Running head: LEADERSHIP STYLE PAPER 1

Leadership Style Paper

Ann M. Gove
HCS/475
September 1, 2014
Steven Miracle
LEADERSHIP STYLE PAPER 2


Leadership Style Paper
When we think of leadership, most will usually respond "they are people that lead. In
todays society there are many aspects of leadership and leadership styles that are implemented
within organizations some with success and some with failure. In this paper, there will be a
discussion on the leadership style of a successful leader and why his style worked so well for
him. An outline of the management and leadership theories they used to be successful and
historical figure that used this leadership style is discussed. There will be a comparison between
my leadership styles to that of my leader chosen. The traits of a successful leader that I possess
and the weaknesses compared to the leader that I lack will is addressed throughout this paper.
What Is Leadership
An essential quality of a great leader possesses the strength to analyze individual and
team reasons and thoughts in achieving a change or anticipated perception of achievement.
Leadership is defined as the conduct of a person when supervising actions of an organization
regarding a common goal. The primary facet of the leadership role includes guiding group
activities and coping with change (Smith, 2005). To be a competent leader demands an intricate
blend of features behaviors, and competence but most importantly demands the capacity to look
back and evaluate yourself.
Robert Greenleaf
The paradoxical term servant leadership was launched by Robert F. Greenleaf in 1970
with his world known essay entitled The Servant as Leader. It was in this essay that he coined
the terms servant-leader and servant-leadership, his essay defined the servant-leader is
servant first (Keith, 2014). By this term, he means that the having a desire to serve a fundamental
LEADERSHIP STYLE PAPER 3


characteristic of a servant-leader. That the entire idea is to serve and wanting to help others, and
meeting the needs of others first.
Greenleaf believed that leaders who initiate action are goal oriented, great
communicators; those people are in turn trusted, creative and intuitive. Robert Greenleafs style
of leadership is still a success thirty years later, and the idea of servant leadership is
progressively seen as the optimal leadership style which countless people and organizations
aspire (Keith, 2014). Greenleafs success as a leader still to this day is because he involved
others in the decision-making process, that is strongly based in caring, ethical behavior, all while
enhancing the rise of workers at the same time bettering the quality of the organizations life
(Smith, 2005).
In Greenleafs theory of servant leadership another contributing factor to its long lasting
success is that his philosophy has a powerful correlation with the typical working person, and a
conviction that leadership exists within us all and that a sincere leader is one who serves first
(Hayden, 2011). Servant leadership with its attention on employee-empowerment, teamwork,
and horizontal organization structures seen as a perfect fit. This type of leadership is one that
places greater emphasis on the people over production, which gives workers more motivation to
work harder equating to increased production (Hayden, 2011).
Management and Leadership Theories
In the management and leadership theories of the servant leadership, the leader's
motivation is derived from the root, equitable belief that they are not better than the ones they
lead (Smith, 2005)). The servant leadership theory as quoted by Greenleaf is "The great leader
is seen as a servant first"- Robert K. Greenleaf 1970 (Smith, 2005, p, 3). His theory is one that
places serving others as their most important priority. Servant-leadership accentuates a holistic
LEADERSHIP STYLE PAPER 4


approach to working, increasing service to others; promoting a sense of community, and equality
in the decision-making process (Smith, 2005). The central theories listed here:
1. Service to others: a servant-leaders primary purpose and motivation are to
encourage greatness in others. Legitimate leadership arises from a fundamental
desire to help others first
2. Holistic Outlook to Work: In servant-leadership "the work exists for a person as
much as the person exists for the work (Smith, 2005, p. 4). The theory advocates
a view that a person should be inspired to be who they are, in both their personal
as well as their professional lives
3. Promoting a Sense of Community: This theory supposes that a sense of
community can emerge from the behavior of individual servant-leaders (Smith,
2005).
4. Share the Power in Decision-Making: Leaders allow others to accomplish not by
hoarding the power they have, but by in giving it away. Effective leadership is
best-demonstrated by cultivating servant-leadership in others. The servant-leader
by protecting, empowering and reassuring the abilities of supporters, develops a
more competent, motivated workforce and subsequently more successful
organization (Smith, 2005).
Greenleafs describes his components as more of a philosophy than a theory and these
elements that are unique to the servant leadership as compared to other theories.
Historical Figure
The historical figure that I feel is a great leader is Ronald Reagan, and while he is more
of as a "charismatic leader" many of his management theories are similar to those of the servant-
LEADERSHIP STYLE PAPER 5


