Servant-Leadership: An Interview with Jason O’Donnell

By: Jody R. South

Servant-Leadership:  An Interview with Jason O’Donnell

Caveat: The name of the interviewee and the corporation for which he works have been changed at his request.  Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.  

It is the intent of this paper to chronicle the interpretation, thoughts, and experiences of Servant-Leadership as articulated by Jason O’Donnell of Alliance Technology Corporation.  This paper shall also compare O’Donnell’s views Servant-Leadership with those of noted authors and subject matter experts.

Jason O’Donnell is a project manager for the Military Utility Assessment of emergent technologies.  O’Donnell leads a project team of eight individuals of diverse educational and professional backgrounds in the evaluation of emerging technologies for the United States Government.

Servant-Leadership

Prior to being interviewed, O’Donnell, having not been acquainted with Servant-Leadership, received a brief overview of the philosophy.  The following summation was the subject matter of the presentation.

Servant-Leadership, as defined by the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership is: 

A philosophy and set of practices that enriches the lives of individuals, builds better organizations, and ultimately creates a more just and caring world […] A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong.  While traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid”, Servant-Leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first, and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible (“What is Servant-Leadership”, 2014).

While this quote succinctly sums up Servant-Leadership, it is merely conceptual in nature and not meant to encompass the whole of the philosophy.

O’Donnell, having been briefed on the tenants of Servant-Leadership, offered his own interpretation of the philosophy.  He believes that, as a general rule, most people have an innate desire to teach and to be taught (J. O’Donnell, personal communication, January 15, 2014).  However, metaphorically, O’Donnell noted that “there are those individuals that you can lead to water but you can’t make drink.  These people would rather be given a fish than learn to fish” (2014).  In circumstances such as these, he opined that leadership is not required (2014). 

There is a difference between leadership and management.  A Leader sees the big picture and is strategic in nature.  Actions taken on the part of a leader are calculated.  As I    understand Servant-Leadership, a cost-benefit analysis should occur.  If a servant leader      does not see that an employee is benefiting from our interaction, then the cost of my time     is much too high to continue (J. O’Donnell, personal communication, January 15, 2014).  O’Donnell believes that while all leaders can be managers, not all managers are leaders (2014).     

Jason further noted that “when an employee no longer responds to leadership, management is required.  A manager deals with the day to day monitoring and controlling of an employee.  Managers assign tasks and assure quality” (J. O’Donnell, personal communication, January 15, 2014).

In practice, O’Donnell believes that, “Servant-Leadership might prove to be a daily challenge” (J. O’Donnell, personal communication, January 15, 2014).  However, he also considers the philosophy to be the ideal to strive for.

One of the tenants of O’Donnell’s current personal leadership philosophy is that “an open-door policy is not enough” (J. O’Donnell, personal communication, January 15, 2014).  When asked to elaborate, he noted that many managers pride themselves on their open-door policy.  These managers believe that if an employee can speak with them at any time, without an appointment, that it is enough.  However, many employees are apprehensive or even fearful of approaching their leadership in this manner.  O’Donnell suggested that leadership should mitigate the risk of an employee not articulating an issue by managing while walking around.  O’Donnell stated that he learned this philosophy from his predecessor and that it is a popular tactic that many leaders employ (2014). 

“Management by walking around involves getting out of your office and visiting your employees.  This should be done daily or at least as often as possible, but not too often” (J. O’Donnell, personal communication, January 15, 2014).  O’Donnell cautioned that this should not be confused with micro-managing. 

Management by walking around is not about criticizing or micro-managing.  It is about recognizing employees for their good work and asking questions related to their job satisfaction.  Are they getting the support they need?  Do they have the right tools for the job?  Are they feeling overwhelmed?  Are they receiving enough training?  Take notes and follow up in a timely manner (2014). 

One can easily notice the similarities between Servant-Leadership and Jason’s methods of leading.

