Servant Leadership and the Role of the Teacher Librarian

This semester I have studied many models of leadership but avoided looking into servant leadership until very recently. I was lead to it by a highly respected principal and friend who posted an article on servant leadership on a linked-in post. He is somebody whose leadership style I have often reflected on as a shining light in contrast to some of the other models I have worked under.

As in Richmond’s (2017) critique of servant leadership from a feminist perspective, I too was turned off the connotations associated with the term “servant” and what that implies for someone in the position of librarian which has been a female dominated field. As a visual arts teacher and curriculum leader, I have often been asked to do many tasks that fall out of my area of work, as you are seen as the creative staff member or the one who has the time to serve others in their spare time. There is also the common assumption is that libraries and departments such as Visual Arts are not equal to other departments (Meuleman & Matlin. 2019). When in any of these positions, you feel you have to constantly assert your self in the school and justify your possition. However with a strong team behind you, your role and department is stronger and the work that you do is more effective and will be noticed.

What I have discovered about Servant Leadership is the belief that leaders get results for their organization through whole-hearted attention to their followers and followers’ needs ( Burkus, 2010). In my experience in leadership and being part of an organisation, having your staff’s best interest at heart and involving them in the decision-making process. One thing that can be detrimental to an organisation is losing talented staff. Valuing and giving staff in your organisation the chance to shine is important in the running of a successful organisation or department. The more that I have read and understood about Servant Leadership, I feel it is likely that I would adopt these principals to how I work as a Teacher Librarian or in my next leadership role.

Reference

Burkus, D. (2010, April 1). Servant leadership theory. David Burkus. http://davidburkus.com/2010/04/servant-leadership-theory/

Meulemans, Y.N., & Matlin, T.R. (2019). Are You Being served? Embracing Servant Leadership, Trusting Library Staff, and Engendering Change.

Richmond, L. (2017). “A Feminist Critique of Servant Leadership.” In Feminists Among Us: Resistance and Advocacy in Library Leadership, edited by Shirley Lew & Baharak Yousefi, 43-65. Library Juice Press.

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https://www.teamgantt.com/blog/servant-leadership