Servant Leadership: Helping People Make Wise Choices

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Judith C. Rodriguez T HE TERM “SERVANT LEADER” may sound archaic or odd, but understanding its meaning and objective actually infuses it with nobility, worth, and a strong applicability to ADA members and our profession. The term was coined in 1970 by Robert K. Greenleaf. In his classic essay, “The Servant as Leader,” Greenleaf wrote, “The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant—first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier,wiser, freer,more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?” [emphasis added]. Isn’t dietetics a serving profession? Aren’t we committed to helping people become healthier through foods? But implicit in that commitment is an underlying goal: Helping people be wiser about their choices so they can grow to be more active in their own care. Through our work, we participate in health fairs; do community-based presentations; serve on health, food, and nutrition committees; collect food for food banks or soup kitchens; provide in-kind services to school’s parente teacher organizations; and many other activities. Many ADA members volunteer hours to plan local professional meetings, participate in scholarship selection committees, and organize farmer’s markets or food drives to assist soup kitchens and food pantries. These members are serving and leading at the same time. If you are wondering how you might get involved in servant leadership, think about the needs in your community. BUILDING A GOOD SOCIETY In another essay, “The Institution as Servant,” Greenleaf wrote, “Caring for persons, the more able and the less able serving each other, is the rock upon which a good society is built. Whereas, until recently, caring was largely person to person, now most of it is mediated through institutions.” We need to look no further than our own institution, ADA, to see an organization that is committed to helping all our members develop the skills necessary to be servant leaders—in our work with patients, clients, and the public and also in our work for our profession and Association. ADA facilitates opportunities for us to develop servant leadership skills through numerous initiatives like the Leadership Institute, leadership sessions at the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo, and a new series of online learning programs on leadership that will be released during the 2010-2011 membership year on ADA’s Web site.