The Servant Leader: How to Build a Creative Team, Develop Great Morale, and Improve Bottom-Line Performance

by James A. Autry

A Practical Guide to Using the Principles of Servant Leadership

Leadership is a calling. And servant leadership—the idea that managing with respect, honesty, love, and spirituality empowers employees—helps individuals answer that calling. Bestselling author and former Fortune 500 executive James A. Autry reveals the servant leader’s tools, a set of skills and ideals that will transform the way business is done. It helps leaders nurture the needs and goals of those who look to them for leadership. The result is a more productive, successful, and happier organization, and a more meaningful life for the leader.

Autry reveals how to remain true to the servant leadership model when handling day-to-day and long-term management situations, including how

•Provide guidance during conflict and crisis
•Assure your continued growth and progress as a leader
•Train managers in the principles of servant leadership
•Transform a company with morale problems into a great place to work

Practiced by one-third of the companies on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list, servant leadership is a thriving philosophy. Ultimately, Autry explores how it can be a valuable, refreshing, and rewarding approach to leading others in business life.

Genres: Leadership, Business, Nonfiction, Management, Self Help, Business Leadership, Christian

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Poet, lecturer, and management consultant James A. Autry was born March 8, 1933, in Memphis, Tennessee, but he grew up in Benton County, Mississippi, and in 1955 received a B.A. degree in journalism from the University of Mississippi, where he was later named a Distinguished Alumnus and elected to the Alumni Hall of Fame. A former president of the Meredith Corporation’s Magazine Group, publisher of such magazines as Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies’ Home Journal, and Successful Farming, he took an early retirement in 1991 to focus more on his present career as speaker and management consultant.

Autry has published ten books, two of which are volumes of poetry. In 1991, the Kentucky Poetry Review published a special issue devoted to Autry’s poetry, and he received national prominence as one of the poets featured on Bill Moyers’ special series The Power of the Word on PBS.

He and his wife, Sally Pederson, live in Des Moines, Iowa.

Reviews

[Steven Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books on leadership - leadership is not about command and control, but rather your ability to be useful and help your employees succeed.

[John Hosmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not one to ordinarily read leadership books, but I had heard good things about this one and am familiar with servant leadership based on some studies I have done in college.

This book is fantastic. The leadership style described, if adopted by every company, would change the landscape of how business is done. It's challenging and requires a consistent effort, but all of that is laid out beautifully in this book.

Even if you are not in any form of official management or leadership in your company or life in general - this book will prepare you for that. It will make you a better team player and more equipped to take a larger role when the opportunity presents itself.

Highly highly recommended.

[Morgan Gstalter]

*read for a grad school program*

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his book, The Servant Leader: How to Build a Creative Team, Develop Great Morale, and Improve Bottom-Line Performance, James A. Autry writes that whoever is in a position of authority must consider themselves responsible to transform a stale work environment, build leaders, and remember what the true essence of leadership is all about: serving others.
These are the 10 greatest insights I found in this book:
1. "One of the primary functions of the manager leader is to assure that people get the resources they need to do the job. To be a leader who serves, you must think of yourself as—and indeed must be—their principal resource" (Autry, 2004, p. 20).
2. "Leadership is less concerned with pep talks and more concerned with creating a place in which people can do good work, can find meaning in their work, and can bring their spirits to work" (Autry, 2004, p. 21).
3. "Power is like love. The more you try to give it to others, the more it just seems to flow to you naturally" (Autry, 2004, p. 21).
4. "All our electronic tools have made communication faster, better, and more accurate" (Autry, 2004, p. 78).
5. "the servant leader [to] create an ethic that honors work well done, not just a lot of work done" (Autry, 2004, p. 79).
6. "Can you remember a time when you were elevated to the heights of good morale or plunged to the depths by a casual comment your boss made" (Autry, 2004, p. 94)?
7. "Regardless of structure, of environment, or of leadership style, organizations remain fundamentally human organizations, which means they will reflect both the strengths and the frailties of the human condition" (Autry, 2004, p. 100).
8. "Think of this meeting as a way to save the person's job, not to take it; thus, the meeting should end with a review of each performance standard to assure that it is still relevant" (Autry, 2004, p. 108).
9. "Show me a tough guy who pounds the desk and yells, and I'lI show you a coward who hides behind a shield of intimidation to avoid the truly tough stuff of acting with spiritual integrity and love" (Autry, 2004, p. 110).
10. "The servant leader understands that nothing positive can be accomplished in an organization without the support of those who are to do the hard work" (Autry, 2004, p. 116).
Learning how to inspire others and build morale in a culture where many are greedy and hungry for power is challenging. James A. Autry was a significant figure in the field of business and leadership and his contributions to the corporate world emphasize the importance of ethical and compassionate servant leadership. Focusing on the needs of others and emphasizing collaboration and empowerment increases job satisfaction and better performance. The next step is to start doing and living as a servant leader rather than just talking about it.

