2010 International Conference -
Servant-Leadership: Ethical Practical and Meaningful
June 16th, 17th & 18th
News and Reviews
Stephen Prosser
Stephen Prosser, one of our closest and valued colleagues, died suddenly over Easter He was Professor of Leadership and Organisation Development at Glamorgan Business School and leaves behind his wife Lesley and three sons, Thomas, Daniel and Simon. Our thoughts are with them.
Stephen was a great supporter of Servant-Leadership and contributed enormously to its growth. He was the author of many articles and books, and a firm favourite at conferences on this subject. His concern was with the good that people are capable of – not the bad – and in his dealings with others this showed. A gentle person, with great integrity, honesty and immense personal warmth he led many a measured discussion, always keen to listen to others and to explore their views. Most of all Stephen lived what he believed; his focus on Servant-Leadership and service to others was evident in his actions.
He had recently written and published several seminal works on Servant-Leadership. One on servant-leadership as a philosophy and what the implications were for its practise. The most recent work is his book: You Can Move the Cheese – The Role of an Effective Servant-Leader. One of his key attributes was humour, and this comes out in his writings along with his depth of thought and understanding. Glamorgan Business School have commented on how proud they were to have known Stephen – a gentleman in the best sense of the word, and a true scholar – and, above all, a generous friend. We at the Greenleaf Centre UK echo those sentiments fully. Stephen will be much missed by us all.
Ralph Lewis
John Hurst 1941 - 2009
In early December we heard about the very sad and untimely death of our good friend and colleague, John Hurst. Ralph Lewis, the Greenleaf Centre UK Chair offers these thoughts:
John Hurst was a man of passion; someone who believed with all his heart that work was a noble calling. To hear him talk about the days of the steam locomotives and the duties of the firemen made you realise what an art and vocation it was. And for John, Servant-Leadership was about honouring the individual and their skills in work such as that. He saw no reason why this shouldn't be the case in any workplace, but was profoundly disappointed that this wasn't the case. At the UK Servant-Leadership Conferences John contributed with forthright vigour and energy and, again, passion. Never one to call a spade a spade, but a bloody shovel, you knew where you were with him. And it was a good place. He is sorely missed as someone who cared profoundly about people on an everyday level. No more fitting an epitaph than a passage from A Christmas Carol (John loved Dickens) about Scrooge saying he (Marley) had looked after his business, and the reply:
" Business... Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business”.
You Can Move the Cheese!
The Role of an Effective Servant-Leader
Stephen Prosser, Paulist Press, 2010
This is a book about change and, more importantly, about the changes that we as individuals can make. Stephen Prosser has taken Spencer Johnson’s book Who Moved the Cheese? and built on its message to show us what we can do to thrive on change. First, though, an acknowledgement. Stephen was a much loved colleague and contributor to the Greenleaf Centre for Servant-Leadership UK, and his untimely death robbed us all of a profound thinker and contributor to leadership and life. This book was his last and shows how much he had to offer.
The book is in three parts. In the first part Stephen summarises his survey of over six hundred companies and analyses four types of companies in terms of how they value their employees. In itself this is a remarkable piece of research. Out of this came key people propositions and finally in this section examples of how we can all make a meaningful difference at work. The book is worth reading just for this part. The People Propositions come from reality and are backed up by research and offer essential guidelines for all companies who want to be successful.
These propositions are:
- A Genuine Belief in Their People
- A Work Environment that Promotes Family and Fun and Celebrates Success
- An Emphasis On Fundamental Principles and Values
- An Enlightened Set of Human Resource Policies
- A Commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility and Charitable Work
What’s more, Stephen offers practical examples of how individuals and organisations can make these propositions a reality!
The second section looks at four types of leaders and their complementary styles.
The four styles are:
- The Purposeful Leader
- The Principled Leader
- The Resolute Leader
- The Exemplary Leader
For each style Stephen looks at their actions and characteristics and illustrates their differences with stories and rare insights. For example, you will never use the phrase “getting rid of the deadwood” (a demeaning and insulting phrase anyway) after reading Stephen’s comments on the importance of deadwood in forest ecology. Forests where deadwood is left are far more healthy and thrive much better, and are more productive than those where deadwood is cleared!!
The last chapter asks us to become purposeful, principled, resourceful and exemplary leaders. To quote “To become the sort of person who serves a greater and higher purpose, who lives and leads by deeply held principles, who acts effectively in their company, who influences things for good, who may work silently and without visible praise but who gets the right things done.”
This may seem a difficult journey, but if you read Stephen’s book you, too, can become convinced that you can help to move the cheese and improve life for all.
To sum up - a brilliant and deeply insightful book combined with practical ideas that will benefit all who read it.
Ralph Lewis
July 2010
Servant-Leadership: Bringing the Spirit of Work to Work
Edited by Ralph Lewis and John Noble of The Greenleaf Centre for Servant-Leadership UK
"It's a cracking good read, and everyone should enjoy it." So said one of the people who has read this book: a biased opinion perhaps, but right on the mark all the same!
Servant-Leadership: Bringing the Spirit of Work to Work is an easily accessible introduction to servant-leadership: what it is, what it means for servant-leaders (wherever they may sit in their organisation), how it was first expressed, and - crucially - how it actually works in real organisations. Whether or not you are already familiar with servant-leadership, and wherever you are in a work-place 'hierarchy', if you would like it to be a happier, healthier, organisation, try this book.
Edited by Ralph Lewis and John Noble of The Greenleaf Centre for Servant-Leadership UK, the book brings together contributions from thirteen servant-leadership practitioners from the UK, Europe, South Africa and America.
There is an interview with George SanFacon, a conversation with James Autry, and several essays by people working in a variety of places including: publishing, a law firm, hotels, local government, a computer and management training company, pensions and housing. They describe with great honesty the journey to introduce servant-leadership into their workplaces, failures as well as successes. What shines through the whole book is their faith in the people with and for whom they work.
All the contributors speak from personal experience and in their own voices, and in a range of styles, which means there is something to suit all tastes.
Margaret Wheatley, one of the most inspirational of servant-leadership practitioners, has written about how fear of what may happen if people are allowed to express their visions, act spontaneously, or simply contribute their ideas in discussion, is crippling organisations.
In hard times like the present, this readable, inspirational and yet realistic book, could well provide the help we all need, more than ever, to benefit from the creativity which arises from just listening to one another.
As the Introduction says: Servant-leadership is not a set of techniques or guidelines to improve productivity or even to make people's working lives better. It is something you do because you believe it is right. Now, there is lots of evidence to suggest that the bottom line is improved and people are happier and more engaged, but again that is not the reason for servant-leadership. You do it because it is the natural thing to do.
Paula Harvey
October 2008