A lieutenant who is respectful and available to listen and answer questions from staff. A captain who helps subordinates secure training that enhances their skill sets. A correctional officer who acts in ways that are fair, firm and consistent with both incarcerated persons and coworkers, and who informally mentors new officers, answering questions and offering encouragement. A warden who takes well-thought out steps to shape the facility’s culture for the benefit of both employees and those incarcerated.1 A retired director who volunteers to set up and run a program that improves the character development of both staff and the incarcerated. These are examples of servant leadership. And because much is being discussed today about improving employee retention rates in criminal justice professions, I would humbly like to offer the suggestion that servant leadership is one style of leadership that could be almost guaranteed to help increase employee retention. In correctional environments, servant leaders would first and foremost be known to their employees for prioritizing their physical safety. Over time, a servant leadership style will result in an increased sense of psychological safety of employees around that leader and, in relationship to their directives, more grounds t o trust them, feeling empowered by them, feeling respected by them, feeling “connected” to them by experiencing the slogan “one team, one mission” as a consistent reality, and deriving positive meaning from their work. (For those of you who have taken Desert Waters’ trainings, you probably recognized the Big 7 listed here.) These conditions will gradually evolve into increased work engagement, productivity, and loyalty to the organization—and the desire to continue being employed there.
The concept of the servant leader was first proposed by Robert Greenleaf.2 Mr. Greenleaf stated that for servant leaders, service comes first. Leadership is a secondary focus, sometimes occurring almost incidentally. The primary motivation of servant leaders is to ensure that the highest priority needs of those they serve are being met. The pursuit of power, influence, fame or wealth is secondary for them—if it attracts them at all. When we think of servant leaders, persons such as Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, and Jesus of Nazareth come to mind. Servant leaders do not emerge through a power grab. Rather, servant leaders take the helm through their passionate concern for the betterment of others’ living or working conditions. People gradually grow to trust that their servant leaders genuinely have their best interests at heart, and as a result they freely choose to follow them and their vision for the future.
As the term implies that describes their leadership style, servant leaders are people-focused. They live to serve. They truly value their employees and the strengths the employees bring to their teams. Servant leaders know that without their employees’ genuine engagement and loyalty, organizational goals will not be reached. Servant leaders keep their finger on the employees’ pulse. They have the dual ongoing focus of accomplishing the organization’s goals and promoting the well-being of the staff who make such accomplishments happen. They do that through regular check-ins of various sorts, active listening, and seeking their staff’s input. Servant leaders are committed to their organization’s goals while remaining open to employee feedback. They want to see their vision realized regardless of personal cost. They care more about the fulfillment of the dream—their mission—than about personal comfort, gain or glory.
Servant leaders are honest and humble, as they are aware of their limitations and their need for others’ input and contribution. They give credit to their staff, recognizing them in meaningful ways for organizational successes, and take personal responsibility for struggles and failures. And they express gratitude and appreciation to their employees regularly. Servant leaders give corrective feedback respectfully and humbly, with a driving force behind the feedback being their employees’ growth and improvement, while also remembering that they too have made mistakes and fallen short in the past—and might do the same in the future. For servant leaders, mistakes are opportunities for lessons to be learned, and to be learned well.
One of the natural outcomes of servant leadership is the forward movement and personal growth of those around servant leaders. Through repeated exposure to their leaders’ role modeling, these employees may also begin to follow their servant leaders’ style and example. Because of servant leaders’ ultimate goal—the genuine desire to improve people’s conditions—servant leadership is not limited to those of highest rank or title. Servant leadership can and should be practiced throughout institutions, agencies, families, and communities. Servant leadership stems from values, motives, vision, self-discipline, perspective, and emphasis. It is not a matter of formal position. Daily we are given opportunities to impact others and help improve their circumstances in legitimate ways in areas where we have influence. What will we do with these opportunities? How will we use our influence? I urge us all to pursue the vision of becoming agents of positive change by serving others. Through doing so we’ll very likely discover that in serving we meet not only others’ needs, but also some of our own highest yearnings for significance, satisfaction and joy.
References
1 Bartollas, Clemens. 2003. Becoming a Model Warden: Striving for Excellence. Lanham, Maryland: American Correctional Association.
2 Greenleaf, Robert K. 2002. Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power & Greatness. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press.