            O’Donnell has learned that not only is Management by walking around an effective leadership tool, it is also an effective tool for measuring corporate culture.  Jason noted, “When you roam the halls of an organization, take note of the type of items that are posted on bulletin boards.  Look at people’s desks, at break room walls” (personal communication, January 15, 2014).  Knowing what is important to an organization and to its employees is valuable and can be an excellent tool for any new leader.     

O’Donnell’s method of engaging his employees seems to embody the core of servant-leadership.  Greenleaf noted, “I have a bias about this which suggests that only a true natural servant automatically responds to any problem by listening first” (2002, p.31).  Jason’s capability to “listen first” allows him to gain a better perspective of his employees’ thoughts and concerns.  This, in turn, aids in employee morale and turnover.

Greenleaf also noted that “the best test, and the most difficult to administer is: Do those served grow as persons?  Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants” (1977, pp.13-14).  O’Donnell’s analogies of horse and fish seem to exemplify the quest to answer Greenleaf’s servant-leadership query.  However, Jason takes it a step further.  He then answers the unsolicited question of what to do with those that do not wish to learn or to grow by divesting these employees to the oversight and control of a manager as opposed to a leader, thus, freeing up leadership to help other employees that wish to cultivate their talents.

O’Donnell practices “management by walking around”.  As a terminology, “management by walking [or wondering] around” seems to have originated around the same time as servant-leadership.  Like servant-leadership, O’Donnell’s methodology seems to be quite effective in practice.  However, it does not, on the surface, seem to express the nurturing spirit of servant-leadership for the leader as well as the employee.  As a philosophy for leadership, the intent of servant-leadership is to:

…nurture human wholeness and human flourishing.  A conscious moral choice to serve arises from an innate desire for wholeness for self and for others; the desire for wholeness extends to and potentially engages all aspects of personal, relational, organizational and community development and functioning (Horsman, 2013).

Here, Horsman defines servant-leadership as not only a leadership philosophy, but as a way of life and a way of living. 

In the novel, The Journey to the East, the author’s message seems to consistently address giving life meaning (Hesse, 1957).  It is no wonder that Greenleaf was inspired by Hesse to develop the philosophy of Servant-Leadership, which seems to take “management by walking around” to a new level.  

Wilber found through anthropological and developmental psychological research, that humans possess an innate aptitude to develop from “ego-centrism towards progressively more expansive and inclusive levels of socio-centrism” (Wilber, 2006).  Wilbur, like Abraham Maslow before him, believed that people have a tendency to transcend motivations throughout their growth as human beings.

Conclusion

  It is undeniable that O’Donnell displays several characteristics of a Servant-Leader.  Over the past decade, many noted authors and subject matter experts have commented on and written about Servant-Leadership.  O’Donnell exhibits many of the characteristics enumerated by Larry Spears, such as listening, empathy, awareness, foresight, and commitment to people (1995, pp.5-7).  Jason’s predilection for “management by walking around” allows him to practice several of the aforementioned structures of servant-leadership.

References

Greenleaf, R.K. (1977). Servant leadership: a journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. New York: Paulist Press

Greenleaf, R. K., & Spears, L. C. (2002). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness (25th anniversary ed.). New York: Paulist Press.

Hesse, H. (1957). The journey to the East. New York: Noonday Press.

Horsman, J. (Director) (2014, January 7). Foundations Of Servant-Leadership. Introduction to Servant-Leadership. Lecture conducted from Gonzaga University January 7, 2014.

Spears, L.C. (1995). Servant leadership and the Greenleaf legacy. In L.C. Spears (Ed.), Reflections on leadership: How Robert K. Greenleaf’s theory of servant-leadership influenced today’s top management thinkers. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

What is Servant-Leadership? (2014). Retrieved January 21, 2014, from https://greenleaf.org/what-is-servant-leadership/

Wilber, K. (2006). Integral spirituality: A startling new role for religion in the modern world. Boston, MA: Integral Books.