Serving others- One actually leads
Servant leadership focuses on the desire to serve first. According to Robert Greenleaf, the developer of modern servant leadership, “the servant-leader is a servant first… it begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first” (Greenleaf Center, 2016, par. 1). The principle of servant leadership is that the leader should take more interest in the desires of the subordinates by exhibiting self-service, humility, and compassion (Giolito& Van Dierendonck, 2015).
I volunteered with a local veteran (VA) hospital in Kerrville, Texas. The experience at VA gave me deeper understanding and insights. As a nurse, I have learned and appreciated the importance of being a servant leader in the nursing profession. During my volunteer time, I talked to the veterans and shared with them my experience as a veteran. I also served the patients their meals. It was a good time for me to help and connect with the war heroes. Veterans undergo many challenges in during and after the war.
My practice as a Psychiatric nurse played a significant role in my volunteer experience. I engaged the younger patients in conservation and education. PTSD is a major concern for the veterans. I helped the younger veterans to understand how to overcome this problem using my example and through educating them. I believe that education is one of the best ways to offer intervention in community health issues. I was able to show my leadership skills in the health facility by serving the veterans. I applied the principles of servant leadership which are compassion, love, and self-service (Greenleaf Centre, 2016). Even though the volunteer experience was time-consuming, I learned and applied the principles of servant-leadership that has increased my perspective of how to care, serve others as I show them direction by influencing them (Northouse, 2015). Apart from learning through experience that we demonstrate leadership by serving, it was a great opportunity to connect with the veterans to honor them, show my respect, and show compassion and love to them.
References
Giolito, V., & Van Dierendonck, D. (2015, January).Servant leadership: influence on financial business-unit performance and employee’s well-being.In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2015, No. 1, p. 18378). Academy of Management
Greenleaf Centre, (2016). What is servant leadership? Retrieved form,https://www.greenleaf.org/what-is- servant-leadership/
Northouse, P. G. (2015). Leadership: Theory and practice (7thed.). Sage publications
