and the case of Bill Gates, philanthropy and humanitarianism has been the central to his success. The following paper will highlight the servant leadership ...
Bill Gates: A Servant Leader Aeron Zentner Servant leadership focuses on the betterment and support of others by seeking to meet the interests, needs, and ambitions of others’ above one’s own. This can be exhibited through many ways and the case of Bill Gates, philanthropy and humanitarianism has been the central to his success. The following paper will highlight the servant leadership principles displayed by Bill Gates, as catalyst to drive strategies and ventures. Keywords—Servant Leadership
I. INTRODUCTION Servant leadership focuses on the betterment and support of others by seeking to meet the interests, needs, and ambitions of others’ above one’s own (Greenleaf, 1970). Research has found that servant leadership practices carries a highly positive impact on organizational performance (Choudhary, Akhtar, & Zaheer, 2013). Linden et al. (2014) suggest that servant leadership when applied and executed correctly, can enhance employee outlooks and behaviors to synchronize under a common theme or purpose. Thus, this association can drive motivation for change and higher performance. Melchar and Bosco (2010) support that servant leadership practices can be applied across industry and is applicable to many situations. As means to affirm the findings across literature, the following paper will provide an overview of Bill Gates (Gates) servant leadership strategy and how the applications of the principles have led to the success of many projects and ventures. II. BILL GATES Gates is considered one of the most successful entrepreneurs and business leaders in the history of the world (Biography, n.d.). However, instead of maintaining the lead role at Microsoft, Gates focused on philanthropy and humanitarianism as Wessel (2011) indicates that Gates moved his genius from the executive room to solving global issues. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has raised a cumulative endowment of over $31 billion in funds from 1994 to 2010 to help aid in global challenges. This leadership strategy has tied to the servant leadership principles of awareness, empathy, stewardship, conceptualization, foresight, healing others, and building community. A prime example of Gates’s application of servant leadership principles is found in his non-profit Gates Foundation which seeks to unlock opportunities and possibilities for all individuals (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, n.d.). This purpose statement outlines the fabric of the foundation as it used financial capital to expand access to healthcare, education, and other support service to eradicate challenges and barrier that hinder individuals from living and thriving. Not only does the foundation provide a library of media rich information to engage others to participate, the organization has opened a visitors center that provides interactive exhibits, displays of success stories and project and program information as means to
facilitate conversations surrounding challenge and process made to alleviate issues (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, n.d.). III. DISCUSSION The review of Gates’s strategy and execution of servant leadership principles provides inspiration for others to go beyond the scope of daily operations to focus on the impact of their work and decisions. By shifting this mindset in my current workplace would require myself and other employees to take into account how our work impacts the future of others and thus be a motivating catalyst to increase performance and output. I do believe that some individuals that work that college carry this mindset, however many get caught in the monotonous workflow and forget the purpose of their positions. By drawing attention to the impact of other work, it may drive meaning and drive to help others succeed. References [1] Biography. (n.d.). Bill Gates Biography. Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/bill-gates-9307520 [2] Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. (n.d.). Frequently asked questions http://www.gatesfoundation.org/VisitorCenter/FAQ [3] Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. (n.d.). Who we are. Retrieved from http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Who-WeAre [4] Choudhary, A. a., Akhtar, S., & Zaheer, A. (2013). Impact of Transformational and Servant Leadership on Organizational Performance: A Comparative Analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 116(2), 433-440. [5] Greenleaf, R. K. (1970). The servant as leader. Newton Centre, MA: Robert K. Greenleaf Center. [6] Linden, R. C., Wayne, S. J., Chenwei, L., & Meuser, J. D. (2014). SERVANT LEADERSHIP AND SERVING CULTURE: INFLUENCE ON INDIVIDUAL AND UNIT PERFORMANCE. Academy Of Management Journal, 57(5), 1434-1452. doi:10.5465/amj.2013.0034 [7] Melchar, D. E., & Bosco, S. M. (2010). Achieving High Organization Performance through Servant Leadership. Journal of Business Inquiry: Research, Education & Application, 9(1), 74-88. [8] Wessel, M. (2011). Idolize Bill Gates, Not Steve Jobs. Bloomberg Business. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-1101/idolize-bill-gates-not-steve-jobs
