Trevor,
What a great article! I just happen to have a boss who is less than supportive. In fact, I've just been "layered" (I now work for a former peer) based upon my approach to leading and managing people which is, of course, servant leadership. He views me as a weak and ineffective leader who does not display enough "strive and drive" to get the job done (we are choosing to disregard my team's repeated successes).
I've had another experience with this at a former workplace where I was actually terminated because I didn't "kick enough butt." This was a devastating experience, yet I'm beginning to see a trend that will not abate any time soon because I refuse to give up my leadership practice.
What does concern me, though, is the fact that I am repeatedly in the position of victim. This is not where I thought I would be and certainly not what I was hired for. In fact, the mention of servant leadership on my resume is largely what landed me this job!
So, I am left asking myself what I could do to put both me and servant leadership in a stronger position both now and in the future. The linked article offers several suggestions for this and I like the fact that all of them require action on my part.
In the end, though, my new-found subordinate position comes as an enormous relief to me as I embark upon my dissertation research. I will, though, keep Mage's suggestions in mind if and when I move to another organization and continue to practice servant leadership principles.
Onward! Darin
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