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Servant Leadership in Action: How You Can Achieve Great Relationships and Results
"The only way to create great relationships and results is through
servant leadership. It's all about putting other people first."
- from the foreword by John Maxwell
We've all seen the negative impact of self-serving leaders in every sector of our society. Not infrequently, they end up bringing down their entire organization. But there is another way: servant leadership.
Servant leaders lead by serving their people, not by exalting themselves. This collection features forty-four renowned servant leadership experts and practitioners--prominent business executives, bestselling authors, and respected spiritual leaders--who offer advice and tools for implementing this proven, but for some still radical, leadership model.
Edited by legendary business author and lifelong servant leader Ken Blanchard and his longtime editor Renee Broadwell, this is the most comprehensive and wide-ranging guide ever published for what is, in every sense, a better way to lead.
servant leadership. It's all about putting other people first."
- from the foreword by John Maxwell
We've all seen the negative impact of self-serving leaders in every sector of our society. Not infrequently, they end up bringing down their entire organization. But there is another way: servant leadership.
Servant leaders lead by serving their people, not by exalting themselves. This collection features forty-four renowned servant leadership experts and practitioners--prominent business executives, bestselling authors, and respected spiritual leaders--who offer advice and tools for implementing this proven, but for some still radical, leadership model.
Edited by legendary business author and lifelong servant leader Ken Blanchard and his longtime editor Renee Broadwell, this is the most comprehensive and wide-ranging guide ever published for what is, in every sense, a better way to lead.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published March 6, 2018
273 people are currently reading
845 people want to read
About the author
Kenneth H. Blanchard
314 books1,848 followersKen Blanchard, one of the most influential leadership experts in the world, is the coauthor of the iconic bestseller, The One Minute Manager, and 60 other books whose combined sales total more than 21 million copies. His groundbreaking works have been translated into more than 27 languages and in 2005 he was inducted into Amazon’s Hall of Fame as one of the top 25 bestselling authors of all time.
Ken is also the cofounder and chief spiritual officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies®, an international management training and consulting firm that he and his wife, Margie Blanchard, began in 1979 in San Diego, California.
When he’s not writing or speaking, Ken also spends time teaching students in the Master of Science in Executive Leadership Program at the University of San Diego. Ken can be found at www.kenblanchard.com.
Ken is also the cofounder and chief spiritual officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies®, an international management training and consulting firm that he and his wife, Margie Blanchard, began in 1979 in San Diego, California.
When he’s not writing or speaking, Ken also spends time teaching students in the Master of Science in Executive Leadership Program at the University of San Diego. Ken can be found at www.kenblanchard.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
May 30, 2025
Serve others with genuine concern, compassion, integrity, trust, and selflessness.
June 29, 2018
Interesting perspectives on servant leadership from those who have implemented it in their own organizations. Some of the theology is a bit reductive, and at times, overly preachy. But any leader or aspiring leader has something to learn from Blanchard.
January 22, 2020
Just a bunch of essays and they are all saying the same thing: to be a good leader, you have to be a good listener and put your customers and employees first.
July 2, 2020
I wish this had been more secular and tangible, but I resonated with some of the essays and it had some valuable things to say.
February 21, 2018
In the “Foreword” to this collection of essays about servant leadership, John Maxwell writes that he and Ken Blanchard have believe that the only way to create great relationships and results is through servant leadership. He writes that it all about putting other people first. Over the past several years, I have greatly benefited from the teaching on servant leadership from Maxwell, Blanchard and many of the contributors in this book.
In the “Introduction”, Blanchard writes that the world is in desperate need of a different leadership role model, as we have all seen the negative impact of self-serving leaders in every sector of our society. He tells us that servant leadership was central to the philosophy of Jesus. While several of the contributors are Christians, a major goal of the book is to prove that servant leadership has application in both secular and spiritual leadership in every kind of organization, including business, government, education, and places of worship.
