How Servant Leadership Helps Organizations

I. Introduction
The Mechanical Engineers Organization at University of Tulsa has a number of needs that it seeks to address in the coming years in order to grow and develop to its fullest potential. The Organization is composed of national and international students from the University and is led by professors at the University. It seeks to increase its membership and initiate several projects to help provide its members with appropriate experience in their field. It also seeks to build more relationships with external companies and leaders so that members can begin to invest in their futures and potential careers as mechanical engineers by getting to know people already entrenched in the industry. Servant Leadership Theory can be effectively applied in helping this Organization because the Theory helps people to identify their goals and needs by promoting active listening, inclusivity, diversity, openness, humility, and selflessness in the service of assisting others (Nees, 2015). Servant Leadership would help this organization by promoting student diversity and showing a welcoming spirit to all kinds of students (thereby promoting growth and an increase in membership). It would also promote relationship building with leaders in the mechanical engineering industry but emphasizing humility and the need for members to want to serve others, especially those who are in the business in the real world. Drawbacks are that students may have to accept co-op positions that do not pay for a specific length of time in order to service this theory; however, by accepting co-ops, students can show their desire to help an organization succeed and can establish their own traits and qualities as good and effective leaders. This paper will present a Servant Leadership Theory model for the Mechanical Engineers Organization at University of Tulsa in order to assist that Organization and its members in reaching their potential.
II. Servant Leadership
The Mindset of the Servant Leader
Characteristics of effective Servant Leaders include the ability to provide active listening to other people. Active listening “takes discipline, time and concentration….A good listener knows when to respond and to ask appropriate questions without taking over the conversation.” (Nees, 2014). This means that a Servant Leader is not just one who listens silently to others when they speak but that a Servant Leader is one who listens, understands, and engages the speaker by asking good questions that will lead to further insights. Servant Leaders, in other words, should display high levels of Emotional and Social Intelligence (Cacamis, El Asmar, 2014; Northouse, 2016). Servant Leaders who adopt this philosophy of leadership tend to look different from other types of leaders because they are generally very likeable: they understand how being likeable lends them credibility as a leader and how by being friendly and taking time to invest in others shows that they care and want to help others succeed (Sanders, 2006). In other words, a Servant Leader is one who is people smart—i.e., he knows how to read people, listen, understand and communicate effectively by considering social and emotional cues. His interest in people is also very genuine and is not phony.
Identifying a Servant Leader
A Servant Leader might be identified within the work environment by his commitment to the needs of others and desire to see that all people are included and heard. This person can be identified outside the workplace as well—for instance, if he or she is engaged in home, family or community activities, such as sports, charity events or community council. The characteristics of a servant leader are compassionate listening and care, a willingness to stop and take time to hear others and listen to their concerns while offering engaging thoughts that support the person and do not de-legitimize that person’s needs.
III. Impact of Servant Leadership
The impact that Servant Leadership philosophy will have on the Mechanical Engineers Organization at Tulsa is that it would help to increase the Organization’s attractiveness to others and thereby help to grow its membership. It would help to train the members in the philosophy of Servant Leadership and thereby assist them in committing to organizations in the industry, developing relationships through co-op opportunities, and building individual relationship skills through respect for diversity and inclusivity.
The Organization’s aim of growing its membership would be supported through Servant Leadership, because this is a philosophy of leadership that devotes itself to assisting others and recognizing their needs as important. By providing service to those in need, the Organization will make itself appealing at a high level and many persons will want to join to take advantage of its numerous services. It will be appeal to more proudly boast of its ability to build relationships between its members and members of the industry in the real world, as Servant Leadership will enable people to come together and allow diverse minds to collaborate on initiatives that might otherwise stall without the right supportive leadership philosophy undergirding it. Members would find that their career possibilities have grown in scope as they are introduced to a wider range of possible partners and colleagues through the open-minded approach that Servant Leadership inspires. The Organization will have many more possibilities to offer its members in terms of locating a firm with which it can build a relationship that will last into the future.
The challenges that might occur with this work in this environment could include braking down old ways of thinking about leadership and culture. In any Organization there is a workplace or organizational culture that exists and that informs the stakeholders. The culture promotes specific ideas and behaviors that are reinforced sometimes through incentives or sometimes through the application of penalties. In an organization where Servant Leadership is utilized, a culture of giving and sharing is promoted, and a spirit of selflessness takes hold, which allows relationships to grow and foster and helps to develop a positive organizational culture rooted in togetherness and team work.
To effect that change it is sometimes necessary to utilize a change management approach, in which a new outline for the culture is given and implemented in a process that is monitored and evaluated to ensure that it is progressing effectively (Kissack, Callahn, 2010). A Servant Leadership approach to this type of operation would need to be supported by workers who are able to assist in the drafting of the plan and the overseeing of its implementation. So it would be necessary to recruit some stakeholders or members in the Organization to the vision purported by Servant Leadership so that the culture could be developed appropriately and so that resistance was mitigated (Hanif, Khan, Zahir, 2014). This could represent a challenge at first, but over time the fruits of the labor should be clearly manifested to all, inspiring more and more people to want to support this philosophical approach to leadership.
The Organization overall would begin to look like a fraternal society—a place where all members recognize one another as brothers and sisters, like in one big family. This type of familial recognition is vital to the sense of Servant Leadership, because at the heart of this theory is the idea that all persons are really part of the same big family, that they really all share the same needs and desires and that together they can help each other obtain their goals.
