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The Servant Leader
Best-selling author of The One-Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard, along with Phil Hodges, reveals the meaning of servant leadership modeled after Jesus Christ. Based on Blanchard's and Hodges' Faith Walk seminars, business leaders come to realize that teams are more powerful than the sum of the individuals and to recognize their people as appreciating assets.
Servant Leader summarizes the Four Dimensions of Leadership:
the head (leadership assumptions and methods)
the hands (application and leadership behavior)
the heart (edging God out)
the habits (solitude, prayer, study of scripture, unconditional love, etc.)
The thousands who have attended his seminars witnessed the transforming power of this unconventional approach. Readers seeking to grow as leaders and business executives will find Servant Leader nothing short of life-changing.
Servant Leader summarizes the Four Dimensions of Leadership:
the head (leadership assumptions and methods)
the hands (application and leadership behavior)
the heart (edging God out)
the habits (solitude, prayer, study of scripture, unconditional love, etc.)
The thousands who have attended his seminars witnessed the transforming power of this unconventional approach. Readers seeking to grow as leaders and business executives will find Servant Leader nothing short of life-changing.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
172 people are currently reading
857 people want to read
About the author
Kenneth H. Blanchard
314 books1,851 followersKen Blanchard, one of the most influential leadership experts in the world, is the coauthor of the iconic bestseller, The One Minute Manager, and 60 other books whose combined sales total more than 21 million copies. His groundbreaking works have been translated into more than 27 languages and in 2005 he was inducted into Amazon’s Hall of Fame as one of the top 25 bestselling authors of all time.
Ken is also the cofounder and chief spiritual officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies®, an international management training and consulting firm that he and his wife, Margie Blanchard, began in 1979 in San Diego, California.
When he’s not writing or speaking, Ken also spends time teaching students in the Master of Science in Executive Leadership Program at the University of San Diego. Ken can be found at www.kenblanchard.com.
Ken is also the cofounder and chief spiritual officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies®, an international management training and consulting firm that he and his wife, Margie Blanchard, began in 1979 in San Diego, California.
When he’s not writing or speaking, Ken also spends time teaching students in the Master of Science in Executive Leadership Program at the University of San Diego. Ken can be found at www.kenblanchard.com.
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February 14, 2025Read because it's on a leadership reading list at the college where I work.
The format of the book has big Prayer of Jabez energy. That is, a certain type of early aughts Christian Inspirational packaging that I never liked, even when I was a believer. It made me feel like the book was less serious or the publishers didn't think too much of their potential readers.
It follows the age-old sermon tradition of pulling a lot of verses and passages to support the point the speaker is trying to make.
It feels like it doesn't know whether to be a gospel tract/prayer manual or a book on leadership.
That said, when it does actually give leadership advice, it seems like decent advice if you can get past the christian-ese.
I wish there had been a different Servant Leadership book on the reading list, as I know it's an important approach to consider. I'll track down another book about it, one that's aimed at a more general audience.
The format of the book has big Prayer of Jabez energy. That is, a certain type of early aughts Christian Inspirational packaging that I never liked, even when I was a believer. It made me feel like the book was less serious or the publishers didn't think too much of their potential readers.
It follows the age-old sermon tradition of pulling a lot of verses and passages to support the point the speaker is trying to make.
It feels like it doesn't know whether to be a gospel tract/prayer manual or a book on leadership.
That said, when it does actually give leadership advice, it seems like decent advice if you can get past the christian-ese.
I wish there had been a different Servant Leadership book on the reading list, as I know it's an important approach to consider. I'll track down another book about it, one that's aimed at a more general audience.
June 19, 2024
My mom has been convincing me to read more business books, and this was a quick read, only took about an hour and a half. I had no idea it connected Jesus with servant leadership until I opened it (rookie mistake). I think it’s one of those books that isn’t life changing after one read, but helpful to look back on when in need of guidance.
May 9, 2015
Servant Leader is a great guide for implementing faith and growing as servant leadership.
Thank you to Ken Blanchard and the team that prepared this book. God bless you all for being servant leaders and for sharing what you have learned from our greatest and most loved Servant Leader, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I am grateful, inspired, and motivated to apply and practice the invaluable lessons, ACTS, shared in this book.
Thank you to Ken Blanchard and the team that prepared this book. God bless you all for being servant leaders and for sharing what you have learned from our greatest and most loved Servant Leader, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I am grateful, inspired, and motivated to apply and practice the invaluable lessons, ACTS, shared in this book.
January 1, 2010
A friend gave me this book. Short book filled with great insight. Here is a question to ponder: How would Jesus do your job differently than you do? I plan on getting extra copies to give to people. Great resource, very focused and filled with Scripture.