The book is aimed at anyone in a leadership position. The contributors hope is that one day all will be impacted by someone who is a servant leader, and self-serving leaders will be a thing of the past.
The book is organized into six parts:
Part One: Fundamentals of Servant Leadership
Part Two: Elements of Servant Leadership
Part Three: Lessons in Servant Leadership
Part Four: Exemplars of Servant Leadership
Part Five: Putting Servant Leadership to Work
Part Six: Servant Leadership Turnarounds
Short essays are written by a literal “Who’s Who” of leadership, authors that have had a positive impact on my leadership such as Blanchard, Patrick Lencioni,
Stephen M.R. Covey, Mark Miller, Simon Sinek, Marshall Goldsmith, Henry Cloud and Dave Ramsey. Blanchard provides a short introduction to each of the essays.
There is so much of value in this book that it can be overwhelming. What I would recommend is to go through the book and read Blanchard’s short introductions to decide if you want to read that particular essay at this time.
A few of the many takeaways I had from the book were:
What is Servant Leadership? by Ken Blanchard
There are two parts to servant leadership:
· A visionary/direction, or strategic, role – the leadership aspect of servant leader; and
· An implementation, or operational, role – the servant aspect of servant leadership.
To me, servant leadership is the only way to guarantee great relationships and results.
Servant Leadership at the Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey
I became increasingly convinced that the practices of servant leadership and trust are inextricably linked. Today, I find it difficult to talk about serving without also talking about trust – and vice versa.
The strong bias of the servant leader is to extend trust to others.
The Evolution of Servant Leadership by Simon Sinek
Though someone may choose servant leadership for the results, the reason we continue to practice the discipline is for the joy of the journey.
One Question Every Servant Leader Should Ask by Marshall Goldsmith
Am I willing at this time to make the investment required to make a positive difference on this topic?
In the Service of Others: When Leaders Dare to Rehumanize Work by Brene Brown
Servant leadership and shame culture cannot coexist for a simple reason: the foundation of servant leadership is courage and shame breeds fear.
Compassion: The Heart of Servant Leadership by Craig Groeschel
True servant leadership means you are called to care – not to just feel sorry for someone or feel sympathy or empathy – but to do something. Why? Because to say you care, and then not act, is to not care at all. True servant leadership cares. And because it cares, it must act.
A Baptism of Leadership by Erwin Raphael McManus
We tend to want God’s power but not His character. Yet only when we embrace His character are we trustworthy with His power. Servant leadership understands that our calling is not to overpower but to empower.
Jesus: The Greatest Example of a Servant Leader by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges
For followers of Jesus, servant leadership is not an option; servant leadership is a mandate.
Leading is Serving by Dave Ramsey
If there’s one key to servant leadership, it’s pretty simple: put other people first.
This would be an excellent book to read and discuss with other leaders in a “Book Club” setting.
In the “Introduction”, Blanchard writes that the world is in desperate need of a different leadership role model, as we have all seen the negative impact of self-serving leaders in every sector of our society. He tells us that servant leadership was central to the philosophy of Jesus. While several of the contributors are Christians, a major goal of the book is to prove that servant leadership has application in both secular and spiritual leadership in every kind of organization, including business, government, education, and places of worship.
The book is aimed at anyone in a leadership position. The contributors hope is that one day all will be impacted by someone who is a servant leader, and self-serving leaders will be a thing of the past.
The book is organized into six parts:
Part One: Fundamentals of Servant Leadership
Part Two: Elements of Servant Leadership
Part Three: Lessons in Servant Leadership
Part Four: Exemplars of Servant Leadership
Part Five: Putting Servant Leadership to Work
Part Six: Servant Leadership Turnarounds
Short essays are written by a literal “Who’s Who” of leadership, authors that have had a positive impact on my leadership such as Blanchard, Patrick Lencioni,
Stephen M.R. Covey, Mark Miller, Simon Sinek, Marshall Goldsmith, Henry Cloud and Dave Ramsey. Blanchard provides a short introduction to each of the essays.
