Strengthening Service: Empowerment through Servant Leadership

By: Marga Ancheta

We all have encountered leaders before, but have you met a  leader that put the needs of others before themselves? Have you encountered a leader that looks at the bigger picture and aims to make a huge difference in society? If so, you may have encountered a servant leader. 

What Makes a Servant Leader?

In essence, a servant leader is a leader that prioritizes the needs of others before their own. With this, servant leaders are able to empower their followers as well since their goals are oriented towards the betterment of a community. This description however, may be a bit vague so here are some competencies of a servant leader:

Download the Philippine NGO Leadership Competencies HERE

Servant leaders can be found in many sectors of society, and is the most common type of leadership found in Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). More often than not, NGOs are involved in work that allows citizens to empower themselves and work towards the promotion of social values and civic goals. They are also seen as the middle ground between the government and the profit sector, because they kickstart experimentation and innovative social change by leading projects that the public and private sectors simply won’t. Given that line of work, servant leadership functions as the lifeblood for some NGOs because of the benefits it brings in terms of organizational performance. Research has shown that servant leadership has been found to increase levels of productivity, creativity and innovation, as well as intrinsic motivation within NGOs.

Being a servant leader amidst the pandemic

Surely, being a servant leader is no extraordinary feat. It comes with many obstacles, most especially now during the pandemic. In a webinar held by Positive Workplaces on September 15, 2021, we asked leaders from NGOs what struggles they face in the middle of the pandemic. Here are some of their answers:

• Succession

• Sustainability

• Mobilization

• Lack of resources

• Fatigue 

• Shifts in plans and/or direction

In response to the challenges mentioned, our panelists had important insights to share. Jen Deomano Santos, Head of Integration and Area Development for ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation, said that from a management perspective, it’s very hard to think about sustainability at this time. She emphasized that the needs of primary stakeholders are growing in complexity, saying “At the end of it all, we all want to hit our desired outcomes… for the primary stakeholders we long to serve.So it’s honoring the question ‘'Are we doing good the best way we can?’”. Joji Abot-Camelon, Project Manager for LEAD to Serve added to this by mentioning that “there’s always an expectation to give more than even ourselves” .

Overcoming obstacles 

There may be numerous obstacles that servant leaders would face in these times, but these can be easily overcome through strengthening the values and competencies that make a servant leader. As Joji mentioned, in development, we do not exhibit competencies in silos, but in unison. Based on what we gathered from the webinar, here are some ways that servant leadership can be strengthened among teams: 

• Having periodic activities that remind the organization of its vision and mission

• Affirm the struggles of one another and empower others to explore

• Conduct regular brainstorming sessions and give value to all opinions

• Assess one’s competencies and consider developing them to become better as a servant leader

• Conduct trainings to enhance skills 

Servant leadership requires a lot of effort, but with its intent to serve the greater good in mind, it makes the actions one takes something worthwhile. There may be challenges, most especially now with the pandemic, but by continuing to enhance one another’s capabilities, leaders can continue to join communities in their journey.  Jen emphasized the nature of servant leadership, noting “If you dive deeper [into servant leadership], there is more. Sometimes more means being a human being for another human being”.

 If you are interested in hearing other servant leaders’ stories, feel free to watch the webinar we conducted for servant leaders entitled “Leading Through Hardships : Utilizing Servant Leadership Strategies for NGOs”

References

1. Cameron, K. (2012). Positive leadership: Strategies for extraordinary performance. Berrett-Koehler Publishers

2. Coetzer, M. F., Bussin, M., & Geldenhuys, M. (2017). The Functions of a Servant Leader. Administrative Sciences, 7(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci7010005

3. Greenleaf, R. K. (1970). The servant as leader. Westfield, IN: Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership.

4. Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.

5. Overbey, J., & Gordon, P. (2017). Moving from power to empowerment in decision-making. In Servant leadership and followership (pp. 177-205). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

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