May 17, 2011
The best book on leadership I've ever read. And translated :)
March 5, 2013
Alright, I read this for a class. You can probably tell what I thought of it from the stars and the review itself. Actually, I didn't review it. I took the posts I made for class, and copied them over here.
I didn't copy in all of the responses, because A: I didn't get anyone’s permission; B: That would take too much time; C: I can’t imagine anybody reading this review anyway.
If you had to read it for a class, leave a comment and tell me what you thought. (If you have time.)
READING 1
I always try to be completely honest in my posts - so staying in line with my convictions, I have to say I'm a little bit skeptical of this book, although I'm going into it with an open mind. Page 9 starts off, "Business and beliefs. Jesus and your job. Personal and professional. Servant and leader. Even seeing those words paired together makes people uneasy." It's not the notion of "servant and leader" that makes me uneasy. It's the notion of Jesus as a businessman. As for hiring Jesus to be the leader of a business? The resume looks good for a homeless preacher, but think about some of the other things he said and did: "It's easier for a camel..." Come on now, you all know this one. Or how about The Widow's Mite? I'm not sure corporate would agree with that outlook. (Or the mega-church, for that matter.) Didn't Jesus get more people to quit their money-making jobs rather than stay with them? I mean, here's Simon tending his nets - then Jesus comes along and Simon quits his job and takes on a new name.
Granted, Jesus did get his workers to work for him for a lot less money, that might be something the business world would like to emulate.
Obviously, this is a problem for all businesses - especially ones with Christians at the helm. Reconciling the money issue is often over-simplified, or outright ignored. And I'd certainly rather be working for an employer that follows Christ's example of caring for the less fortunate than an employer that put overhead above all else. (It helps that Chick-Fil-A has great food, and those killer grill-shaped fries.)
This is one plus of being a teacher. It is not difficult to be a servant and a leader at the same time. I can serve God and people, and I don't often think about how much money I make.
READING 2
I found this devotional reading much more palatable than the last one.
Whereas it seemed like the last one's concern was mainly financial, this one dealt with spiritual aspects of servant leadership. Good deal. As such, there was quite a bit more I could relate to.
Page 28 asks, "How do we edge out God?" It lists several examples of why leaders do this: power, recognition, appreciation, money... In my building, I don't think we have too many power-hungry leaders. In fact, the majority of the leadership positions - like team leader, or department chair are generally positions conferred because they didn't decline the offer fast enough - or have poor boundary issues in general.
As such, in my positions of leadership I find myself seeking appreciation. Power hasn't really been a motivator for any of us. In fact, I think the majority of my colleagues are motivated to get out of these leadership roles as they often take time away from the classroom - be it directly, or in planning. Along these lines, I don't think any of us are afraid of feedback or losing their position.
Something else the book noted that is worth mentioning is shooting down ideas that aren't your own. Cliques emerge, and it's very easy to side with the power. It's easy to be so caught up in an idea that I've come up with that I lose sight of the problem I'm trying to help solve. And it's so easy to shoot down an idea from someone I have little respect for rather than listen to the idea to see if it has any merit. I've found that Christians - as a whole - are often guilty of this as well. We don't participate in certain practices, because they're associated with another denomination: even if the practices aren't unbiblical and may be helpful.
I thought the passage on fear was decent and true.
Maybe I'll end up coming around to the book. As a good servant leader would, I'm withholding judgment. (That is what a good leader would do, right? A very successful businessman once told me it's often better to make a quick bad decision than agonize over a decision that could go either way.)
Just for fun, and to make me look like a jerk/idiot:
I thought it was funny that pg. 40 alerts us that "How to Altar* My Leadership EGO" is *not a spelling typo. I found a spelling typo on page 33 that I wouldn't have brought up, had it not been for the asterisk. "Obey Jesus plan, honest speech."
I thought it was funny for a number of reasons, but whatever. I'm also aware that by pointing it out, it opens me up to all sorts of criticism since these posts are all written, and kept for who knows how long. I've found it troubling that the red squiggly line no longer automatically appears and that we have to click on the spell check button.
READING 3
In an effort to stay positive, lets focus on what I liked:
• Direction
• Values - and their ranking
• Flipping the hierarchy
I think direction and values are pretty obvious.
*Brief and valuable aside* Every time I hear the phrase "need direction" I think of a line from one of my favorite musicians: "You and your direction, and me the mapless jacka** not going anywhere. I'm not going anywhere." You can get a free download of the song from his bandcamp page: http://chrisstaples.bandcamp.com/trac... - most songs are a little poppier than this one, but whatever... *I make no apologies for this aside.*
Yes, a company needs direction - and so does a school. I started to clamp up while I was reading this though, because direction isn't enough. A leader can outline the direction for a school to take, but if there is dissent - heading off in that direction may prove difficult. Furthermore, without values, direction is meaningless.
