. . . Then, conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead... The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people's highest-priority needs are being served. The best test, and the most difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, and more likely themselves to become servants? And what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit, or at least not be further deprived?" (p. 27) Greenleaf s statement offers all hope in the power of servant-leadership to transform society through service. A primary motivation for leadership should be to serve others, according to Snyder, Dowd, and Houghton (1994).

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