Cara Stroud

OGL 300

Module 6: Paper 6

Arizona State University

November 20, 2021

 According to Northouse, Servant leadership is a paradox—an approach to leadership that

runs counter to common sense. Our everyday images of leadership do not coincide with leaders

being servants. Leader's influence and servants follow (2018). In Servant leadership, the

leadership approach focuses on the leader's point of view and behaviors. Servant leadership

claims that its leaders are watchful of their followers; they try to be on the same wavelength and

support them. In a Servant leadership role, the leader will always put the follower first, empower

them, and work with them to help develop their full personal capacities. "The best test . . . is: do

those served to grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer,

more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And what is the effect on the

least privileged in society; will they benefit, or, at least, will they not be further deprived

(2018)?" Servant leadership is often viewed as a trait. However, Northouse defines Servant

leadership as a behavior. Servant leadership can be practiced, but it does come more naturally for

others. When becoming a Servant leadership, it is not uncommon for a leader to use less

institutional power and control while shifting authority to followers. Greenleaf stated that

Servant leadership values community because it provides a face-to-face opportunity for

individuals to experience interdependence, respect, trust, and individual growth (Greenleaf,

1970). These ten characteristics listed below are crucial in the development process of Servant

leadership:
 Ten Characteristics of a Servant Leader

1. Listening

2. Empathy

3. Healing

4. Awareness

5. Persuasion

6. Conceptualization

7. Commitment to the growth of people

8. Building community

9. Foresight

10. Stewardship

In conclusion, Servant leadership has three essential components: antecedent conditions,

servant leader behaviors, and outcomes. The focus of the Servant leadership model is the seven

behaviors that leaders possess: conceptualizing, emotional healing, putting followers first,

helping followers grow and succeed, behaving ethically, empowering, and creating value for the

community. All seven of these behaviors are enticed by context and culture.

According to Northouse, adaptive leadership is about how leaders encourage people to

adapt—to face and deal with problems, challenges, and changes. Adaptive leadership focuses on

the adaptations required of people in response to changing environments (2018). Adaptive

leadership has been used efficiently to describe how leaders can encourage valuable change

across numerous levels, including self, organizational, community, and societal. Adaptive

leadership is more follower-centered than it is leader-centered. Northouse stated that adaptive

leadership is concerned with how people change and adjust to new circumstances. There are four

main principles of adaptive leadership: emotional intelligence, organizational justice,

development, and character (2015). Adaptive leaders engage in activities that mobilize, motivate,

organize, orient, and focus the attention of others (2018). One of the main goals in adaptive

leadership is to encourage others to address and resolve significant changes in their lives.

Adaptive leadership has four different viewpoints: a systems perspective, a biological view, a

service orientation perspective, and a psychotherapy perspective. Listed below are six leader

behaviors regarding adaptive leadership.

Leader Behaviors

1. Get on the balcony

2. Identify the Adaptive Challenge

3. Regulate Distress

4. Maintain Disciplined Attention

5. Give the Work Back to the People

6. Protect Leadership Voices from Below

So, how does adaptive leadership work? According to Northouse, there are two steps.

First, the leader takes time to step back from a challenging situation to understand the situation's

complexities and obtain a fuller picture of the interpersonal dynamics occurring among the

participants (2018). Second, in any context where people are experiencing change, the leader

makes an initial assessment to determine if the change creates technical or adaptive challenges
(2018). If the challenge is technical, then the leader would address the problem with their

authority and experience or through the rules and procedures through the organization. However,

if the challenge is adaptive, the leader would engage in different behaviors to move the adaptive

process forward.

Martin Luther King, Jr. is someone I believe was a Servant leader. Martin Luther King,

Jr. worked tirelessly as an activist to spread awareness about the civil rights movements. He used

persuasion, precise and persistent communication that convinces others to change. Not only did

he spread awareness and use influence to his advantage, but he also demonstrated empathy. He

heard and saw all people and understood how combatants on both sides of an issue—even the

most divisive issue—felt (2019).

"I don't know what will happen now; we've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't

matter to me now because I've been to the mountaintop … I've looked over. And I've seen the

promised land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we, as a people,

will get to the promised land." – Martin Luther King, Jr.

My mother-in-law Debbie Stroud is an adaptive leader. She is the Senior Vice President

of Operations for Starbucks. She works to create an environment that allows her to regulate her

team's daily pressures when approaching challenges. She brings issues to the surface and helps

initiate dialogue between her colleagues. With Covid19 and effective all of our store nations

wide, she does a great job at providing directions and a sense of clarity and order amongst her

team, which helps reduce the stress individuals feel in unprecedented times in our world today.
Debbie also makes sure that her followers feel involved in problem-solving and understand her

impact on others.

Abraham Lincoln was a Servant leader. In a Servant leadership role, the leader leads by

example. As a servant leader, Lincoln was dedicated to uniting the nation, and he took full

responsibility for the deaths in the Civil War that led to the Gettysburg address. Lincoln inspired

his follower. "The very meaning of leadership and being a leader is having the ability to inspire

others to follow so one can lead. A leader must be authentic – honest with oneself so they can be

honest with each other people (2016)."