Values: good. I only wish the authors would have put this section before direction. Then I wouldn't have had the thought "but the mafia has a sense of direction, is well organized (or at least was well organized) yet is not a very good model for Christ-like servant leadership."
The biggest plus I took out of this chapter came from page 54: "Effective implementation requires turning the hierarchy upside down so the customer contact people are at the top of the organization and are able to respond to the customers, while leaders serve the needs of employees, helping them accomplish the vision and direction of the organization."
I believe this to be very applicable in the educational realm. I know, our students - and their parents are not customers. The business analogy breaks down eventually. But I think it fits in this case. Teachers need to be at the top, and the administration needs to serve and help them accomplish the vision and direction of the school.
Alright. I promised not to focus on the bad, but there was just too much for me. Let me just say one. This quote really rubbed me the wrong way: "...Because life is all about getting A's, not some normal distributive curve."
Really? Life is all about getting A's? I'd say life is about relationships: how we relate to God, our family, our government, our friends, our environment, our enemies... Life is about making mistakes and learning from them. It's not the A. It's the process. We agree: it's not about the curve. And maybe he's saying: "I DO teach them throughout the year though - it IS still about the process." And I (Philip) give out review guides. And occasionally, if I give essay tests, I'll give out the essay questions ahead of time. But not because life is about getting A's. If life was about getting A's, I think we're all doomed.
READING 4
My biggest aha moment came during the 7 reactions to change - and how leaders should respond to those reactions. Recently, schools in Indiana have been faced with a lot of changes. And it's true, many of us felt "ill at ease" about these changes. We also felt alone - even though we were all in the same boat. We thought about what we'd have to give up, and we were overwhelmed by the amount of change. We were concerned that we didn't have the money (or the bandwidth) to implement all the changes that the state called for.
Some of the ways to "ease the transition" were easy for the leadership. For instance, the book says, "don't try to sell the benefits of the change effort initially." This wasn't a problem for our administration, as they were essentially in the same boat we were in. What was difficult was "tell people what to expect." Our leadership wasn't told what to expect either. (This all comes from pages 66-67.)
As you can tell, my attitude (my, "emotionally charged bits of knowledge" - pg. 64) isn't completely in the positive realm with all this change. But honestly, my administration showed true leadership in implementing what they were told they had to.
READING 5
The bookend habits of this chapter were the best for me: 1)solitude and 5)accountability relationships.
I haven't read any of the other posts yet, but I'm willing to guess that the idea of solitude resonated with a majority. (And now that I'm putting myself out there, I certainly hope it's does.)
Teaching is such an emotionally draining job. Students (and one may argue humanity in general) are overwhelmingly needy, ignorant, often petulant, attention starved beings who believe the role of the teacher is their personal caterer.
Yes, I found the idea of solitude appealing. This is one of the reasons I'm glad I have a little bit of a drive to work. Twenty minutes isn't much, but on the way there it gives me time to gather my thoughts and brace myself for the day. On the way home, I can take a few deep breaths and reflect on how it went. (Or I can listen to Firestarter or Ender's Game on audiobook if I'm so inclined... I know this is branching from solitude...)
The other habit that really struck home (as they say) was "involvement in accountability relationships." The story of Moses and Jethro was great. We all need somebody to hold us accountable. I'd argue that we need a couple people. I have my wife, and my college roommate as my true accountability partners. Proverbs 27:6 really struck the mark (as they say) ...(what's with all the striking?) "Wounds from a friend can be trusted. But an enemy multiplies kisses." If only my students understood this. Friends don't "create drama." Friends let you know the truth. If you create drama from this, shame on you. If they were genuinely trying to create drama, they're probably not your friend.
Along these lines, I like to be open to the views of others. But I try to filter everything first through a biblical lens, and then through my experience. If it doesn't ring true, I listen, but I'm always skeptical.
READING 6
"Leadership is not something you do to people; it's something you do with people." (pg. 113)
It's no secret that I had trouble with this book. It was my least favorite book of the class - mainly because it's hard for me to reconcile Jesus with free-market capitalism and business over-head. I mean, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon" comes to mind, right?
Yet, after the first couple chapters the book lightened up on the money approach and looked pretty much solely on leadership. ...Still, my perception had already been tainted. Sorry, Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges - although I'm sure you're doing fine.