The effect that this type of environment would have on individual members would be very positive: members would feel more connected to one another and more aware of a positive, supportive energy throughout the Organization as more diverse people come together to work towards the common aims and fulfillment of one another’s works and aspirations. They would benefit from more connections in networks where they previously were unintroduced because now they would be more open and inclusive in their minds, so more willing to engage in a variety of spheres that previously would have been closed off to them.
The organization itself would benefit from the new growth and life coursing through its veins. New people would see how helpful the organization is and want to be part of the spirit. They would be attracted by its good works, good example, and good will towards all people, no matter their background or beliefs. This type of positive example is contagious and makes others want to follow it in their own lives. So the benefits would expand beyond the Organization as well and spread out into the community.
The community’s response to the new attitude of the Organization is also vital. The Organization, for instance, might take up a charitable exercise that utilizes the skills of its members to assist the community. The community would be grateful and responsive to this good will and show good will to the Organization in return. It is all about putting others first and recognizing their needs and responding effectively. For the Mechanical Engineers of the Organization, their skills could be used to assist the community in a number of ways, through offering free educational classes to the public, through offering free consulting, and through raising money to support initiatives of the community. This is all a type of growth that the Organization can foster through the spirit of Servant Leadership.
What would be strengthened would be the Organization’s own ability to commit to its members and the members in turn to commit to one another. For instance, if one member is trying to locate a way in to a certain firm that another member is a part of, they can share information and the member with access can work to support the other member’s desire to obtain access as well. Or, if a member is trying to figure out a solution to a problem in school, other members who understand the concepts can be there for that person no matter the time of day—because they are always looking out for one another and will stop what they are doing to help each other. This is the basis of great care and compassion that is required not only in the Organization but in all society, as it is a kind of glue that keeps people united and respectful (Parris, Peachey, 2013). The relationships that would be built and that would be made stronger would be a great facilitator of the Organization’s aims.
These relationships would then go on to develop into channels through which the members of the organization could achieve their lifelong goals. Networking is based on the ability to put yourself out there, to meet people, establish contact, and then keep that contact open. For this Organization, by establishing contact with many people and places through the expressions of good will of its members, its reputation could grow to such that when people think of needing a Mechanical Engineer they will think immediately of the Organization at Tulsa. By getting out in front of the issues and the responding to the needs of the public, the Organization strengthens itself. By submitting to the will of others and putting others first, the Organization grows stronger. By being humble, the Organization makes its members proud and makes the Community want to support the Organization even more.
The challenges would be simply to introduce the concept of Servant Leadership into the Organization and show the members how the philosophy of Servant Leadership is such that it would benefit their culture, their own lives, and the lives of others. By teaching them the great power of being there for other people and the effect that this can have on the overall spirit and attitude of an organization, the group could really flourish in terms of paying it forward to others. However, this does not happen overnight and takes time and patience to see it develop. As a Servant Leader, one would have to enter into this project knowing full well that good things come to those who wait. It is a process of laying the ground work, planting the seeds of growth, educating the mind and tilling the fields of the soul through opening eyes and hearts to what others have to say and think. This can be a challenge for many, but in time the lesson will sink in.
Evaluation
Servant Leaders are not necessarily found in managerial or leadership roles—but good leaders often have Servant Leader characteristics. The reason Servant Leaders do not necessarily have to be found in managerial positions, however, is that they are really all around: it is a mentality that strives to be humble and to not be held aloft. So they can go unrecognized by people who are not paying attention because they do not necessarily seek to obtain great titles or positions. However, those whom they assist always recognize them and sing their praises to others. Authentic leadership does not require a job title. A title is just a name and does not reflect the actual authority of leadership or have the influence a true leader. There can be bad managers, as Schyns and Schilling (2013) have shown.
Thus it is possible that individuals without title can be servant leaders. In fact, everyone can be a servant leader because all it requires is the ability to listen and to recognize the needs of others and to help people address those needs. Leaders do not exist behind fancy titles by default. They exist first in the hearts and minds of people who seek to be of assistance to a greater vision or to a neighbor in need.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Mechanical Engineers Organization at Tulsa University would greatly benefit from the Theory of Servant Leadership. It would inspire new life in the organization and assist it in meeting its aims and objectives in the coming years. It would inspire a fresh attitude and a truly giving spirit that promotes commitment, sharing, selflessness and togetherness. It would assist its members in obtaining access to networks previously closed off to them and raise the hopes of the community by providing its assistance to those who could benefit from the skills of the Organization’s members.

References
Cacamis, M. E., & El Asmar, M. (2014). Improving project performance through
partnering and emotional intelligence. Practice Periodical on Structural Design & Construction, 19(1), 50-56.
Hanif, M., Khan, S., Zaheer, A. (2014). Impact of organizational resistance to change on
BPR implementation. European Journal of Business and Management, 6(4): 186-196.
Kissack, H., Callahan, J. (2010). The reciprocal influence of organizational culture and
training and development programs: Building the case for a culture analysis within program planning. Journal of European Industrial Training, 34(4): 365 – 380.
Nees, T. (2014). On becoming a servant leader. Retrieved from
http://tomnees.com/leadership/on-becoming-a-servant-leader/
Nees, T. (2015). What about a servant leader for president? Retrieved from
http://tomnees.com/uncategorized/what-about-a-servant-leader-for-president/
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks: CA:
Sage Publications.
Parris, D., Peachey, J. (2013). A Systematic Literature Review of Servant Leadership
Theory in Organizational Contexts. Journal of Business Ethics, 113(3), 377-393.
Sanders, T. (2006). The Likeability Factor. NY: Three Rivers Press.