[Joshua Nolan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this book felt like wading through the swampy, diarrhettic jargon of semi-retired old men who speak in hollow platitudes and inquiries about the 72.5 degree weather. Ole' Jimbo really did a number on me with this one! At its core, the book claims to advocate for a "spiritual," like-minded team filled to the brim with morale, while fingering that bottom line (I read the cover too!)

Really, this book explores Servant Leadership through the lens of traditional management. This left me feeling uninspired and, at times, very frustrated, as Jimmy will discuss caring for your disease-ridden, lazy reports while BEGGING the question "Do you reeeeaaallly need to care about that pesky ADA?"

I'm awarding one star for the book's ability to provoke ideas--not because of any research to back up Jameatthew's flimsy annecdotes or really in any sort of agreement, but because it sparked heated consideration for whether servant leaders can even exist within corporatized organizations.

In short, this book is the business equivalent of someone tipping with a shitty fake Bible 100 dollar bill. Manipulative, out of touch, and drenched in rushed naivety.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another professional development/leadership book that probably could have been summarized into a few pages. Overall, basic principles of how not to be an asshole boss and how to create a supportive work environment.

At the end, the author gives a script for a presentation of visiting an office in the future of 2015.... But I'm reading this in 2019.... And now I see that this was originally published in 2001. This fact explains a lot about how I generally felt about this book: isn't this "servant leader" stuff old news? But maybe I'm just lucky that the leaders at my current company have read this book or were tutored by other leaders with these ideals.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm turning my attention to some leadership/management books to improve my effectiveness on the job, and I really enjoyed this book. The concept of empowering employees by putting people first, sharing decisionmaking, helping people to develop and perform at their best can produce a work unit that is self-directed and empowered. I am uncomfortable with top down leadership, and this book contains some very good advice about creating a different paradigm. It does seem that it takes a long time to implement but worth it in the long run

[Mark Wilson Ramsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one fantastic experience to read. Written as a voice of experience, the Servant Leader covers items other books fail to mention. I suggest it provides simple lessons that will make your team and your life better at work.

The latter chapters were the best areas and dealt with tougher questions. The harsh realities, conflict and criticism as James Autry suggests. Not only did I work out better practice but could identify specific areas that I'd not realised were mistakes.

If you work then well worth an investment of time.

[Zach Whitlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an awesome book that I simply couldn’t put down! I’m currently on a temporary promotion as a supervisor and this reinforced a lot of what I’ve been doing, as well as give me new ideas. Simply put, this book says that leadership is a calling and that a servant leader should be a resource for their people. Compassion, honesty, trust, integrity, and love are the main forces motivating these types of leaders. I’m recommending this book to as many people as I can at work and loaning my copy to my mentor next week.

[Chuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book in the topic. I gave it 3 stars because it’s age shows in places — the last chapter is a 15-year trip to the future of servant leadership in 2015. The core of the book still holds true, though I think there are better resources available now than this book. I’d love to see an update.

[Annabel Jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you can get past the Americanised fluff, the god chat and the outdated concepts of most of this book, the core of it has some helpful strategies that can easily be replicated and was quite validating in terms of how I’m already ‘leading’. I wouldn’t for a second ever term it ‘servant leadership’ but I certainly would call it a good style.

