A few days ago, Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno appointed a core group for the moral force movement that he hopes would push his advocacy against corruption. The group is also expected to identify leaders that would bring about national transformation.

The concept of “servant leadership” came to my mind as it best responds to the leadership crisis in our country. I am sure that the scholars who defined and advocated it were inspired by the first servant leader – Jesus Christ whose life demonstrated principles of service and responsibility for His followers.

This Lent, we remember how He washed His disciples’ feet and what He preached in the numerous parables — love for neighbor, self-sacrifice instead of personal gain and comfort.

From Wikipedia, I learned the origin of servant leadership (SL) and its development over the years. Robert Greenleaf, the initial “guru,” (followed by Stephen Covey, Peter Block, Peter Senge, among others), emphasized stewardship with these guiding criteria – the extent to which people served, grow as individuals, becoming healthier, wiser, more autonomous and more likely themselves to become servants; and the extent to which the leadership benefit those who are least advantaged. True leadership, he noted, emerges from those whose primary motivation is a deep desire to help others. It is a very moral position, putting the well-being of the followers before other goals.

Changing Minds.org suggests these principles: Transformative, personal growth as a route, presence of an enabling environment, trusting relationships, creating commitment as a way to collaborative activity, community building, and nurturing the spirit.

Another scholar, Spears, suggests additional attributes — listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, and foresight.

One of contemporary formal leaders who meet the criteria of servant leadership — vision, integrity, and passion for service for the common good is Nelson Mandela. There are informal leaders who likewise inspired change because of principled leadership, uncommon courage to fight the evils in their society, and willingness to engage with others to develop a common vision – Gandhi, Martin Luther King, among others.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that several institutions have been established to advance Servant Leadership as a movement and a profession. They include, Viterbo University, a Catholic Franciscan university which offers a graduate program; Emory University’s Ethics and Servant Leadership program which seeks to translate SL into the context of higher education through such goals as cultivating new habits and mindsets — e.g., sharing of power in decision-making and orienting students to service-oriented careers; Columbus State University in Ohio which offers a comprehensive program in servant leadership; Regent University School of Global Leadership and Entrepreneurship in Virginia which has a Research and Publications program; Gonzaga University’s Online Leadership Training program in Washington; the Rhodes College and Memphis School of Servant Leadership in Tennessee; the Bennett J. Sims Institute for Servant Leadership in North Carolina; and outside of the US — the Servant Leadership Institute in Nigeria.

My e-mail is florangel.braid@gmail.com.