I am sure that the implication of the post is not to imply that only men are servant leaders, but simply that in their short sightedness the BBC neglected to include women in their greatest "man" list. I think this oversight points out an important point about servant leadership and that is that true servant leadership is not about "greatness" as it is normally used when applied to leadership. Nor is it about gender. I was prevlidged to attend a talk by a woman who called herself a Feminist Theologian who's name I can not recall. Her talk was basically about the difference between the leadership of men and women. She made a great point about who we normally think of when she asked people to name good leaders. I can't recall the exact names mentioned, but I am sure many of the BBC list was included. What she pointed out was why aren't women thought of when we think of leaders? She said it much better then I could, but as I understood her explanation it has much to do with our male dominated hierarcies and how men tend to rise to the top of these hieracies. She also pointed out some great examples of leadership in woman inclusive organazions (who unfortunately I can't remember the names). She explained that in these organizations, it isn't typical to have one individual singled out as deserving credit for greatness, but that the leadership is shared amoung many individuals. It seems to me that this type of leadership is far more in line with the idea of servant leadership then singling out individuals worthy of the designation as greatest.

My thoughts for what they are worth.
Tom J | 11.17.05 - 2:46 pm | #

Tom...again, thanks for the great comment. I certainly was going to make a comment about the fact that they only asked about men. I didn't (although probably should have) in order to keep the post from getting too long. The issue of women as servant-leaders is something we talk about a great deal within our Master's program. It is something I should pursue soon on the blog.

Again, thanks for the reminder. Next time I won't worry about the length and just say what needs to be said!
Trevor
Trevor | Homepage | 11.17.05 - 5:33 pm | #

Let me also add that when asking about the 'greatest' servant-leader, I was simply trying to get ideas from some folks and generate conversation. Designating servant-leaders in this way, you are right, does not necessarily fit with the servant-leader model; most servant-leaders would run at the idea of this type of designation.
Trevor
Trevor | Homepage | 11.17.05 - 5:42 pm | #

I admire Ghandi, Mother Teresa, and Pope John paul II the most.
Hector | Homepage | 11.18.05 - 5:00 pm | #