Announcement: I apologize for missing chapter eleven of the book that we were using as a guide in our last series. I went back and blogged about it. And now we are complete. Look forward to our new series using the book, Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World by Margaret J. Wheatley. Happy Saturday, friends!

“On the horizon of this landscape, a landscape that is personal and spiritual as it is political and global, we see ourselves free of what binds us, and we walk in such a way that others are drawn forward so that they too, may be free.” ~Shann Ferch, Author of Forgiveness and Power in the Age of Atrocity: Servant Leadership as a Way of Life

Servant-Leadership, Forgiveness, and Social Justice by Shann R. Ferch represent chapter eleven of the book we are using as a guide, Practicing Servant-Leadership: Succeeding Through Trust, Bravery, and Forgiveness by Larry C. Spears and Michelle Lawrence.

Servant Leaders understand the concept of forgiveness and with each new day work towards the consciousness of forgiveness of one’s own shortcomings and the shortcomings of others so that they may see the heart of people in everyday living. Forgiveness is paramount to the Servant-leader as it improves relationships of all kinds and types and brings out the best in people.

The on-going expansiveness and unfolding of a servant-leader are that they desire to honor all of the relationships that they are involved with and see those relationships as sacred. I certainly appreciate how the author combines the construct of forgiveness with servant leadership and social justice.

I believe Dr. Ferch hit the nail on the head when he argued that the more traditional ways of leading fail to take into account people’s emotional and spiritual well-being. BAM! These types of leaders fail to consider their  own  emotional and spiritual well-being much less anyone else’s and this type of atmosphere (culture) is a breeding ground for the elitist mentality. In the end, these leaders, however well meaning, end up leading from a different energy than from the heart of a serving leader.

This is where Servant Leadership can help. Organizationally speaking, Ferch puts it this way, “The idea of servant-leadership…can be seen in movements that have brought dead organizations back to life, and reconciliation and healing to nations deeply wounded by human atrocities.”

Other noted scholars in Servant Leadership acknowledge that as a part of this sacredness, just as Greenleaf did, listening is paramount to the Serving Leader. Listening aligns behavior and cognition with everyday activities and is most effective when connecting with others, and involves a give-and-take relationship. Through the act of listening, and providing feedback, relationships develop and mature, creating more servant leaders.

Kouzes and Posner found that empathy is critical to effective leadership; along with listening, empathy, and trust, servant leaders make organizations functional and influence others within the organization. Greenleaf claimed servant leaders have an unqualified acceptance and a tolerance of imperfection. Empathy allows the followers to expand consciousness and recognize their acceptance for who they are. Taken together, listening, empathy and trust allow servant leaders to facilitate relationships and demonstrate attributes such as trust, integrity, accountability, and authentic concern for people.

Empathy, listening, and meaningful dialogue is critical for Servant Leaders developing a higher, more evolved consciousness that seeks to heal one’s self and others so that the Servant leader is better and by extension, the organization in which these Servant Leaders work.

What can be found as a result of empathy, listening, and meaningful dialogue is reconciliation, as Ferch says, “…the deeper restoration that is the result of a disciplined and unflinching look at the wrongs we do to one another.”

Ferch is so right when he argues that Servant leaders can invigorate organizations through a culture of acceptance, empathy, and relational justice. More than that, when this energy is present, forgiveness is a part of the cultural landscape of the organization where it can be asked for and granted, and the Servant Leader models such behavior.

Phew! Powerful stuff, right?

At the end of the day, if we, as Servant Leaders, can incorporate these ideas into our thinking and heart space, we can create and sustain the joy for ourselves and others. Moreover, most certainly, we can create this in our organizations (where we spend so much of our daily lives) so that we work with joy, calling to a higher purpose, and personal meaning. In this way, we all are free.

To Forgiveness,
Dr. Crystal