"If the Army really is a ‘people organisation’, we must create an ethos that puts those that we serve, the people, at the centre of all that we do. Every day leaders execute their responsibilities in a manner conducive to servant leadership – ensuring that junior ranks eat first, leaving the Christmas R&R slot to those more deserving, checking that leave is being taken, providing access to resettlement - and yet the ALD ignores this model. The consequence is that while servant leadership behaviours are deeply rooted in many, the emphasis on the transformational leader model can lead to confusion. Indeed, I am often surprised when an Officer Cadet tells me that he or she is developing their transformational leadership style but then struggles to articulate what their primary role as a troop or platoon commander will be. I strongly believe that the ALD’s omission of a Serve to Lead approach has skewed our training to the point where Officer Cadet’s do not instinctively recognise that their priority will be to look after their troops - transformational leadership should come later. Servant leadership has the potential to reinvigorate the Army spirit of ‘service’ in support of the Defence People Strategic Objective number five which aims to ‘develop a more inclusive culture within defence and a more diverse workforce at all levels.’ Creating an inclusive environment is recognised as the first stage in building diversity and demands that the needs of each member of the workforce are considered in place of a blanket policy of conformity. That, I believe, is the essence of ’Serve to Lead’."
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Major Jennifer O'Connor, British Army, Retired, Where has ‘Serve to Lead’ gone?, The Centre for Army Leadership: Leadership Insight, No. 12, February 2019, p. 2-3
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Servant_leadership
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Servant leadership
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