There is so much of value in this book that it can be overwhelming. What I would recommend is to go through the book and read Blanchard’s short introductions to decide if you want to read that particular essay at this time.
A few of the many takeaways I had from the book were:
What is Servant Leadership? by Ken Blanchard
There are two parts to servant leadership:
· A visionary/direction, or strategic, role – the leadership aspect of servant leader; and
· An implementation, or operational, role – the servant aspect of servant leadership.
To me, servant leadership is the only way to guarantee great relationships and results.
Servant Leadership at the Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey
I became increasingly convinced that the practices of servant leadership and trust are inextricably linked. Today, I find it difficult to talk about serving without also talking about trust – and vice versa.
The strong bias of the servant leader is to extend trust to others.
The Evolution of Servant Leadership by Simon Sinek
Though someone may choose servant leadership for the results, the reason we continue to practice the discipline is for the joy of the journey.
One Question Every Servant Leader Should Ask by Marshall Goldsmith
Am I willing at this time to make the investment required to make a positive difference on this topic?
In the Service of Others: When Leaders Dare to Rehumanize Work by Brene Brown
Servant leadership and shame culture cannot coexist for a simple reason: the foundation of servant leadership is courage and shame breeds fear.
Compassion: The Heart of Servant Leadership by Craig Groeschel
True servant leadership means you are called to care – not to just feel sorry for someone or feel sympathy or empathy – but to do something. Why? Because to say you care, and then not act, is to not care at all. True servant leadership cares. And because it cares, it must act.
A Baptism of Leadership by Erwin Raphael McManus
We tend to want God’s power but not His character. Yet only when we embrace His character are we trustworthy with His power. Servant leadership understands that our calling is not to overpower but to empower.
Jesus: The Greatest Example of a Servant Leader by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges
For followers of Jesus, servant leadership is not an option; servant leadership is a mandate.
Leading is Serving by Dave Ramsey
If there’s one key to servant leadership, it’s pretty simple: put other people first.
This would be an excellent book to read and discuss with other leaders in a “Book Club” setting.
March 5, 2018
I began reading Servant Leadership in Action from a somewhat jaded view. It had seemed to me that the term and thought of servant leadership has become somewhat of just a cliche`. I have watched leaders become doormats in the guise of being a servant leader. Or poor leaders making the excuse of not producing because of being a servant leader. This book reminds us that servant leadership is about influence and action and not just cliche`. My favorite thing about this book is all the great leaders that Ken Blanchard had write chapters, or really essays, that are collected in the book. I have read most, if not all, of the books by many of the chapter authors in this book. It is a great review of many of the great leaders of our time. We are guided through how to truly be a servant leader to those we serve. We are taught that servant leadership is about relationships and a desire to lift up those around us. Great leaders, we are reminded, are always looking for ways to develop and advance those in their organizations. This book is designed in six sections to help us understand how to do this. Additionally we are given exemplars that have been lifted up as the models for servant leadership. If you want to do more for the people you serve and care more about people, then read this book to learn how to empower them to use common sense and good judgment. you want to start catching people doing the right things, and great things, read this book!
~Dr. Byron L. Ernest
~Dr. Byron L. Ernest
February 6, 2021
Początek zapowiadał sie niezle, powiedziałabym nawet bardzo dobrze - obszerny opis zagadnienia Servant Leadership i wtem w momencie gdy czytelnik spodziewa sie praktycznych porad, przykladow działań zostaje mu sprezentowane motto "bądź jak Jezus". Niestety porady w stylu podążaj śladami Jezusa pojawiają sie tak czesto ze ciężko wyłowić pośród nich praktyczne świeckie wskazówki które można zastosować w środowisku biznesowym.
Jak na poradnik zaskakująco mało jest przykładów konkretnych działań a zamiast tego czytelnik otrzymuje kilka rozdziałów na zasadzie - Ta osoba powinna być inspiracja jako świetny liderem służebnym poniewaz jest swietnym liderem służebnym, wspaniale traktuje ludzi oraz rozwija firmę dzięki rewolucyjnym zmianom.
