Book Overview

“This book is

  a must read…”

 

-Ken Blanchard

"Self-serving leadership has bankrupted too many organizations and people are beginning to realize that servant leadership is the way to go. But what are the most important qualities of servant-leaders, and what are the principles that should guide them? Drawing on years of research, James Sipe and Don Frick answer these questions and more in Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership. This book is a must-read for those who want their organizations to survive and thrive in the 21st century."

—Ken Blanchard,

coauthor of

The One Minute Manager® and

Leading at a Higher Level

 

Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership departs dramatically from the hundreds of articles and scores of books written about Robert K. Greenleaf’s concept of Servant Leadership. Most of these publications simply describe the philosophy and list the traits of a Servant-Leader, without helping readers take the next step of implementation.

Seven Pillars is different. It offers the concrete, functional skills necessary to practice Servant Leadership; that is, to lead by serving first. Included are the behaviors of integrity, humility, empathy, story-telling, persuasion, foresight, courage, adaptability, collaboration, accountability, and moral authority, among other skills.

Rather than merely listing the characteristics of Servant Leadership as so many others have done, Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership coaches readers in how to evolve them, using pointed questions, stories, exercises, case studies, and research-based activities the authors have field-tested with numerous leaders in the public and private sectors.

Seven Pillars goes beyond developing individual skills, however. Each chapter includes stories of how servant-led companies have integrated Servant Leadership principles and skills into corporate cultures and policies. The final chapter offers a strategy for readers to begin implementing Servant Leadership in their own organizations, through questions that readers can “ask each other” in small groups, after reading each chapter of the book. The questions are arranged in a sequence that mirrors findings of 20 years of research about how human behavior changes in individuals and organizations.

Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership

Practicing the Wisdom of Leading by Serving

James Sipe, PhD, LP

Don Frick, PhD