Page 44 - Harnessing the Strengths

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CORE QUALITIES

hat is the secret of servant-leadership? That
question is not an easy one to answer. One of
Wthe most noticeable things about this leadership
style is the absence of “the best way.” There are numer-
ous ways to achieve the desired goal. Your attitude when
approaching someone is most important in determining the
progress, and the solution, of possible points at issue.
Diversity and fl exibility are important concepts of
servant-leadership. With all of their differences, servant-
leaders have several things in common. Their starting point
is always the same: the readiness to serve others. That is
what resonates through all of their actions. In order to make
that happen, servant-leaders bring people with different
points of view together and know how to transform the
resulting tension into a productive dynamic. The leader is
not soft, but actually hard in that the leader is explicit about
the core values, including respect for diversity.
Servant-leadership literature is full of advice and char-
acteristics of these leaders. Most notably, it is mostly writ-
ten from a Western perspective. An Eastern perspective, in
contrast, tells you that a leader needs to listen instead of
talk, act from the bottom up instead of top down, and work

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