Embodying the Characteristics of Great Leaders Essay

Embodying the Characteristics of Great Leaders - Essay Example From Robert’s perspective on leadership, a leader should make serving a mandatory requirement to ensure that other people’s needs and priorities are adequately met. Spears and Lawrence (2004) shed light into understanding the concept and philosophy of servant leadership. Spear’s essay centers on the development of the philosophy of servant leadership and the characteristics that a servant leader is required to possess. They include listening. A servant leader listens to what others have to say. A servant leader should have empathy and healing (Spears and Lawrence, 2004). A servant leader should be one who is in touch with the feelings and needs of the ones he comes into contact. In addition, a servant leader should be persuasive and aware of the prevailing situations around. Conceptualization and foresight are indispensable to any servant leader (Spears and Lawrence, 2004). Lastly, a servant leader should be committed to the growth of other people and building the community. A servant leader should be a steward of others. It is evident that servant leadership is a concept of humility that shy away from the ego. In addition to having all the above characteristics, Kouzes and Pozner (2007) advise that leadership and challenges go hand in hand. The leadership challenge entails how a leader can integrate various individuals with varying egos and beliefs to work and deliver results for an institution. Leadership entails how a leader can influence a climate that enables people to change challenging situations into a remarkable success. The closest I come to see the philosophy of servant leadership in action is in the South African iconic leader, Nelson Mandela. I like Mandela due to the remarkable leadership qualities that he possessed (Okoth-Okombo & Community Aid International, 2011). In his fight for apartheid, he was a visionary and had a