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Servant Leadership? The answer to the world’s leadership issues?

Published

7 years ago

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by Lt Commander (Ret) John Moi, RMN
Servant Leadership is simply applying leadership principles by serving others before self. It is a philosophy and practice of leadership that achieves results for their organizations by giving priority attention to the needs of their counterparts and those they serve. In another simple interpretation, servant-leaders are said to be serving stewards of their organization’s resources be it physically, financial or human.
Concept of Servant Leadership
The modern servant leadership movement was launched by Robert Greenleaf in his 1970 essay, “The Servant as Leader” whereby he popularized the terms “servant-leader” and “servant leadership.” Greenleaf expanded on this concept by publishing additional essays on the various attributes of servant leadership.
After his passing in 1990, the concept has been developed by other writers such as William George, James Autry, Ken Blanchard, Jim Hunter, George SanFacon and Larry Spears, just to name a few of the more well-known ones.
Interestingly in Malaysia, the Royal Military College carries in its motto, “Serve to Lead” way back in the founding year of 1952!
Qualities of being a Servant Leader
Larry Spears, who was once the “chief steward” of the Greenleaf Centre for Servant Leadership for more than 17 years, described the ten characteristics of servant leaders which are:

  1. Listening
  2. Empathy
  3. Healing
  4. Awareness
  5. Persuasion
  6. Conceptualization
  7. Foresight
  8. Stewardship
  9. Commitment to the growth of others
  10. Building community

For a better appreciation on the qualities of being a Servant Leader, visit www.greenleaf.org
And here are my humble perspectives on the above qualities:
Listening – Servant leaders must listen to the people led or to be led. They exist to serve the flock, not themselves. It is advisable for them to have excellent listening skills, otherwise, they will be ousted from the position of leadership.
Empathy – Sympathy is not good enough for servant leaders. They need to feel more and do more for the followers that empowered them. Otherwise, why lead as leaders?
Healing – Effective servant leaders can heal relationship; can mend unfavorable situations by being a peace maker and mending rifts that arise in any human settings. They can help heal a nation by marshalling the resources against tyranny.
Awareness – Servant leaders need to be sensitive to self, the people led and to the society at large that their actions and speeches can make or break the community. Such leaders must strive towards universal values and scriptural principles that benefit humankind.
Persuasion – Good servant leaders will persuade and not pack (manipulate persons as to serve one’s own purposes) their followers. They will persuade the congregation by logical reasoning and not by the “don’t ask any questions” statement!
Conceptualization – They must have the insight to look at the big picture and translate to the small people led. Helpful skills will include the short, medium and long term strategies implementation that will meet the common objective(s) of the group.
Foresight – Great servant leaders will need to have foresight to learn from the past; prepare for the present and future by analyzing the environmental influences of political, economic, social and technological factors that will affect the well-being of the community.
Stewardship – Servant leaders understand that people lives and wealth are being entrusted to them. Wrongful decisions and actions will destroy the lives and wealth of the people led. Even nations will fall by this abuse of stewardship at the highest level.  One possible answer lies in the scriptural principles on stewardship from most Holy Books.
Commitment to the growth of others – Committed servant leaders will grow their followers by setting good leadership examples, helping and nurturing the followers regardless of race, religion or creed. They understand and implement the concepts of  “unity in diversity” and “we are in the same boat” effectively.
Building community – Budding servant leaders must endeavor to build true and tolerant communities despite the multicultural and multiracial nature of the people led. The future will see more universal values that are common from the various faiths and religions being adopted to build and enhance such communities. Interfaith dialogues will be encouraged and interracial partnerships will enhance community building.
Some historical perspectives of Servant Leadership
In the 4th century B.C, Chanakya wrote in his book, Arthashastra: “The king (leader) shall consider as good, not what pleases himself but what pleases his subjects (followers). The king (leader) is a paid servant and enjoys the resources of the state together with the people.”
Buddha was believed to have said, “An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body but an evil friend will wound your mind.”
Guru Nanak of the Sikh faith was believed to have said, “Realization of Truth is higher than all else. Higher still is Truthful living.”
In the Tao Te Ching according to the Chinese sage, Lao-Tzu who is believed to have lived in China sometime between 570 and 490 B.C. said:
“The highest type of ruler is one of whose existence the people are barely aware. Next comes one whom they despise and defy. When you are lacking in faith, others will be unfaithful to you. The Sage is self-effacing and scanty of words. When his or her tasks are accomplished and things have been completed, all the people say, we ourselves have achieved it.”
According to the Bible, Jesus urged his followers to be servants first. He specifically told his followers:
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28 and Mark 10:42-45)
In an awesome model of servant-leader, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, as an example of the way in which they were to serve each other. (John 13:12-15)
The Prophet Muhamad (SAW) said, “A ruler who has been entrusted with the affairs of the Muslims, but makes no endeavours (for their material and moral upliftment) and is not sincerely concerned (for their welfare) will not enter Paradise along with them.” (Sahih Muslim)
The Prophet Bahaullah of the Bahai Faith said, “Put away the garment of vain, glory, and divest yourselves of the attire of haughtiness (pride).”
 