leaders. Ronald Reagan the 40
th
President of the United States, at 69 he was the oldest president
in history and served for two terms. President Reagan was remembered historically as "The
Great Communicator," and his vision was that America was a morally just nation and freedom
was deserved by every person in every nation (Bell, 2013, p, 67, para. 2).
He was able to express his vision in a way that was attractive to his followers. President
Reagan was concerned with others first and was compassionate to their needs first and engage
his followers easily. Mr. Reagan was also known to be a great delegator of tasks he is recognized
for establishing outstanding teams, and approved of them working independently (Bell, 2013).
President Reagan realized the strong potential of empowerment and used delegation in a skillful
manner. I feel his way of leading our country during his presidency was much the same as a
servant as he was concerned with the fellow man and that they were taken care of like that of the
servant-leader (Bell, 2013).
Leadership and Team Self-Management Assessment
After taking the leadership and the team self-management assessment, I found my score
to be that of a person with excellent team leadership skills (Porter-O'Grady, 2007, "Ch 01"). In
comparing my leadership style to that of the successful leader I identified in my paper, I would
say that my and Greenleafs style are very similar in many aspects of leadership styles. I think I
need to improve and develop a better understanding of everyone being more on a level playing
field, and all are equal as is the servant-leadership theory. My style of leadership is the
Contemporary leadership, it is not that I feel I am better than the ones I lead but I believe that
their need to be a leader that sets the goals and expects the followers to implement them and do
their role that is outlined (Porter-O'Grady, 2007, "Ch. 05"). I am one who encourages and feels
LEADERSHIP STYLE PAPER 6


that we are all potential leaders, but some just do not have the drive to be one and the
organization without leaders is destined to fail.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The trait I feel I need to develop is that of serving everyone else first, I think that is not
always the way things should be done and in some cases shouldn't be done. There are times
when a leader needs to focus on their role as a leader and not concerned with the others being
served and taken care of first. The trait I think my leader would benefit from that I have is to be
more assertive in the role of the leader and understanding that everything cannot be a smooth,
everyone is happy, status quo.
Conclusion
When leadership is needed there is not one specific style that will work and in many
times there needs to be a combination of multiple styles to lead an organization at one time and
maybe one style for another. Each situation can need a variety of styles to resolve the problems
at that time; not every situation is going to be resolved with the same answer every time. In this
paper, one style of leadership was explored, and the theory of the servant-leadership was
discussed. Robert Greenleafs theory of servant-leadership is one that has stood the test of time
for over three decades and were an emerging leadership paradigm for the 21
st
century (Spears,
2010). Some of todays cutting-edge leadership authors including James Autry, M. Scott Peck,
Danah Zohar, Warren Bennis, just to name a few advocates of servant leadership (Spears, 2010).
The philosophy as termed by Greenleaf, rather than theory of servant leadership is that the
characteristics often take place spontaneously within many individuals; and, like many innate
propensities, they can be improved through studying and practice (Hayden, 2011). Servant
LEADERSHIP STYLE PAPER 7


leadership proposes great hope for the future in generating exceptional, more nurturing,
organizations.





















LEADERSHIP STYLE PAPER 8


References
Bell, R.M. (2013). "Charismatic Leadership Case Study with Ronald Reagan as
Exemplar. Emerging Leadership Journeys, 6(1), 66-74.
Retrieved from http://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/elj/vol6iss1/4elj_vol6iss1
_bell.pdf
Hayden, R.W. (2011). DigitalCommons. Retrieved from
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/aglecdiss/30
Keith, K.M. (2014). To Serve First. Retrieved from
http://toservefirst.com/definition-of-servant-leadership.html
Porter-O'Grady, T. (2007). Managing for Success in Healthcare (7th ed.). Retrieved from
University of Phoenix.
Smith, C.A. (2005). Servant Leadership. Retrieved from
http://www.carolsmith.us/downloads/640greenleaf.pdf
Spears, L.C. (2010). Characteristics of Servant Leadership: Ten Characteristics of
Effective, Caring Leaders. The Journal of Virtues & Leadership, 1(1), 25-30.
Retrieved from http://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/jvl/vol1_iss1/Spears_Fin
al.pdf

Content
60 Percent
Points
Available
3
Points
Earned
3
Additional Comments:
The paper does the following:

Identifies someone who has a
successful leadership style


The body of the paper is where you should cover the
subject as assigned. Include here a paraphrase of
your research mixed with your personal
observations. As a general rule do not have more
LEADERSHIP STYLE PAPER 9


Addresses why he or she is a
successful leader
Compares the students own
leadership style to the successful
leaders style
Identifies traits of the successful
leader the student believes he or
she needs to develop
Identifies the students own
strengths from which the
successful leader could benefit
than 15% of the paper in quotations.
Organization / Development
20 Percent
Points
Available
1
Points
Earned
0.6
Additional Comments:
The paper is 700 to 1,050 words in
length.
The introduction provides
sufficient background on the topic
and previews major points.
The conclusion is logical, flows
from the body of the paper, and
reviews the major points.


A well organized paper will be easy to read,
paragraphs will be short and focused, and there will
be smooth transitions from one paragraph to the
next. The introduction should set the stage for the
paper and will draw conclusions directly related to
the points made.
This paper should more closely meet the word count
requirement for the assignment.
Mechanics
20 Percent
Points
Available
1
Points
Earned
1
Additional Comments:
The paperincluding tables and
graphs, headings, title page, and
reference pageis consistent with
APA formatting guidelines and
meets course-level requirements.
Intellectual property is recognized
with in-text citations and a
reference page.


It is imperative that the paper follow the rules of
grammar. Make sure all words are spelled correctly
including those not picked up by spell check. Avoid
speaking in the first person and always identify
jargon and acronyms.
LEADERSHIP STYLE PAPER 10


Rules of grammar, usage, and
punctuation are followed; spelling
is correct.
Total
Available
Total
Earned

5 4.6 Excellent!!