Reflection Essay on a Servant Leader
Introduction
I feel that my mentor was a servant leader because of the exceptional leadership traits he possessed. Primarily, servant leadership refers to the act of serving others as well as leading. I agree that my mentor had servant leadership because he was able to put every person first. In addition, he had other leadership traits that a servant leader needs to have, such as commitment to grow other people and listening. Although there are numerous positive traits on servant leadership, it’s essential to elaborate on the characteristics that my mentor possessed.
First, as a servant leader, the mentor ought to be listening. According to Fahlberg & Toomey (2016), mentors as servant leaders need to be good listeners. For this reason, mentors should listen for everything being said, meaning behind the words, as well as the emotions which are being shared. As a result, this deep listening connects mentors and mentees fully and may help them grow. For instance, if mentors listen to mentees, there will be trust to share even a burning issue. As such, mentors will know areas of mentees’ weakness to boost their performance. Overall, mentors need to be good listeners.
Besides, mentors need to be committed to growing other people. According to Fahlberg & Toomey (2016), mentors believe that mentees possess intrinsic value. For this reason, there is a genuine interest in mentees’ spiritual, professional, as well as personal growth. As a result, the mentors guide the mentees throughout their careers on the bases of the mentor’s experience and profession. For instance, the mentor helps mentees to enhance their performance as per their present roles and provide career guidance as well as opportunities. Thus need to be a commitment to the growth of other people to be leaders.
I firmly believe that my mentor had significant characteristics that he displayed consistently. Importantly, my mentor was a good listener. The mentors listen to everything that was said, found meaning behind the words as well as emotions. In addition, the mentor was committed to growing other people. The mentor guided people as per the profession and experience to enhance performance. I believe that mentors’ characteristics are of significant value in organizational performance.
References
Fahlberg, B., & Toomey, R. (2016). Servant Leadership: A Model for Emerging Nurse Leaders. Nursing2020, 46:10 49-52 doi: 10.1097/01.NURSE.0000494644.77680.2a.