I started thinking that foresight almost must begin with Greenleaf’s classic servant leadership test: “Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous…”
To assure that those being served will grow and become healthier, etc., it seems like foresight is necessary. Foresight to know their future needs.
And a basic future need is a livable planet where global warming is mitigated.
Foresight probably begins when we take the focus off our own current, selfish needs, and instead ask what will help future generation grow as persons.
So I like what you wrote: “Don't call on a psychic; call on informed reflection and intuition.” I think the reflection and intuition should be focused on those we serve. When we do that, the noise and distractions of our current, selfish needs should lessen, and foresight can bloom and sharpen.
Chris,
Like you, I find Greenleaf's "best test for a servant-leader" the omega of all thinking about aspects of his servant writings. I sometimes wonder, however, if he left something out of the equation.
Greenleaf began penning the first draft of "The Servant As Leader" in December, 1968, the end of a terrible year. (I know; I graduated from college that year.) Vietnam was raging, assassinations were fresh in our minds and the environmental movement was just reaching wider consciousness. I sometimes wish Bob would have included in his test a question like "Is the planet protected?" On the other hand, the test focuses on the effects on people, so with what we now know, we can certainly conclude that issues like global warming and toxic waste that have the potential to inflict massive damage on people still fall within the purview of the best test.
I have never seen evidence that Greenleaf considered such a statement, but find it fun to speculate whether he might if he were rewriting the test today.
Just a thought.
Don,
Thanks for the thoughts on global warming and servant leadership.
Getting to the heart of issues is what I believe SL is really all about and how we treat our fellow human beings is more often then not related to how we treat the earth. I think that Aldo Leopold's line from A Sand County Almanac gets at a deeper level of servant leadership.
“A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”
I like to ammend Greenleaf's best test with that addition.
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