Using Servant Leadership to Train Students to Become Leaders

Steve Adubato goes One-on-One with Amani S. Jennings, Dean of Students, Georgian Court University, to discuss servant leadership, how it differs from other leadership styles and the importance of instilling leadership skills into students.

5/8/19 #2217

 

 

 

 

Excerpt:

"Hi, I'm Steve Adubato. This is One on One. We're coming to you from the Agnes Varis Studio at NJTV. It is our honor and pleasure to talk leadership with Amani Jennings, Dean of Students, Georgian Court University. Good to see you. Good to be seen. Good to see you. You and your colleagues focused on leadership a lot. The concept of being a servant leader, what does it mean? Servant leadership is a term that was coined in the 70s by Robert Greenleaf, and essentially, a servant leader is a leader who is servant first. So the question that a servant leader is asking him or herself is, "Do those I'm serving grow? Are they being served? Are they wise?" Or, "Are they healthier?" A servant leader is looking to serve the needs of those that he or she is serving before considering the leadership aspects. So it's servant first. That's hard! It is. It is. It requires empathy? Compassion? What Doctor Daniel Goleman calls? Yeah. Emotional intelligence right? Emotional intelligence, absolutely. Easier said than done? Absolutely easier said than done. But we believe at Georgian Court that, you know, because not only we're trying to teach these skills so that these students can have great experiences while they're in college, but these are also skills that translate into the workplace. we know there's a ton of research that speaks to employers, they are looking for graduates to not only have the skill sets, to have the degree that they want in that particular field, they want them to have internship experience, but they also want them to have leadership experience. and that's because, you know, leadership experience speaks to all of those intangibles that a degree in biology may not. You know, we know that if someone has leadership skills and ability and experience, that that person can communicate, that person can articulate, that person can meet challenges, face challenges, you can put that person in a room of people and they can navigate and network. So those are skills. So even with our servant leadership initiatives, it's not just us looking to create a great environment while they're on campus. We're looking to develop students who are going to be able to compete in the workforce. You know, it's interesting. The concept of leadership. Sure. Studying and thinking about it, writing about it, teaching it, and also this will be seen on our podcast radio show Leadership Hour. Check that out. What I'm curious about is your opinion, I ask a lot of people about this, so I'm gonna ask you. do you believe the greatest leaders - greatest servant leaders - born? Made? What? I think it's a combination of..."