Barack Obama is an adaptive leader. I believe Obama is an adaptive leader because he

tried to apply the change in our country when he was president. He had a "we" attitude and not

just an "I" attitude. He took a risk, and he understood the importance of communication. He

believed in respect, fairness, and citizenship; he was caring, confident, and mindful in his

decision-making.

Case Study 10.1: Everyone Loves Mrs. Noble

Mrs. Noble oversees the main office at the high school. She does not have a college

degree, but she understands the core curriculum and is wise. Mrs. Noble demonstrates many

Servant leader behaviors. "She is an extravert, and people say her jokes are corny, but she runs

the office efficiently and well, getting along with teachers and students and dealing with the rules

and procedures that govern day-to-day Essex school life." She also helps students prepare for

college applications, she never mocks students who are "way out" and she seems to enjoy these

students. She cares for the personal growth of her students and helps them achieve their goals by
spending her time pushing, nudging, and convincing students to stay on task and get their college

applications submitted. Mrs. Nobles' followers are her students, parents, and staff. She is known

to go above and beyond what her job description entails. Based on the Servant leadership model,

Mrs. Nobles' leadership helped her gain respect and admiration from her students. When I was in

high school, I had a hard time taking the test in the classroom because I would get overwhelmed

with anxiety. When I took my test in a smaller room by myself and with another teacher, I would

do well, whereas, in a large group setting taking an exam, I would do poorly. I had a teacher who

would take me to another room while I took exams by myself. It was embarrassing to be a junior

in high school and struggle the way I did with anxiety. She made me feel intelligent and average.

She would go out of her way to talk to me and boost my confidence. It has been eleven years

since I have seen her, but I think of her often.

Case Study 11.1: Silence, Stigma, and Mental Illness

Two student editors struggled with mental illness. Madeline Halpert and Eva Rosenfeld

had three things in common. They were both on the newspaper staff, they both suffered from

depression, and they both felt isolated from the stigma associated with mental illness. Both

Madeline and Eva wanted to eliminate the stigma tied to mental illness by sharing their personal

experiences. Because of this, I would say that this situation would be an adaptive e challenge

because both Madeline and Eva were trying to encourage their peers to support other students

who suffered from depression. However, I was in disbelief by how the principal handled the

situation. While both students were putting together their stories, their principal called them into
the office and shared a story about a former college football player who struggled with

depression. He wou;d be willing to be interviewed. However, the principal refused to print any of

the stories. Both students were shocked because they believed their school had a very tolerant

atmosphere that offered a depression awareness group. They were surprised that the adults

advocated for mental awareness, but they also stood in the way of it. I do not think that the

holding environment in this situation was sufficient enough to meet adaptive changes. The

students' leader (the principal) was unwilling to work with them and provide them with a sense

of security and awareness about their stories about mental illness. In my opinion, I would be

looking for another principle that has more of a Servant leadership background. In this story,

Madeline and Eva are adaptive leaders. I have not experienced a time in my life where a leader

expressed this type of behavior.

Rater Rater Rater Rater Rater Average Self Difference

1 2 3 4 5
Get on the 16 14 15 18 16 15.8 17 1.2
balcony
Identify the 17 16 17 17 17 18 18 1
adaptive
challenge
Regulate 15 16 17 17 15 16.8 18 2
distress
Give the work 16 16 17 17 18 16.8 18 2
back to the
people
Protect 17 16 19 17 19 17.6 19 1.4
leadership
vpices from
below
Maintain 19 19 16 17 17 17.6 19 1.4
Discipline
andattention
 I scored a high fourteen in the following areas: Emotional healing, putting followers first,

and behaving ethically. I scored a 13.5 in helping followers grow and succeed. My lowest score

was an 11, creating value for the community. Thus, my Servant leadership abilities are in good

standing, but I could use more practice learning to create value for my community. I was not

surprised by these scores; I have not focused on my community, so I knew that that might be my

lowest score.

I handed out the questionnaire in chapter 11 to my wife, my store manager, and three of

my close work friends. I also took the assessment myself. I was surprised by the score I received

from one of my coworkers regarding giving work back to the people. I always thought that I did

a great job empowering others to think for themselves and solve their problems. However, I

think the area that had the highest disparities was giving work back to the people. The results

suggest that I let my followers work on their problems and spend less time fixing the problem

myself.

This class has helped me identify my strengths and weaknesses regarding leadership and

the areas that I can improve on.

References

Adaptive leadership. (2021, September 23). Retrieved November 20, 2021, from
https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/careers/soft-skills/adaptive-leadership/
NORTHOUSE, P. G. (2018). Leadership + northouse: LEADERSIP, 8th ed. IEB. SAGE
PUBLICATIONS.
Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2021, from
https://www.backcountry.com/explore/remembering-martin-luther-king-
Valerio, N. (2016, June 14). Home. Retrieved November 21, 2021, from
https://sites.psu.edu/leadership/2016/06/14/servant-leadership-abraham-lincoln/
Wilcox, M. (n.d.). Why was Martin Luther King considered a hero? Retrieved November 20,
2021, from https://colors-newyork.com/why-was-martin-luther-king-considered-a-hero/