What are your thoughts?? The most important part of servant leadership is being a servant first.

The most important part of servant leadership is being a servant first. As part of that, there are 10 principles that make up the qualities of a servant leader. Listening where the servant-leader works to identify the will of the group along with reflection on their own inner voice. Next is empathy. Here the leader is understanding others and assuming good intentions by all. Healing follows where the leader is attempting to help the broken and themselves from emotional hurt. Awareness makes the servant leader stronger by identifying issues of ethics and values. Persuasion where the leader convincing rather than using positional authority. Conceptualizationwhere the leader looks further than just day to day. Foresight where the leader looks at past, present and future. Stewardship reinforces the commitment to serving the needs of others as they are the health care organization in trust for the greater good. Commitment to the growth of people is a commitment to each worker as they are valued for more than just their work. Lastly, building community within the group of employees that work within the healthcare organization.

Out of the ten, I think listening is one of the qualities at the center of servant leadership. Simplest thing about listening is the person speaking gets full focus and attention. The leader also listens carefully to both the spoken and unspoken words shared by the employees. The leader can then integrate the communication conversations into elements of the unit’s work. When the unit knows that everyone in the unit is wanted and could contribute to organizational goals, the nurse leader can translate the results of her listening into meaningful action by identifying and generating opportunities for nurses to develop innovations to improve the delivery of healthcare services. Along with listening, empathy goes hand in hand as the leader should be trying to understand the situation and circumstances of those in the unit. The nurse leader should take the time to learn the viewpoints of her unit along with helping the individuals in the unit realize their work goals. Empathy also includes large amounts of selflessness and that is demonstrated by never asking a unit member to do anything that the leader would not do herself. “A leader who is dedicated to enhancing the capabilities of the organization’s membership and willing to embrace collective leadership can advance the image, expectations, and effectiveness of healthcare organizations” (Neill, Saunders, 2008).