Institute in Review

It is extremely difficult to boil down two weeks of intense learning into one post. In my process of narrowing down my learning at the 2013 Summer Institute I look through the lens of leadership, learning, and predominately, service. I am overwhelmed by how much my mindset can change about service in just two weeks. To boil down my service learning I have decided to outline my top 5 takeaways.

Takeaway 5: The Scientist is the True Servant

I really enjoyed the lens of the scientist vs. judge due to its importance in the act of servant leadership. I realize how much I tend to judge, assume, and fail to clarify before I decide. Judging is a dangerous game to play while leading because the leader is doing a disservice to those they lead. Contrarily, the scientist wants to clarify, understand, and explore those they serve.

My personal plan to become a better scientist is surrounded by asking more questions. I know that I tend to talk more than listen, and as a result people become frustrated with my inability to hear what they are truly saying. The scientist in me should serve others by listening to what they have to say and clarifying that I am interpreting it correctly before I continue with my point of view. To make this may sound easy, but to me it is difficult. I love to talk! However, even as Greenleaf (1977) clarifies, "...only a true natural servant automatically responds to any problem by listening first" (p. 31). To be a scientist servant...listen first...then clarify...then speak. Simple, yet powerful.

Takeaway 4: From Arrogance to Humility

In class we discussed the idea of service as the byproduct of moving from arrogance to humility. The difficulty here lies within our social system. To get anywhere in life - a job, a degree, a promotion - we have to prove our expertise. Whether this is a resume, an act, a sale, or through discourse, we wouldn't be successful in our system unless we boast and brag our way to the top. I am not claiming that humility won't help you reach the top, I am saying that humility makes it more difficult. Have we thus created a culture of arrogance, a culture of egoistic individuals? How do we create a culture in our organization that breaches the arrogant cultural norms of arrogance? Creating an organization where your humility is indicative of your expertise....now that is a novel concept for servant leadership. These are some thoughts I am considering exploring for this year.

Takeaway 3: The Hero's Journey is Ultimately About Leadership, Learning, and Service.

Leadership, learning, and service is ultimately an individual creating and living a story of transformation. These past two weeks have been intellectually stimulated by listening to leaders explain their stories of transforming individuals, teams, leaders, and society. Learning about the story of Gandhi led me to believe that the stories we live for are not for our own benefit but for the benefit of others.

This year we will be spending a lot of time on the U Theory, which is a great model of transformation. However, I want to also look at the Hero's Journey as my guide for my plan of transformation. Seeing my transformation in the pattern of narrative keeps my eye on the prize of what Vogler (2007) calls "return with the elixir" (p. 18) or the return with transformative change for society. I want to focus my hero's journey, my personal story as a leader, on my contributions to others rather than on my personal gain. My personal gain as a servant leader is temporary, the transformative change I give society is eternal. By looking at the pattern of story I believe I can align my personal leadership story with an elixir that will outlive me.

Takeaway 2: The Problem with Problems

Problems - we cannot escape adversity. We may try to simplify our lives and roles as much as possible but we will never evade adversity. As Dr. Frontier (2013) discussed within complexity there is simplicity, and within simplicity there is complexity. As leaders we are faced daily with making processes more complex and more robust while simultaneously simplifying the very same process. Within this process of complexity we experience problems that may be unidentifiable and solutions that may appear impossible. Here I am reminded to always simplify any problem to the root cause, to find the signal within the noise (Silver, 2012). For example, the current gun control debate is arbitrary. If we focused on the root, the cause of the gun issues, we would understand that mental health is the signal within the noisy gun control debate.

As a leader, learner, and servant, I have to understand that i will face these wicked problems from time to time. I will see those I work with debating the symptoms of the problem and forgetting the cause. Truly serving my people, and my team, would be constantly turning their attention to symptoms, to signals, and to root causes. There is too much minutia to derail progress. Being in control of the minutia, the noise problems, is consistently turing attention to the signal.

Takeaway 1: Service is an Act

What is service? That is one of the first questions on my service philosophy. Is service a process? A sense? A gift? These questions, and many more, led me to think of service as a unified function. By combining all I have learned at the institute with my life experience I have decided that service is an 'act.' Service is an act because we are constantly combatting our own natural selfishness to choose to intentionally serve others. An 'act' requires one to do, to perform - it is an action. Boiling down the complexity of service to the simplicity of act/action, allows me to finish the sentence "Service is..." This was an interesting growth spurt in my understanding of service.I will demonstrate the rest of this sentance in my service philosophy paper/blog.

Frontier, T. (2013, June). Institute. Cardinal Stritch Summer Institute. Milwaukee, WI.

Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leadership. New York: Paulist Press. 

Silver, N. (2012). The signal and the noise. New York: Penguin Press. 

Vogler, C. (1998). The writer’s journey: mythical structure for storytellers and screenwriters (revised edn.). London: Pan Books.