Leadership theories: Servant Leadership
By Carol Houtot

Psychologists have spent years trying to come up with leadership theories that describe effective leaders. Many of them seek to describe how they manage to have ‘power’ over people but one of the leadership theories that rarely gets a mention is servant leadership – a philosophy that puts ‘people first, results second’.

Origins of servant leadership

Servant Leadership is a term that was coined by Robert Greenleaf in the early 1970’s. It describes a leadership philosophy whereby a leader seeks to achieve results by focusing on the needs of others. In a business context, this means turning the usual way of thinking on its head – it’s not about what your employees can do for you but about how you can serve them.
“The highest type of ruler is one of whose existence the people are barely aware”. Lao Tzu
As Greenleaf wrote: “It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead”. This is not a new concept, it has been written about in many spiritual texts for centuries including in the Bible. Lao Tzu, a Chinese prophet around 500 BC also had many things to say about the idea of servant leadership.

Great leaders are not necessarily big charismatic personalities – in fact, egos are an obstacle to good leadership.

Most of the world’s millionaires are humble people moving around the community who you’d never guess are wealthy and successful – read the book The Millionaire Next Door: Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy; by Thomas Stanley for proof.
Leadership Theories: Servant Leadership in practice
Some business owners may be cynical about whether you can truly run a successful business by following leadership theories like this.

Mario Calanna is an example of a businessman who's put servant leadership in to action. He currently has a network of 8 pharmacies across two major cities with plans for further expansion. His brand represents more than pharmaceutical products – it’s focus is wellness, wellbeing and a ‘zest for life’.
Mario operates his business from a set of strong personal values and has adopted the servant leadership model as his preferred as style of leadership. As a result, he has imbued the culture of his business with the following values:
• Character: doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do regardless of whether the whole world is watching or not
• Honesty: being careful to precisely match the facts about a person, incident or circumstance with what I say, write or report
• Courage: Not letting fear or difficulty destroy confidence in a good outcome
• Loyalty: remaining faithful to those who depend on you
• Gratitude: ‘replace expectation with appreciation’ and be grateful for what you have and who you are
• Carefulness: acting with good sense by paying attention to detail and accuracy
• Determination: firmness of will to complete something once started
• Patience: waiting without getting annoyed and persevering pleasantly under challenging circumstances
• Forgiveness: letting go of bitter feelings against those who have wronged you and being willing to initiate peace
• Creativity: inventing fresh ways to overcome difficulties with a complete trust that there is enough resources & expertise to overcome any problem
• Joyfulness: creating an atmosphere of delight & happiness
• Benevolence: intentionally showing goodwill to others
Servant Leadership: Does it work?
The most significant benefit of applying the concept of servant leadership in business is the impact it has on your team. It means that everyone is focused on being responsible to each other - being on time, staying till all is done, finding a replacement if you are sick etc. In other words, looking out for others above yourself.
As Mario says “people are always a work in progress but over the years our model has attracted wonderful people who have stayed for many years. Of course we’ve had our disagreements and people have left not understanding the dynamics but overall it has enabled us to create a very strong, committed and loyal team”.

Coaching Questions:
• What are the values in your business?<>
• If you think about how you can serve your employees, what would you do differently?
• What do you want people to say about you as a leader?

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Part 4 - Servant Leadership – to inspire – to influence – to empower

“To serve means to give, to help, to do something for another”

In 1750 Alexander Fraser Tyler wrote about the Cycle of Democracy: "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising them the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over a loose fiscal responsibility, usually followed by a dictatorship. The average of the world's great civilizations before they decline has been 200 years”.
He determined that the cycle sequence goes from: Bondage, to Spiritual/Emotional Faith, to Courage, to Liberty, to Abundance, to Selfishness, to Complacency, to Apathy and back to Bondage.
Where are we now? I would say – that despite all our technology, the amazing innovations and abundance; we are in the very heart of the cycle between complacency and bondage.
I really believe we can avoid or weaken this part of the cycle by focusing much more on the Spiritual, the Emotional part of our being.
In the world where most people are time poor, where we are too busy to stop and think about the consequences of what we are doing, what we are saying, what we are thinking and trusting others with our future – there is a light.
And the light is reverence, benevolence, compassion – the giving to others for their good and not ours. In this lies the fulfilment, the emotional force we are basically looking for, as individuals and as a society.
Making the time to volunteer - to give our time, money, wisdom and support to others – without expecting any return – is what gives us fulfilment and happiness.
Over the past 4 decades we have allowed ourselves to be swamped with technology, with the need to have more, to be more, to rely on others (especially Governments) to provide and to blame someone else for our troubles, challenges, situation and the perpetual assault on our social order.
We are stretched, stressed and cynical about our lifestyle, our society (of which each of us is a part) our leaders and our leadership. We can be so focused on success that we ignore and become complacent and apathetic about the real issues – friendship, support, time to share and to care.
To volunteer - ignites The Noble qualities of Reverence, Benevolence and Compassion - the most powerful forces to rebuild and refocus our community and our society.
Mario Calanna.
CEO Calanna Pharmacies