Modern perspectives of Servant Leadership
Greenleaf, in his essay has this to say about the servant-leader: “The servant-leader begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve first the followers and believes that leading is a by-product of serving, whereas the leader-first believes that one is call to lead by being served and supported by followers.”
The cynical view is that unless the leaders take the initiative to serve the followers, the followers will not listen to the leaders who have not proven themselves by serving the followers first. Such are the expectations in this enlightened age!
Models of Servant Leadership
It can be said that some, if not most, leadership writers see servant leadership as an esoteric philosophy of leadership supported by specific aspects and practices.
Dr. Kent Keith, the current CEO of the Greenleaf Centre and the author of “The Case for Servant Leadership” stated that servant leadership is practical, ethical and meaningful. He further identifies seven key practices of servant leaders:

  1. Self awareness
  2. Listening
  3. Changing the pyramid
  4. Developing your colleagues (followers)
  5. Coaching not controlling
  6. Unleashing the energy and intelligence of others
  7. Foresight

For more information of the above principles, visit www.greenleaf.org
Servant Leadership is best summed up by its emphasis on collaboration, trust, empathy and the ethical use of power and leadership. Servant leadership is all about making the conscious decision to serve by leading in order to better serve others (followers) and to enhance the growth of individuals and the servant leaders themselves in the organization to improve teamwork and respective involvement.
World’s No. 1 question on Leadership – Does the present global leaders has what it takes to be a Servant Leader?
“Serve to Lead” best summarizes all you need to know about servant leadership!
John is the Founder / Advocate of Scriptures –to-business (S2b) applications and writings.

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Current Affairs

Man arrested for alleged housebreaking and theft of mobile phones in Yishun

A 23-year-old man was arrested for allegedly breaking into a Yishun Ring Road rental flat and stealing eight mobile phones worth S$3,400 from five tenants. The Singapore Police responded swiftly on 1 September, identifying and apprehending the suspect on the same day. The man has been charged with housebreaking, which carries a potential 10-year jail term.

Published

5 days ago

on

3 September 2024

By

SINGAPORE: A 23-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly breaking into a rental flat along Yishun Ring Road and stealing eight mobile phones from five tenants.

The incident occurred in the early hours on Sunday (1 September), according to a statement from the Singapore Police Force.

The authorities reported that they received a call for assistance at around 5 a.m. on that day.

Officers from the Woodlands Police Division quickly responded and, through ground enquiries and police camera footage, were able to identify and apprehend the suspect on the same day.

The stolen mobile phones, with an estimated total value of approximately S$3,400, were recovered hidden under a nearby bin.

The suspect was charged in court on Monday with housebreaking with the intent to commit theft.

If convicted, he could face a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine.

In light of this incident, the police have advised property owners to take precautions to prevent similar crimes.

They recommend securing all doors, windows, and other openings with good quality grilles and padlocks when leaving premises unattended, even for short periods.

The installation of burglar alarms, motion sensor lights, and CCTV cameras to cover access points is also advised. Additionally, residents are urged to avoid keeping large sums of cash and valuables in their homes.

The investigation is ongoing.

Last month, police disclosed that a recent uptick in housebreaking incidents in private residential estates across Singapore has been traced to foreign syndicates, primarily involving Chinese nationals.

Preliminary investigations indicate that these syndicates operate in small groups, targeting homes by scaling perimeter walls or fences.

The suspects are believed to be transient travelers who enter Singapore on Social Visit Passes, typically just a day or two before committing the crimes.

Before this recent surge in break-ins, housebreaking cases were on the decline, with 59 reported in the first half of this year compared to 70 during the same period last year.

However, between 1 June and 4 August 2024, there were 10 reported housebreaking incidents, predominantly in private estates around the Rail Corridor and Bukit Timah Road.

