Questions…
   What was the “management 
    theory” context in which 
    Greenleaf first articulated his 
    ideas about servant leadership?
   How do we define servant 
    leadership?
   What makes servant leadership 
    effective?
   What are the prospects for the  2
    growth of servant leadership in 
    the future? 
         The Modern Context
                                                        3
                   Robert K. Greenleaf
                        (1904-1990)
                                      
    Worked for AT& T for 38 years; 
       eventually became Director of 
       Management Research
    Launched the modern servant 
       leadership movement with his 
       essay, The Servant as Leader, 
       published in 1970 after he 
       retired                                               4
    Friend of Peter Drucker and 
       acquaintance of Douglas 
       McGregor 
            Douglas McGregor
                (1906-1964)
     Professor of Management at Sloan 
      School of Management, MIT
     President of Antioch College, 1948-
      54
     Coined “Theory X” and “Theory Y” 
      regarding assumptions about people 
      in the workplace
     “Theory Y” was based on Abraham 
                                                        5
      Maslow’s “Humanistic School of 
      Psychology”
           The Human Side of     
                 Enterprise 
    (1960): Theory X
     Most people dislike work and will 
      avoid it if they can. 
     Because they don’t like work, most 
      people must be coerced, controlled, 
      or threatened with punishment to 
      get them to work toward the 
      achievement of organizational 
      objectives.
     Most people want to be directed, 
      and want to avoid responsibility.                 6
      They have little ambition. They just 
      want to be secure.