Few today dispute the deep connection existing between existential or spiritual intelligence and the so-called “Servant Leadership” as it essentially arises from the former. Hitler did not manifest spiritual intelligence, while for Gandhi it was his vital motor. What we need is the development of so-called spiritual values so that leadership is positive and effective in social relationships and in the Church.
“And what if the best leadership was service?” wonders Juanma Roca, an expert in business management. It turns out to be a mistake to confuse kindness with weakness or a service-oriented attitude with servility. It is also a mistake to act as if the principles of power rest on the same pillars as the foundations of authority. Auctoritas comes from augeo: helping to grow.
The truth is that there are leadership models as different as Hitler, Superman, Jesus of Nazareth, Messi… What conventional image do we have of a leader? Because the question refers us to another more specific issue: what are the attitudes and skills of a good, positive leader at all times and places? And, above all, whether leadership is a quality that mortals can practice. We are attracted by the image of a *superman* or *superwoman* when the reality is that the authentic Superman only existed when we saw the actor Christopher Reeve bravely battling his illness in a wheelchair.
We are not talking about a higher level of perfect people, which does not exist. When someone tries to lead, they cannot do so apart from their human flaws. But there are attitudes that are universal when it comes to being able to exercise them.
The term “servant leadership” was coined by R. K. Greenleaf in 1970.. He was an advanced thinker of his time for combining “leadership” with “service,” enhancing the natural feeling of being helpful to others at work. As he himself recounts, the idea arose from the shock he experienced reading a short story by Herman Hesse (Journey to the East) where the story narrates the history of a servant whose attitude of service was such that upon disappearing, it conditions the journey of all the others.
Therefore, it is necessary to banish the belief that this type of leadership is gentle or easy and devoid of all responsibility. What truly characterizes a servant leader is their ability to create an environment of unity and trust, which leads to greater commitment to achieve goals without dehumanizing relationships.
It must be clear that anyone can exercise this attitude of leadership around them. Thanks to good leaders and leaders who live quietly among us, social, business, and ecclesial reality improves beyond what sometimes appears at first glance. There was once talk of the impact of the silent work of African women and their enormous contribution to Africa’s IPC. Greenleaf was right to focus on the dimension of human development that depends on certain attitudes capable of sustaining results without the showiness or inconsistency of a weather vane. Close by, I remember some nuns who attended to the dying sick in Begoña (Bilbao) during the full pandemic, when they were a stigma that no one wanted, helping them to die comfortably and full of affection.
First, one decides to be helpful and then finds oneself a reference point for other people, not the other way around. Providing good customer service sounds very good; instead, being the server of your team sounds awful, perhaps because we confused service with servility. That’s why Greenleaf intentionally titled his first essay on servant leadership “The Servant as Leader” instead of “The Leader as Servant,” breaking the cliché that servers are associated with the lowest level of hierarchies and highlighting the prime characteristic of the best leader: serving.
The good thing is that leadership can be learned. Any of us is capable of developing a service attitude with family or friends, at work, in the parish, and in every circumstance, large or small. Let’s look at some attitudes of the servant leader, pure Gospel for practicing in Lent: he is ready to help when needed; he discovers the good in others; he transmits, he infects; he fosters mutual respect; he is not only a teacher, but also a student; he possesses social awareness; he listens above average; he acts from commitment, generates trust…
**Gabriel Mª Otalora**
English version translated with AI