Leadership Roles in Campus Activities

Servant leadership is a personal philosophy that describes how one can manage with love at the core of relationships, with respect in the center of communication, and with compassion as a guiding principle. It describes leadership as serving others, so they can be empowered, acknowledged and appreciated. Servant leadership is a way of being that brings deeper meaning to the activities of the leader while nurturing those being led. There is a sense of sprituality in servant leadership, too; not a Bible-thumping approach, but how the leader’s personal spirituality plays itself out in daily life.

Autry begins by describing “five ways of being” for servant leaders. This simple list is below, along with my interpretation of what they mean:

Be Authentic - be real, at all times
Be Vulnerable - share your genuine feelings
Be Accepting - welcome diversity of thought
Be Present - be in the moment
Be Useful - be a resource for others in service to them

The core of servant leadership is love. I would guess that word doesn’t come up in too many “management” classes. However, it comes up all the time in the leadership classes, along with words like empowerment, teamwork, forgiveness, encouragement, caring and compassion. One of my favorite things about being in the leadership program is the focus on the humanity of leadership. Our most important resource in any group or at any company is the people. Leadership of those people is a calling. Doing it well is a blessing, to both the people and the leader.

With the heart of a servant leader, who can we serve today?