[Ana Tampanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually, I would give it 4 1/2 stars. This is a great handbook for leaders to keep in their desks. "Tools of the trade," "Legal issues," "conflict".....so much great basic guidance for leaders of high performance teams. I highly recommend it.

[Robert Steers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding practical advice

An excellent overview of servant leadership. Covering everything from team reporting to performance appraisals. It shows how to have the conversations that matter.

[Carolina Rondón Diplán · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something I take from this book: By being authentic, vulnerable, accepting, present and useful you lead with the mind and the soul, you change your team's lives and how your organization operates, you envision the future while having a life purpose.

[Cass · Rating 3 out of 5]

“There’s a great difference between recognising that something you attempted failed, and feeling that you have failed. Yes, your work is important; yes, it helps give your life meaning and purpose; but it is not you, and you are not your work.”

[Jeannette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Chapters and chapters of useful information.

[LeMira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

An important book for those who are in leadership or management or are aspiring to be. Many aspects were relevant to me but some just weren’t applicable to me at this time.

[Trevor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Filled with recounted office stories offering little more insight than a Saturday morning children's cartoon.

[Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some nice tips and anecdotes around leadership. Very simple and easy to read, harder to implement the takeaways in real life.

[Tony]

CHanged my idea and perspective of how to lead.

[Brad Fry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Autry offers a thoughtful definition of servant leadership, then explains how the model can be applied in real life situations.

[Alexis Scriven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Outdated. Had some decent takeaways but I liked radical candor better.

[Megan Beavers · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love the whole concept of Servant Leader, but truly hated this book.

[Joanne Lenz-Mandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on the idea of the servant leader

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want revisit this book already. I found it inspiring, easy to read, and full of relevant examples and suggestions. But don't expect a formulaic system that's easy to follow. The foundation of the entire thing rests on the concept of being centered yourself in order to successfully lead. It's really an outgrowth of all the positive ways being calm and balanced in your life can positively affect anyone around you, and I'd argue that you've got to be in the right mental space to read it.

You could also read this in the context of the history of American business conduct and philosophy, or even an analysis of how faith and business coincide successfully. I'd originally wanted to read Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success in tandem with this, but then I found out how saturated in religion it was (especially compared to Autry, who is very subtle with it), and I got a little scared off. But. I do think there's a lot to gain by finding common ground between the themes of religious writing and non-religious but spiritual senses of what's right, what's kind, what's purposeful... the way that I read Little Women and find it completely relevant.

[Drick · Rating 3 out of 5]

James Autry was a business leader who acted as a servant leader before he knew the term. Essentially he illustrates the daily tasks of leading and managing (vision, planning, motivating, holding accountable, dealing with conflict, etc) through a servant leader mode. The book's strength is its practically, but its weakness is that it does not clearly show how being a good business leader (read effective and efficient; meeting the bottom line) is differentiated from a good servant leader. He alludes to "servant leader principles" but does not clearly articulate them. That is not a loss, but since I am using this book to highlight the distinctives of servant leader, I find it lacking and needing supplementation. However, for others who just want some good pointers on the practical aspects of leadership, it is a good place to start

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many of these types of book where spirituality is mixed with another endeavor, the beginning and high-level concepts were more impactful than a lot of the details in following chapters. The examples always felt fabricated and the quotes from friends and colleagues were much too "literary." But it was worth the read nonetheless to become aware of a philosophy of leadership which should be followed by many more companies in the world.

[Niki Whiteside · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up for my dissertation but found the book to be very interesting. Based on current events in my professional life it seemed to mirror processes we are going through. I found suggestions and ideas that are very helpful professionally and gained a better understanding of the true application of servant leadership principles.

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a mainstay of my personal library and a reference resource for me since it was published a decade ago. It has sound guidance and illustrations about honest ann ethical leadership principles. It lays out the truth that leadership is built on respect, honesty, integrity, love and humility. I recomend it to anyone seeking leadership or in leadership.

[Jeff Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the BEST guidance I've ever seen for teaching anyone how to be a TRUE LEADER!!! It will show you how to be a person that knows how to follow first so you can then be a person that knows how to lead! Everything that I have come to believe about leadership in my lifetime is profoundly explained in this book. So, all together now.......read......follow.......LEAD!!!