Lead from the Heart: Ethical Perspectives on Servant Leadership

On Thursday, March 11, the Center for Organizational Ethics at Marian University will sponsor a panel discussion on servant leadership titled "Lead from the Heart: Ethical Perspectives on Servant Leadership." Servant leadership was first suggested by Robert K. Greenleaf, who understood servant leadership to be a vocational approach to leadership that opts for servanthood rather than power as the basis for leading others.


The event will be held at Civic Theatre, a venue selected because it provides fully accessible facilities. Starting with a continental breakfast at 7:30, the program will begin at 8:00 a.m. A discussion and Q&A opportunity will follow the presentations. The event will end at 9:30.


Our speakers will be Dr. Kent Keith, CEO of the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership; Marcy Ripberger, President of the Character Council of Indiana; Richard W. Smith, consultant and Organizational Development Specialist with the Peace Learning Center; and me.


Dr. Keith will provide an overview of servant leadership and Ms. Ripberger will present on character traits of servant leadership. Richard W. Smith will take a narrative approach with stories of ideas that were significant markers in the life of Robert Greenleaf. Finally, I will present on a Franciscan understanding of servant leadership.


This is the first public event for the Center for Organizational Ethics, so I am very excited. I hope some of you might be able to make it to the event and learn with us about the ethical value of a servanthood approach rather than a power approach to leading and nurturing others.