Nie dowiadujemy sie jednak na czym owe rewolucyjne zmiany polegaly, jakie byly ich trudnosci ani jakie dzialania wdrozono duzo natomiast jest lania wody i ogólnych opisów
Początek polecam, koncowke mozna sobie podarowac (no może za wyjatkiem G.Ridge:) )- mialam wrazenie jakbym zamiast czytać poradnik, słuchała prezentacji kolejnych mówców przed ich faktycznym wystąpieniem - pozostał niedosyt. Szczególnie patrząc na nazwiska współautorów.
Ogólna ocena jest wypadkową dobrego początku i niespełnionych oczekiwań.
Jak na poradnik zaskakująco mało jest przykładów konkretnych działań a zamiast tego czytelnik otrzymuje kilka rozdziałów na zasadzie - Ta osoba powinna być inspiracja jako świetny liderem służebnym poniewaz jest swietnym liderem służebnym, wspaniale traktuje ludzi oraz rozwija firmę dzięki rewolucyjnym zmianom.
Nie dowiadujemy sie jednak na czym owe rewolucyjne zmiany polegaly, jakie byly ich trudnosci ani jakie dzialania wdrozono duzo natomiast jest lania wody i ogólnych opisów
Początek polecam, koncowke mozna sobie podarowac (no może za wyjatkiem G.Ridge:) )- mialam wrazenie jakbym zamiast czytać poradnik, słuchała prezentacji kolejnych mówców przed ich faktycznym wystąpieniem - pozostał niedosyt. Szczególnie patrząc na nazwiska współautorów.
Ogólna ocena jest wypadkową dobrego początku i niespełnionych oczekiwań.
August 14, 2018
Servant leadership is a term coined by Robert Greenleaf to describe leadership concerned with people development, not just profit maximization. Servant Leadership in Action presents state-of-the-art thinking about the concept. Editors Ken Blanchard and Renee Broadwell curate 42 short essays developing various aspects of servant leadership. Contributors include business leaders, organizational consultants, and Christian ministers. The editors acknowledge Jesus Christ as the fundamental influence on servant leadership — as do many of the essays’ authors — but they write: “a major goal of this book is to prove that servant leadership has application in both secular andspiritual leadership in every kind of organization.”
Book Reviewed
Ken Blanchard and Renee Broadwell, eds., Servant Leadership in Action: How You Can Achieve Great Relationships and Results (Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler, 2018).
P.S. If you found my review helpful, please vote “Yes” on my Amazon.com review page.
Book Reviewed
Ken Blanchard and Renee Broadwell, eds., Servant Leadership in Action: How You Can Achieve Great Relationships and Results (Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler, 2018).
P.S. If you found my review helpful, please vote “Yes” on my Amazon.com review page.
August 25, 2018
Picked this up at a recent Christian Leadership Summit--some excellent ideas from 44 servant leaders -- From the publisher: "The only way to create great relationships and results is through
servant leadership. It's all about putting other people first."-- - from the foreword by John Maxwell----We've all seen the negative impact of self-serving leaders in every sector of our society. Not infrequently, they end up bringing down their entire organization. But there is another way: servant leadership. Servant leaders lead by serving their people, not by exalting themselves. This collection features forty-four renowned servant leadership experts and practitioners--prominent business executives, bestselling authors, and respected spiritual leaders--who offer advice and tools for implementing this proven, but for some still radical, leadership model.
Edited by legendary business author and lifelong servant leader Ken Blanchard and his longtime editor Renee Broadwell, this is the most comprehensive and wide-ranging guide ever published for what is, in every sense, a better way to lead
servant leadership. It's all about putting other people first."-- - from the foreword by John Maxwell----We've all seen the negative impact of self-serving leaders in every sector of our society. Not infrequently, they end up bringing down their entire organization. But there is another way: servant leadership. Servant leaders lead by serving their people, not by exalting themselves. This collection features forty-four renowned servant leadership experts and practitioners--prominent business executives, bestselling authors, and respected spiritual leaders--who offer advice and tools for implementing this proven, but for some still radical, leadership model.