Servant Leadership - Part 2
Mario Calanna - CEO CALANNA PHARMACIES
Servant Leadership is a mindset, an individual choice that comes from the
heart, by putting the welfare and future of others to the forefront of your own vision and strategic plan. Many decades ago, James Allen wrote a small 28 page booklet www.asamanthinketh.com which remains a very powerful receipt for an extraordinary life.
One quote is:
"As a person thinks in his or her heart so this person is”
- Bob Johnson says:
“The most important words are the words we say to ourselves, about ourselves, when we are by ourselves”
To put it bluntly – we cannot fool or hide from our real selves. The person we were really born to be. From the time we were each conceived to this present day (and into the future) we are products of The Compound Effect (www.darrenhardy.com). Everything our senses feel, see, speak, hear and think – this is who we become over the years. Our mind and our heart basically decide what we will think, do and say. Each day, little by little, what we decide to read, to listen to, to watch, to play; who we
associate with, whether we spend or save wisely, whether we are open or close minded; the way we talk to ourselves and others and the language we use – will determine who we become. As James Allen writes – each person
has the power to choose, to decide how he or she will transform and regenerate their lives. How do we Influence, Inspire and Empower ourselves and others to become better and compound this effect throughout our lives? Choose to be:
PATIENT – waiting and persevering without getting annoyed
DETERMINED – remain focused on your goals despite all challenges
COURAGEOUS – do not let fear destroy your confidence in achieving your goal
SELF-CONTROLLED – manage your impatience and reactions
BENEVOLENT – intentionally show good towards others
Each day we are challenged by people and situations. It is mainly in adversity that we really find ourselves. You are lord of your thoughts and actions. Choose to be a Servant Leader and empower yourself and others.

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Improve Your Immune System with Food -

Nobody plans to get sick. On the contrary, your efforts to avoid it sometimes seem borderline OCD: Don't sneeze into your hands, always cook your chicken to exactly 170 degrees, and hose down every germ-carrying preschooler in sight with soap and water. And yet, no matter how many times you gargle with salt before bedtime or coat yourself in antibacterial hand cleanser, now and again the inevitable rumble in your tummy or tickle in your throat hits. Hard. Suddenly, you're down for the count and up to date on the daytime soaps. What are you doing wrong? Probably nothing. But you can do a few more things right. Certain foods and drinks have a naturalimmunity boost; to tap their benefits, just open up and say, "Ahh."

Tea Off Against Colds

Not just any hot tea, though. Chamomile, according to researchers from London's Imperial College, is the one that'll help prevent sickness. In a recent study, they found people who drank five cups of the brew a day for 2 weeks had increased blood levels of plant-based compounds called polyphenols, some of which have been associated with increased antibacterial activity. Levels remained high for 2 weeks after subjects stopped drinking the tea, says lead researcher Elaine Holmes, Ph.D. (Bonus: chamomile tea also raised levels of glycine, a mild nerve relaxant and sedative.)

Knock 'em Dead 

There's a killer living in all of us. Known as a macrophage and produced deep in your bone marrow, it's a white blood cell that roams the body, picking fights with bacteria, viruses, or any other intruders. But it only works if you help it. These killer cells are activated by beta-glucans, a component of fiber foods. The best source? Oats, says David Grotto, R.D., director of nutrition education at the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Care in Evanston, Illinois. So eat your oatmeal. The steel-cut oats, like McCann's Irish Oatmeal, have double the amount found in the rolled, quick-cooking kind.

Dressing for Success 

Eating a salad for lunch is smart. Drowning it in fat-free dressing isn't. A recent study from Iowa State University found that without dietary fat, your body doesn't absorb some of the disease-fighting nutrients in vegetables. Researchers fed seven people salad for 12 weeks and tested their blood after each meal. Those who topped their salads with fat-free dressing consistently failed to absorb carotenoids, antioxidants that have been linked to improved immunity. Fat is necessary for the carotenoids to reach the absorptive intestinal cells, says lead researcher Wendy White, Ph.D. Choose dressings with healthy fats from olive or nut oils, such as Many Seeds of Change (available at Whole Foods or in the crunchy section of your neighborhood market) and many Annie's Naturals dressings. If you're feeling adventuresome, try making your own. For an Italianate, try 2 or 3 parts extra virgin olive oil to 1 part balsamic vinegar; for something with an Asian influence, go 3 parts sesame oil to 1 part rice wine vinegar.

Fight Bugs this Whey

A shot of whiskey might be one way to feel better, but whey protein is a much more effective immune-boosting cocktail. Whey is rich in an amino acid called cysteine, which converts to glutathione in the body. Glutathione is a potent antioxidant that fortifies cells against bacterial or viral infection. For the highest concentration of protein, try something called powdered whey protein isolate, which is more pure — and more expensive — than concentrate. Fortify your morning smoothie with whey protein powder or try another source: yogurt. The clear liquid that forms on top of most cartons of yogurt is pure whey protein — so don't drain it off, just stir it back into the yogurt.

Tomato Trumps Chicken 

To beat back a cold, you slurp chicken noodle soup. To avoid getting sick in the first place, ladle out some tomato. In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 10 subjects ate a tomato-rich diet for 3 weeks, followed by a tomato-free diet for 3 more weeks. While subjects were on the tomato diet, their infection-fighting white blood cells sustained 38 percent less damage from free radicals — atoms in the body that damage and destabilize cells — than when they ate no tomato products. Researchers speculate that the lycopene in tomatoes acts as an antioxidant, helping white blood cells resist the damaging effects of free radicals.

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