By Dr. George Kalaras

But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. “It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”(Matthew 20:25-28).

The idea of servant leadership is not a new one and it has been put into practice for centuries in practically all cultures. A servant leader’s task is to first make sure that their followers’ urgent needs are being met. A servant leader’s passion and top priority is to efficiently serve followers in order to achieve greater goals. Only in recent research have the traits of servant leadership been examined, such as empathy, integrity, and competence. The results suggest that leaders who care for their followers, have integrity, and demonstrate competence are operating at a higher standard essential in encouraging interpersonal trust – a vital component in servant leadership.

Since 2001, servant leadership-focused companies such as AFLAC, TDIndustries, and Synovus have been listed in Fortune’s 2001-2005 ‘Top 100 Best Companies to Work for in America’. Organizations that practice servant leadership may profit from selecting leaders partly on the foundation of certain personal attributes such as empathy, integrity, and competence. If recruiters promote the need for values of empathy, integrity, and competence in leadership positions, they would likely attract and hire leaders who embody the practice of servant leadership.

Communicating the importance of these values from the beginning of the hiring process provides a strong foundation for the leaders being hired in understanding what is expected of them from a moral and ethical standpoint. “Empowered leadership is empowered servanthood” In other words, to be a great leader one must first be a great follower. A good follower must take on the responsibility of “doing the right thing” in order to become a good communicating leader.