Edited by legendary business author and lifelong servant leader Ken Blanchard and his longtime editor Renee Broadwell, this is the most comprehensive and wide-ranging guide ever published for what is, in every sense, a better way to lead
July 19, 2021
Last week I finished Servant Leadership in Action: How You Can Achieve Great Relationships and Results by Ken Blanchard and Renee Broadwell. This is a collection of 42 essays from different leaders and coaches organized in 6 parts.
1) Fundamentals of Servant Leadership
2) Elements of Servant Leadership
3) Lessons in Servant Leadership
4) Exemplars of Servant Leadership
5) Putting Servant Leadership to Work
6) Servant Leadership Turnarounds
Some of those articles were very helpful. Some well known authors got place in this collection as I expected - Ken Blanchard, Patrick Lencioni, Simon Sinek, Mark Miller. Blanchard provides a short introduction to each of the essays. There are several articles coming directly from how servant leadership got practiced by pastors and hence you will find frequent biblical references. Compared to that, not too many from engineering leaders of software companies which my primary area of interest. Overall its a modest book to get diverse perspectives on Servant Leadership.
1) Fundamentals of Servant Leadership
2) Elements of Servant Leadership
3) Lessons in Servant Leadership
4) Exemplars of Servant Leadership
5) Putting Servant Leadership to Work
6) Servant Leadership Turnarounds
Some of those articles were very helpful. Some well known authors got place in this collection as I expected - Ken Blanchard, Patrick Lencioni, Simon Sinek, Mark Miller. Blanchard provides a short introduction to each of the essays. There are several articles coming directly from how servant leadership got practiced by pastors and hence you will find frequent biblical references. Compared to that, not too many from engineering leaders of software companies which my primary area of interest. Overall its a modest book to get diverse perspectives on Servant Leadership.
November 29, 2020
Servant Leadership in Action defines leadership as servanthood. The book is an exploration of the strategic and operational aspects of Servant Leadership (SL). SL is the practice of leading through service to the team, by focusing on understanding and addressing the needs and development of team members to enable the highest possible team performance. In cooperation with SL experts and commentators, Ken Blanchard and Renee Broadwell describe the characteristics of servant leaders. They explain how the qualities of servant leaders overlap considerably with those of conscious leaders. This book is a reminder of the fact that trust is inseparably linked to the practice of SL.
December 10, 2019
This book was helpful and varied in the many different approaches for how to lead well. The chapters are short. The advice is easily put into practice. It's not a boring read.
It's very clearly a leadership book, so don't expect deep theological insights from it. In fact, there are a few chapters that I would highly recommend staying away from, due to poor theology. But the focus of this book is on leadership, so I'll give it 4 stars for that purpose. Ir probably deserves more like 3.5 stars though.
It's very clearly a leadership book, so don't expect deep theological insights from it. In fact, there are a few chapters that I would highly recommend staying away from, due to poor theology. But the focus of this book is on leadership, so I'll give it 4 stars for that purpose. Ir probably deserves more like 3.5 stars though.
June 23, 2019
This book is a collection of something like 40 plus essays written by different people on what servant leadership means to them, how they implemented it, how it changed them and their organization, and many other topics.
I found several of the essays to be quiet profound and useful for me. Some were less interesting to me, but I still would recommend this book without reservation.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in learning more about servant leadership.
I found several of the essays to be quiet profound and useful for me. Some were less interesting to me, but I still would recommend this book without reservation.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in learning more about servant leadership.
March 1, 2019
A collection of 42 essays from 42 different leaders from a wide range of industries and walks of life. Each essay offers unique perspectives on servant leadership and what it looks like to implement it. Great book to leave lying around to just pick up and read for 5-10 minute spells as the reader can typically finish an entire essay in that time frame.