The SPF has intensified efforts to engage residents near high-risk areas by distributing crime prevention advisories, erecting alert signs, and training them to patrol their neighborhoods, leading to an increase in reports of suspicious activity.

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Current Affairs

Consumers Association of Singapore fined S$20,000 for PDPA breaches following two data security incidents

Published

1 week ago

on

30 August 2024

By

The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) has been fined S$20,000 by the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) for breaches under the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA).

According to a judgement which was published on 28 August, the fine was imposed due to the consumer watchdog’s failure to implement reasonable security measures to protect the personal data in its possession and to establish necessary policies and practices required under the PDPA.

The breaches resulted in two significant incidents, one in October 2022 and another in June 2023, where the personal data of up to 34,760 individuals was potentially compromised.

Both incidents were handled under the Expedited Decision Procedure (EDP) at the request of CASE, with the organization admitting to all the facts and contraventions of the PDPA, leading to a faster resolution of the case.

The First Incident: Phishing Attack in October 2022

The first incident occurred in October 2022 when a threat actor accessed CASE’s email accounts and sent phishing emails from its official email addresses.

On 8 October 2022, some consumers received unsolicited emails from “[email protected],” which falsely claimed that their complaints had been escalated to the “collections and compensation department” and that they were eligible for compensation.

The recipients were asked to provide their banking details by clicking on a chat icon.

The following day, similar phishing emails were sent from “[email protected],” an account used for complaints that had progressed to mediation. CASE later discovered that the phishing emails had affected up to 22,542 email addresses.

Further investigations revealed that the phishing emails likely resulted from the threat actor obtaining login credentials from a CASE employee via a phishing attack.

The compromised accounts led to the sending of 5,205 phishing emails to 4,945 recipients. Although CASE acted swiftly to suspend the affected accounts and reset all administrator passwords, three consumers reported that they had clicked on the phishing links and collectively lost S$217,900. CASE subsequently lodged a police report.

The Second Incident: Data Breach During Vendor Migration

While PDPC was investigating the first incident, a second breach came to light in June 2023. On 22 June 2023, PDPC received a complaint about a phishing email that replicated a consumer’s complaint previously submitted to CASE.

This led to the discovery that the personal data of 12,218 individuals, including names, email addresses, contact numbers, and complaint details, had been exposed. The PDPC concluded that the breach likely occurred during a data migration exercise conducted by CASE between December 2019 and January 2020 when CASE switched vendors.

Investigations revealed that CASE’s contract with one of its vendors, Total eBiz Solutions Pte Ltd (TES), did not stipulate clear security responsibilities. This lack of contractual clarity contributed to the data breach during the migration process, highlighting CASE’s negligent vendor management.

PDPC Findings and Penalties

The PDPC found that CASE had failed to enforce its password management policy, with some passwords not meeting minimum length and complexity requirements and others remaining unchanged for up to four years. Furthermore, CASE’s vendor management was deemed negligent, as one of its contracts did not specify clear security responsibilities, putting personal data at risk.

CASE admitted to not conducting regular security awareness training for its staff, with the last session held five years before the first incident.

The PDPC also noted that CASE lacked an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) policy, particularly in relation to patching and maintaining IT systems. The absence of a documented IT infrastructure management plan, insufficient logging and monitoring practices, and the lack of security reviews over the three years preceding the first breach were significant failures highlighted in the judgment.

In assessing the financial penalty, the PDPC considered the nature and gravity of the breaches, the duration of non-compliance, and CASE’s annual turnover. The fine of $20,000 was determined to be appropriate in light of these factors.

Remedial Actions by CASE

It is said that CASE, which is headed by Mr Melvin Yong, People’s Action Party Member of Parliament for Radin Mas, has implemented several measures to enhance its cybersecurity in response to the breaches.

These include introducing multi-factor authentication for all web-based applications, strengthening password complexity requirements, decommissioning end-of-life devices, and implementing patch management software for security updates.

CASE has also revised its contracts with outsourced vendors to include data protection clauses and mandated annual data protection training for all staff members.

CASE is working towards obtaining the Cyber Essentials Mark and the Data Protection Trust Mark to reinforce its commitment to safeguarding personal data and complying with PDPA obligations.

The PDPC has directed CASE to review and update its data protection policies, rectify all identified security gaps, and report back within one week of completion. The organization has also been instructed to conduct a penetration test after addressing the vulnerabilities to ensure no further security gaps exist.

The post Consumers Association of Singapore fined S$20,000 for PDPA breaches following two data security incidents appeared first on Gutzy Asia.

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