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Here's what you can expect from TEMPLETON Advantage. Clarity, focus, and excellence! Over the last 25 years, I’ve had the opportunity to interview countless leaders, research the best practices in leading journals and publications, and work alongside several outstanding practitioners. I have witnessed the impact leaders have, not only on the working conditions of an organization, but on the very lives of those who populate those places. I believe the servant leadership approach so effectively lifts up the dignity of the individual, while inspiring a call to greatness. Below is a brief statement from the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership:
While servant leadership is a timeless concept, the phrase “servant leadership” was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay, Greenleaf said:
“The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.
“The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?“
A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. While traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid,” servant leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.
For me, this statement from Mr. Greenleaf so effectively captures my approach to serving my clients. Certainly, I appreciate the importance of analyzing and applying the appropriate strategies to meet ongoing organizational situations; however, as a governing philosophy of leadership, you will find that TEMPLETON Advantage is inspired and motivated by the tenets of servant leadership.
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Tom Templeton
Founder & Creative Director
TEMPLETON Advantage
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