I also realize the value of a book like this specifically geared towards the business sector. It's just that education is NOT the business sector! I bet Blanchard and Hodges would write a version of the book geared toward teachers if someone would alert them to the fact that they are sitting on a TON of money. They could incorporate pictures of apples and desks and what not... (Did anybody else feel like there were a LOT of pictures in this book?) Seriously though, we should write to them.
Since I've already said all of the previous stuff in every post about this book, let me say a couple things about this chapter. Again, I didn't hate this one. It contained too much scripture for me to hate it. The verses were great, and they made up the bulk of the reading.
"Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man glory in his might. Let not the rich man glory in his riches."
"Cast your burdens on the LORD and He shall sustain you."
"Trust in the LORD with all your hear, and lean not on your own understanding."
THAT. That is some good reading right there.
Also, the quote at the beginning: "Leadership is not something you do to people; it's something you do with people." (pg. 113) Maybe it's a simplistic platitude, but I liked it anyway.
I didn't copy in all of the responses, because A: I didn't get anyone’s permission; B: That would take too much time; C: I can’t imagine anybody reading this review anyway.
If you had to read it for a class, leave a comment and tell me what you thought. (If you have time.)
READING 1
I always try to be completely honest in my posts - so staying in line with my convictions, I have to say I'm a little bit skeptical of this book, although I'm going into it with an open mind. Page 9 starts off, "Business and beliefs. Jesus and your job. Personal and professional. Servant and leader. Even seeing those words paired together makes people uneasy." It's not the notion of "servant and leader" that makes me uneasy. It's the notion of Jesus as a businessman. As for hiring Jesus to be the leader of a business? The resume looks good for a homeless preacher, but think about some of the other things he said and did: "It's easier for a camel..." Come on now, you all know this one. Or how about The Widow's Mite? I'm not sure corporate would agree with that outlook. (Or the mega-church, for that matter.) Didn't Jesus get more people to quit their money-making jobs rather than stay with them? I mean, here's Simon tending his nets - then Jesus comes along and Simon quits his job and takes on a new name.
Granted, Jesus did get his workers to work for him for a lot less money, that might be something the business world would like to emulate.
Obviously, this is a problem for all businesses - especially ones with Christians at the helm. Reconciling the money issue is often over-simplified, or outright ignored. And I'd certainly rather be working for an employer that follows Christ's example of caring for the less fortunate than an employer that put overhead above all else. (It helps that Chick-Fil-A has great food, and those killer grill-shaped fries.)
This is one plus of being a teacher. It is not difficult to be a servant and a leader at the same time. I can serve God and people, and I don't often think about how much money I make.
READING 2
I found this devotional reading much more palatable than the last one.
Whereas it seemed like the last one's concern was mainly financial, this one dealt with spiritual aspects of servant leadership. Good deal. As such, there was quite a bit more I could relate to.
Page 28 asks, "How do we edge out God?" It lists several examples of why leaders do this: power, recognition, appreciation, money... In my building, I don't think we have too many power-hungry leaders. In fact, the majority of the leadership positions - like team leader, or department chair are generally positions conferred because they didn't decline the offer fast enough - or have poor boundary issues in general.
As such, in my positions of leadership I find myself seeking appreciation. Power hasn't really been a motivator for any of us. In fact, I think the majority of my colleagues are motivated to get out of these leadership roles as they often take time away from the classroom - be it directly, or in planning. Along these lines, I don't think any of us are afraid of feedback or losing their position.
Something else the book noted that is worth mentioning is shooting down ideas that aren't your own. Cliques emerge, and it's very easy to side with the power. It's easy to be so caught up in an idea that I've come up with that I lose sight of the problem I'm trying to help solve. And it's so easy to shoot down an idea from someone I have little respect for rather than listen to the idea to see if it has any merit. I've found that Christians - as a whole - are often guilty of this as well. We don't participate in certain practices, because they're associated with another denomination: even if the practices aren't unbiblical and may be helpful.
I thought the passage on fear was decent and true.
Maybe I'll end up coming around to the book. As a good servant leader would, I'm withholding judgment. (That is what a good leader would do, right? A very successful businessman once told me it's often better to make a quick bad decision than agonize over a decision that could go either way.)
Just for fun, and to make me look like a jerk/idiot:
I thought it was funny that pg. 40 alerts us that "How to Altar* My Leadership EGO" is *not a spelling typo. I found a spelling typo on page 33 that I wouldn't have brought up, had it not been for the asterisk. "Obey Jesus plan, honest speech."
I thought it was funny for a number of reasons, but whatever. I'm also aware that by pointing it out, it opens me up to all sorts of criticism since these posts are all written, and kept for who knows how long. I've found it troubling that the red squiggly line no longer automatically appears and that we have to click on the spell check button.
READING 3
In an effort to stay positive, lets focus on what I liked:
• Direction
• Values - and their ranking
• Flipping the hierarchy
I think direction and values are pretty obvious.
*Brief and valuable aside* Every time I hear the phrase "need direction" I think of a line from one of my favorite musicians: "You and your direction, and me the mapless jacka** not going anywhere. I'm not going anywhere." You can get a free download of the song from his bandcamp page: http://chrisstaples.bandcamp.com/trac... - most songs are a little poppier than this one, but whatever... *I make no apologies for this aside.*
Yes, a company needs direction - and so does a school. I started to clamp up while I was reading this though, because direction isn't enough. A leader can outline the direction for a school to take, but if there is dissent - heading off in that direction may prove difficult. Furthermore, without values, direction is meaningless.
Values: good. I only wish the authors would have put this section before direction. Then I wouldn't have had the thought "but the mafia has a sense of direction, is well organized (or at least was well organized) yet is not a very good model for Christ-like servant leadership."
The biggest plus I took out of this chapter came from page 54: "Effective implementation requires turning the hierarchy upside down so the customer contact people are at the top of the organization and are able to respond to the customers, while leaders serve the needs of employees, helping them accomplish the vision and direction of the organization."
I believe this to be very applicable in the educational realm. I know, our students - and their parents are not customers. The business analogy breaks down eventually. But I think it fits in this case. Teachers need to be at the top, and the administration needs to serve and help them accomplish the vision and direction of the school.
Alright. I promised not to focus on the bad, but there was just too much for me. Let me just say one. This quote really rubbed me the wrong way: "...Because life is all about getting A's, not some normal distributive curve."
Really? Life is all about getting A's? I'd say life is about relationships: how we relate to God, our family, our government, our friends, our environment, our enemies... Life is about making mistakes and learning from them. It's not the A. It's the process. We agree: it's not about the curve. And maybe he's saying: "I DO teach them throughout the year though - it IS still about the process." And I (Philip) give out review guides. And occasionally, if I give essay tests, I'll give out the essay questions ahead of time. But not because life is about getting A's. If life was about getting A's, I think we're all doomed.
READING 4
My biggest aha moment came during the 7 reactions to change - and how leaders should respond to those reactions. Recently, schools in Indiana have been faced with a lot of changes. And it's true, many of us felt "ill at ease" about these changes. We also felt alone - even though we were all in the same boat. We thought about what we'd have to give up, and we were overwhelmed by the amount of change. We were concerned that we didn't have the money (or the bandwidth) to implement all the changes that the state called for.
Some of the ways to "ease the transition" were easy for the leadership. For instance, the book says, "don't try to sell the benefits of the change effort initially." This wasn't a problem for our administration, as they were essentially in the same boat we were in. What was difficult was "tell people what to expect." Our leadership wasn't told what to expect either. (This all comes from pages 66-67.)
As you can tell, my attitude (my, "emotionally charged bits of knowledge" - pg. 64) isn't completely in the positive realm with all this change. But honestly, my administration showed true leadership in implementing what they were told they had to.
READING 5
The bookend habits of this chapter were the best for me: 1)solitude and 5)accountability relationships.
I haven't read any of the other posts yet, but I'm willing to guess that the idea of solitude resonated with a majority. (And now that I'm putting myself out there, I certainly hope it's does.)
Teaching is such an emotionally draining job. Students (and one may argue humanity in general) are overwhelmingly needy, ignorant, often petulant, attention starved beings who believe the role of the teacher is their personal caterer.
Yes, I found the idea of solitude appealing. This is one of the reasons I'm glad I have a little bit of a drive to work. Twenty minutes isn't much, but on the way there it gives me time to gather my thoughts and brace myself for the day. On the way home, I can take a few deep breaths and reflect on how it went. (Or I can listen to Firestarter or Ender's Game on audiobook if I'm so inclined... I know this is branching from solitude...)
The other habit that really struck home (as they say) was "involvement in accountability relationships." The story of Moses and Jethro was great. We all need somebody to hold us accountable. I'd argue that we need a couple people. I have my wife, and my college roommate as my true accountability partners. Proverbs 27:6 really struck the mark (as they say) ...(what's with all the striking?) "Wounds from a friend can be trusted. But an enemy multiplies kisses." If only my students understood this. Friends don't "create drama." Friends let you know the truth. If you create drama from this, shame on you. If they were genuinely trying to create drama, they're probably not your friend.
Along these lines, I like to be open to the views of others. But I try to filter everything first through a biblical lens, and then through my experience. If it doesn't ring true, I listen, but I'm always skeptical.
READING 6
"Leadership is not something you do to people; it's something you do with people." (pg. 113)
It's no secret that I had trouble with this book. It was my least favorite book of the class - mainly because it's hard for me to reconcile Jesus with free-market capitalism and business over-head. I mean, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon" comes to mind, right?
Yet, after the first couple chapters the book lightened up on the money approach and looked pretty much solely on leadership. ...Still, my perception had already been tainted. Sorry, Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges - although I'm sure you're doing fine.
I also realize the value of a book like this specifically geared towards the business sector. It's just that education is NOT the business sector! I bet Blanchard and Hodges would write a version of the book geared toward teachers if someone would alert them to the fact that they are sitting on a TON of money. They could incorporate pictures of apples and desks and what not... (Did anybody else feel like there were a LOT of pictures in this book?) Seriously though, we should write to them.
Since I've already said all of the previous stuff in every post about this book, let me say a couple things about this chapter. Again, I didn't hate this one. It contained too much scripture for me to hate it. The verses were great, and they made up the bulk of the reading.
"Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man glory in his might. Let not the rich man glory in his riches."
"Cast your burdens on the LORD and He shall sustain you."
"Trust in the LORD with all your hear, and lean not on your own understanding."
THAT. That is some good reading right there.
Also, the quote at the beginning: "Leadership is not something you do to people; it's something you do with people." (pg. 113) Maybe it's a simplistic platitude, but I liked it anyway.
June 25, 2021
I have read (and reread) Ken Blanchard’s and Phil Hodges’ excellent book Lead Like Jesus. Much of the material in this book about servant leadership can be found in greater detail in that book. See my review of the original book here or Lead Like Jesus Revisited here.
This book also includes information a large number of Bible verses, as well as helpful information about Blanchard’s Situational Leadership® II. It may be better to purchase this book in a hardcover edition. Some of the formatting was off in the Kindle edition.
The authors tell us that Jesus was the greatest leadership model for all time, and that for a follower of Jesus, servant leadership isn’t just an option; it’s a mandate. They tell us that there are two parts of leadership that Jesus clearly exemplified:
• A visionary role: doing the right thing
• An implementation role: doing things right
The book includes a helpful “Checklist of Essentials for Servant Leaders”.
Although much of the book can be found in their Lead Like Jesus book, there are several excellent quotes about servant leadership in the book. Here are 20 of my favorites:
1. When the Heart, Head, Hands, and Habits are aligned, extraordinary levels of loyalty, trust, and productivity will result.
2. Leadership is first a matter of the heart.
3. As you consider the heart issues of leadership, a primary question you will continue to ask yourself is: “Am I a servant leader or a self-serving leader?”
4. One of the quickest ways you can tell the difference between a servant leader and a self-serving leader is how they handle feedback, because one of the biggest fears that self-serving leaders have is to lose their position.
5. Self-serving leaders spend most of their time protecting their status. Servant leaders, however, look at leadership as an act of service.
6. Servant leaders, who consider their position as being on loan and as an act of service, look beyond their own season of leadership and prepare the next generation of leaders.
7. A servant leader never asks anyone to do something they wouldn’t be willing to do themselves.
8. Servant leadership begins with a clear and compelling vision of the future that excites passion in the leader and commitment in those who follow.
9. True success in servant leadership depends on how clearly values are defined, ordered, and lived by the leader.
10. Effective implementation requires turning the hierarchy upside down so the customer contact people are at the top of the organization and are able to respond to customers, while leaders serve the needs of employees, helping them to accomplish the vision and direction of the organization.
11. When you turn the traditional hierarchy upside down for implementation, you have the people closest to the customers—the object of your business —with all the power, all the capabilities to make decisions and to solve the problems.
12. Once a leader’s vision is clear, once the final exam is set up, then a leader initiates day-to-day coaching.
13. Servant leadership starts with a vision and ends with a servant heart that helps people live according to that vision.
14. As a servant leader, you have to identify which changes are necessary to implement your vision, and then help people move in that direction.
15. As we seek to leave a legacy of servant leadership behind when our own season of leadership is finished, we can do so by modeling our values and investing our time in developing others.
16. A key activity of an effective servant leader is to act as a performance coach.
17. Servant leaders understand that everyone needs to be heard, praised, encouraged, forgiven, accepted and guided back to the right path when they drift off course. As leaders, we need to practice these behaviors. Why? Because Jesus did!
18. Having truth-tellers in your life is important. It’s probably your greatest opportunity for growth.
19. As we commit to becoming more like Jesus in our leadership service, it is vital that we don’t miss the important example Christ provided on how to combat the loneliness and isolation that can often be a part of being a leader.
20. Leadership is not something you do to people; it’s something you do with people.
This book also includes information a large number of Bible verses, as well as helpful information about Blanchard’s Situational Leadership® II. It may be better to purchase this book in a hardcover edition. Some of the formatting was off in the Kindle edition.
The authors tell us that Jesus was the greatest leadership model for all time, and that for a follower of Jesus, servant leadership isn’t just an option; it’s a mandate. They tell us that there are two parts of leadership that Jesus clearly exemplified:
• A visionary role: doing the right thing
• An implementation role: doing things right
The book includes a helpful “Checklist of Essentials for Servant Leaders”.
Although much of the book can be found in their Lead Like Jesus book, there are several excellent quotes about servant leadership in the book. Here are 20 of my favorites:
1. When the Heart, Head, Hands, and Habits are aligned, extraordinary levels of loyalty, trust, and productivity will result.
2. Leadership is first a matter of the heart.
3. As you consider the heart issues of leadership, a primary question you will continue to ask yourself is: “Am I a servant leader or a self-serving leader?”
4. One of the quickest ways you can tell the difference between a servant leader and a self-serving leader is how they handle feedback, because one of the biggest fears that self-serving leaders have is to lose their position.
5. Self-serving leaders spend most of their time protecting their status. Servant leaders, however, look at leadership as an act of service.
6. Servant leaders, who consider their position as being on loan and as an act of service, look beyond their own season of leadership and prepare the next generation of leaders.
7. A servant leader never asks anyone to do something they wouldn’t be willing to do themselves.
8. Servant leadership begins with a clear and compelling vision of the future that excites passion in the leader and commitment in those who follow.
9. True success in servant leadership depends on how clearly values are defined, ordered, and lived by the leader.
10. Effective implementation requires turning the hierarchy upside down so the customer contact people are at the top of the organization and are able to respond to customers, while leaders serve the needs of employees, helping them to accomplish the vision and direction of the organization.
11. When you turn the traditional hierarchy upside down for implementation, you have the people closest to the customers—the object of your business —with all the power, all the capabilities to make decisions and to solve the problems.
12. Once a leader’s vision is clear, once the final exam is set up, then a leader initiates day-to-day coaching.
13. Servant leadership starts with a vision and ends with a servant heart that helps people live according to that vision.
14. As a servant leader, you have to identify which changes are necessary to implement your vision, and then help people move in that direction.
15. As we seek to leave a legacy of servant leadership behind when our own season of leadership is finished, we can do so by modeling our values and investing our time in developing others.
16. A key activity of an effective servant leader is to act as a performance coach.
17. Servant leaders understand that everyone needs to be heard, praised, encouraged, forgiven, accepted and guided back to the right path when they drift off course. As leaders, we need to practice these behaviors. Why? Because Jesus did!
18. Having truth-tellers in your life is important. It’s probably your greatest opportunity for growth.
19. As we commit to becoming more like Jesus in our leadership service, it is vital that we don’t miss the important example Christ provided on how to combat the loneliness and isolation that can often be a part of being a leader.
20. Leadership is not something you do to people; it’s something you do with people.
June 18, 2020
The fact is, I am in school at this late stage of my life.. All of my reviews right now reflect the wonder of the given book I am reviewing ~ because if it wasn't wonderful, and God-led in my life, then for now I am not even listing it here.
So needless to say, I also truly appreciated and was moved by this book. The odd thing for me was that I taught from The One Minute Manager books in the 1980s, during a brief (rather misguided) foray into the business world. Those books were part of what made my teaching "work." (As in "successful," not as in "laborious.") I was at the same time using such books as "In Search of Excellence" and other books for assessing managerial strengths and such concepts as those.
I was quite surprised to find this book on a list of required reading. It is an easy, quick, read, and I am grateful to own it. It helped with my introduction to my studies, and it helped reaffirm my understanding and my conceptualization of my faith.
So needless to say, I also truly appreciated and was moved by this book. The odd thing for me was that I taught from The One Minute Manager books in the 1980s, during a brief (rather misguided) foray into the business world. Those books were part of what made my teaching "work." (As in "successful," not as in "laborious.") I was at the same time using such books as "In Search of Excellence" and other books for assessing managerial strengths and such concepts as those.
I was quite surprised to find this book on a list of required reading. It is an easy, quick, read, and I am grateful to own it. It helped with my introduction to my studies, and it helped reaffirm my understanding and my conceptualization of my faith.