June 15, 2020
Read this for a college class that I am taking. Servant Leadership in Action is one of the best books that I have read for college. Servant Leadership is something that I understand better now and want to personal implement. I would highly recommend this book, especially if you want to know the basics of what Servant Leadership is.
July 9, 2022
Well worth a read; however, towards the end it became a bit tedious to read. I appreciate there are things to learn from the scriptures and it’s worth mentioning this; however, this theme was repeated too often in the book unnecessarily. Would have given it four stars if it wasn’t for the final two parts (of six) of the book being fairly dull to read.
February 11, 2024
Am citit cartea ca să îmi confirm dacă și ce am înțeles despre teoria sevant leadership. Este o colecție de misi eseuri din partea unor mari oameni din consultanță și din business. Care aduc argumente că servant leader este de departe cel mai bun conducător în vremurile moderne.
Cu ce am rămas din carte: serve first, lead later (cum zicea mai sus).
Cu ce am rămas din carte: serve first, lead later (cum zicea mai sus).
April 27, 2024
Its a series of essays. Like any collection, some are better than others. Some are quite helpful in generating ideas that relate to my own career and thoughts on leadership development and what I can do to guide others and organizations. If you are looking for ideas and shorts to share related to servant leadership, this is definitely worth grabbing.
May 2, 2018
Another motivational speaker trying to carve his own niche on an already crowded market. He does not seem to be the initiator of the concept. And his best examples are a few nobodies leading impressive firms who happen to have the same name as the sole employee.
October 18, 2018
I was excited to read the first part of the book. However, after a while it seemed to be more of a Ken Blanchard promotional book. There were too many stories that were about ‘success’ rather than about what was identifiable servant leadership.
January 4, 2019
Has some very informative/interesting parts. At various chapters the whole thing felt like dogmatic Christian/church propaganda (hence the 4/5 rating) but overall these were reasonably good essays. The principles it discusses seem sound and actionable.
February 15, 2020
This was a neat way to collate a lot of different speakers on servant leadership into a book. I liked the ideas and how they presented real world examples of servant leadership in action. This is something that I want to implement in my own life.
December 26, 2020
Rated: A-
Edited compilation of several great servant leadership mentors (Bachelder, Cloud, Covey, Laurie Beth Jones, Kouzes & Posner, Lencioni, Maxwell, Ramsey, Sinek). I ended up with seven pages of notes. Highly recommended.
Edited compilation of several great servant leadership mentors (Bachelder, Cloud, Covey, Laurie Beth Jones, Kouzes & Posner, Lencioni, Maxwell, Ramsey, Sinek). I ended up with seven pages of notes. Highly recommended.
January 2, 2021
A great blend of Servant Leadership perspectives from many of our business and cultural leaders. I really was inspired and enjoyed this book for the many Mmmhmmm moments it gave me and the notes it caused me to write down.
June 2, 2021
The books says a lot for rather simpler concept.
Also it might not bring any value to the people already familiar with the approach. I guess the best audience is people, who have never heard of servant leadership.
Also it might not bring any value to the people already familiar with the approach. I guess the best audience is people, who have never heard of servant leadership.
August 17, 2023
Lots of good servant leadership nuggets in this book. The nature of it being a compilation of essays from well-tenured leaders means that some essays are better than others, but overall a quality read.
August 14, 2024
Well it's a collections of fairly good essays, and they acknowledge the role of Jesus as a servant leader. They did a good job overall. I wouldn't say they hit it out of the park, but they made a great effort.
March 13, 2018
See my full review at https://businessbookreviewer.com/2018....
May 16, 2018
Excellent essays on servant leadership,what it means, and examples of practice.
September 25, 2018
With all of the negative leadership examples that appear in the news it is refreshing to read so many examples of positive Servant Leadership examples and role models.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews