• 1.) How can we help organizations, and not just individuals, become models of servanthood?
• 2.) To what extent is it possible to practice servant leadership in a competitive corporate climate?

Ten Characteristics of a Servant Leader In an attempt to clarify servant leadership for practitioners, Spears (2002) identified 10 characteristics in Greenleaf's writings that are central to the development of servant leadership. Together, these characteristics comprise the first model or conceptualization of servant leadership. 1. Listening Communication between leaders and followers is an inter- active process that includes sending and receiving messages (i.e., talking and listening). Servant leaders communicate by listening first. They recog- nize that listening is a learned discipline that involves hearing and being receptive to what others have to say. Through listening servant leaders acknowledge the viewpoint of followers and validate these perspectives. 2. Empathy. Empathy is standing in the shoes of another person and attempting to see the world from that person's point of view. Empathetic servant leaders demonstrate that they truly understand what followers are thinking and feeling. When a servant leader shows empathy, it is confirm ing and validating for the follower. It makes the follower feel unique. 10.2 Serving on Southwest 222 LEADERSHIP | THEORY AND PRACTICE 3. Healing. To heal means to make whole. Servant leaders care about the personal well-being of their followers. They support followers by help ing them overcome personal problems. Greenleaf argues that the procen of healing is a two-way street - in helping followers become whole, servant leaders themselves are healed Awareness For Greenleaf, awareness is a quality within servant lead- ers that makes them acutely attuned and receptive to their physical, social, and political environments. It includes understanding oneself and the impact one has on others. With wareness servant leaders are able to step aside and view themselves and their own perspectives in the greater con text of the situation 5. Persuasion. Persuasion is clear and persistent communication that convinces others to cha As opposed to creio, which utilizes post tional authority to force compliance, persuasion creates change through the use of gentle nonjudgmental argument. According to Spears (2002). Greenleaf's emphasis con persuasion over coercion is perhaps related to his denominational affiliation with the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) 6. Conceptualization, Conceptualization refers to an individual's abil- ity to be a visionary for an organization, providing a clear sense of its goals and direction. This characteristic goes beyond day-to-day operational thinking to focus on the "big picture." Conceptualization also equips ser- vant leaders to respond to complex organizational problems in creative ways, enabling them to deal with the intricacies of the organization in relationship to its long-term goals. 7. Foresight. Foresight encompasses a servant leader's ability to know the future. It is an ability to predict what is coming based on what is occur- ring in the present and what has happened in the past. For Greenleaf, foresight has an ethical dimension because he believes leaders should be held accountable for any failures to anticipate what reasonably could be foreseen and to act on that understanding 8. Stewardship. Stewardship is about taking responsibility for the leader- ship role entrusted to the leader. Servant leaders accept the responsibility to carefully manage the people and organization they have been given to lead. In addition, they hold the organization in trust for the greater good of society 9. Commitment to the month of people Greenleaf's conceptualization of servant leadership places a premium on treating cach follower as a unique person with intrinsic value that goes beyond his or her tangible contributions to the organization. Servant leaders are committed to help ing each person in the organization grow personally and professionally Liv 10.1 Community Health Nursing Commitment can take many forms, including providing followers with opportunities for career development, helping them develop new work skills, taking a personal interest in the their ideas, and involving them in decision making (Spears, 2002). 10. Building Community. Servant leadership fosters the development of community. A community is a collection of individuals who have shared interests and pursuits and feel a sense of unity and relatedness. Community allows followers to identify with something greater than themselves that they value. Servant leaders build community to provide a place where people can feel safe and connected with others, but are still allowed to express their own individuality. These 10 characteristics of servant leadership represent Greenleaf's seminal work on the servant as leader. They provide a creative lens from which to view the complexities of servant leadership