April 13, 2018
A small gem of a book. Essentially a "survey book" that summarizes leadership principles from a servant leader perspective. Skeptics may be turned off by Jesus as role model and by the scriptural references, but even so, this is a very strong book on leadership. Part textbook, part devotional, the book is rich and pithy. Read this book, and then ask yourself what the world would be like if all leaders practiced these principles.
April 10, 2020
“The Servant Leader” by Blanchard and Hodges examines the values and principles of being a Christ-centered servant leader. The book gives practical tips on how to become a better servant leader to your employees. Blanchard and Hodges contend that Jesus is the perfect example of a servant leader and He used his ministry to demonstrate these principles. Overall, a ver good read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2021
I would give it a five, but it is short and does not cover much ground, but the ground they cover is really important. There is much scriptural support for their points about servant leadership. I appreciated much in the early section to hear more about Blanchard's faith journey. A key question of servant leadership is am I edging God out, or am I exalting God only (EGO).
September 4, 2017
This was a fun and inspirational little book u can read pretty quickly. None of the content is new if u are a regular consumer of books. But good reminder for me that growing as a leader means developing daily habits that will take I where u want to go.
February 26, 2019
Just what I needed
This was the book I needed to really dog in and focus on the core of Servant Leadership from the Source, Jesus our first and foremost guide to the very same. Powerful!
This was the book I needed to really dog in and focus on the core of Servant Leadership from the Source, Jesus our first and foremost guide to the very same. Powerful!
March 22, 2019
A must read book
The author explains how to apply the principles that Jesus Christ taught to their followers, in order to become servant leaders.
I enjoyed a lot of learning and looking forward to apply these principles in every area of my life.
The author explains how to apply the principles that Jesus Christ taught to their followers, in order to become servant leaders.
I enjoyed a lot of learning and looking forward to apply these principles in every area of my life.
September 29, 2019
3.5 stars really. It's a good book, I just wasn't expecting quite so much tie-in to scripture and religious beliefs. Even if they happen to match my own beliefs. I think this book will grow on me after subsequent readings, which will happen because it's a quick and easy read.
June 3, 2020
Situational Shepherding
Anything by Blanchard will get 5 stars from me. He has the great knack for boiling things down to essentials and then organizing and presenting material in a great way, usually with a story. Not as much story telling, but clear and concise.
Anything by Blanchard will get 5 stars from me. He has the great knack for boiling things down to essentials and then organizing and presenting material in a great way, usually with a story. Not as much story telling, but clear and concise.
February 9, 2022
easy to understand!
I loved how easy it was to understand and how short it was!’ I especially loved about Walt Disney,, How we all need to accept and abide in God’s unconditional Love, and how we can all coach and encourage those around us!
I loved how easy it was to understand and how short it was!’ I especially loved about Walt Disney,, How we all need to accept and abide in God’s unconditional Love, and how we can all coach and encourage those around us!
January 5, 2024
Great leadership book with meat not milk
Wow! This book is great. The authors show how Jesus led His disciples in ways I hadn't thought of. I appreciate the content. It has personal and professional nuggets of wisdom. Will read again.
Wow! This book is great. The authors show how Jesus led His disciples in ways I hadn't thought of. I appreciate the content. It has personal and professional nuggets of wisdom. Will read again.
July 16, 2017
This book is a must read for all those seving in any type of leadership capacity. This is a library book. Buy share and bless your team.
August 5, 2017
.
It has all the basics of what I want to practice everyday to stay connected to God and peeple. Very deep rooted manual, helps with the Bible study.
It has all the basics of what I want to practice everyday to stay connected to God and peeple. Very deep rooted manual, helps with the Bible study.
September 12, 2017
Lacked anything deep. The sort of thing a senior manager might have on his coffee table to glance at as a reminder from time to time but not really something to read as a book
March 2, 2018
Need to read page 33 daily.
July 20, 2018
A great read no matter what industry you work within. It is a book woven with Scripture and I think even if you don't believe in God, there's still some good principles to be found.
December 6, 2018
OK read. The part looking into Jesus's leadership examples was very good.
February 7, 2019
Christ is the true model of a servant leader. What a great book!
August 13, 2019
Very simple book. Gives good insights & is a good reflection book before starting a new position.
June 28, 2020
Jesus as a leadership role model.
This book simply provides a leadership framework where Jesus is the model. Simple but crucial for leadership in the 21st century.
This book simply provides a leadership framework where Jesus is the model. Simple but crucial for leadership in the 21st century.
July 16, 2020
Nothing new or groundbreaking here. A favorite topic of mine but the book was pretty basic and boring; though to be fair, I have read a lot on this subject so it may be great for someone new to the topic who hasn't seen this info before.
September 29, 2020
Very easy read with great key guidance points on becoming a successful leader.
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