Developing Servant Leaders at Scale: How to Do It, and Why It Matters

Servant leadership is both an ancient concept and a contemporary field of study and practice. The notion that true power and greatness comes from living one's life in service to others can be found in all the major religions. The modern incarnation of this concept can be traced to an essay published in 1970 by Robert K. Greenleaf called “The Servant as Leader”. From the climate crises to the rise of authoritarianism to growing inequality, there are so many challenges to respond to. To succeed, we need individuals who are motivated and prepared to step up and take responsibility for serving the whole. These leaders differ dramatically from individuals who seek power and authority out of selfish desires for significance, control, or greed. In other words, our moment calls for servant leaders—a great many of them.