MAKING A DIFFERENCE: SERVANT LEADERSHIP IN THE ONLINE

CLASSROOM

Andree C. Swanson, EdDLora L. Reed, PhDAshford University

ENCOURAGERS OF LEARNING

Online faculty members are not Sages on the Stage in the

asynchronous classroom.

Effective faculty are true guides on the side, facilitators of

learning.

Effective online faculty are encouragers of learners who are

often isolated and feeling alone on the other side of the

computer.

SERVANT LEADERSHIP

At their finest, effective online faculty

members are true servant leaders

sharing the Robert Greenleaf’s vision

of servant leadership to provide

student-centered teachable

opportunities in the virtual classroom.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

“Servant leadership makes a difference. It might not be the

quickest, safest, and simplest approach to teaching, but it is

effective” (p. 5).

Our goal is to demonstrate how you can make a difference

using a servant leadership approach in the classroom.

NO LITERATURE ON THE TOPIC

Servant leadership and the field of education have

been studied in the past; however, servant

leadership as a desired form of leadership in the field

of online learning has not been studied.

HELPING STUDENTS

Patterson (2003) stated, “By empowering followers, servant leaders

are allowing them freedom to proceed toward their goals, helping

them make dreams reality.”

Online faculty are empowered to help their students.

CONTINUED HELP FOR STUDENTS

Patterson (2003) states that "the focus of the leaders is on

followers and his/her behaviors and attitudes are congruent with

this follower focus."

Servant leadership is a virtuous theory focusing on leading people

who have good intentions, high values, and are morally sound.

SERVANT LEADERSHIP

(a) agapao love,

(b) humility,

(c) altruism,

(d) vision,

(e) trust,

(f) empowerment, and

(g) service" (Patterson, 2003, p. 2).

A MODEL FOR ONLINE FACULTY

Niewold (2007) stated, "Servant leadership in its secular

form is based on non-Christian secular and religious ideas" (p.

1).

For these reasons, Servant Leadership appears to be a

model for the effective, successful online faculty member.

FOLLOWER BEFORE GREED A servant leader is one that puts the follower first before profit and greed.

A popular style of leadership is the transformational leader who does not put the followers first but the organization has priority.

Students before Profit

AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP

"Note that the focus in servant

leader is to benefit the follower,

even at the expense of the

organization, which is in

contrast to Transformational

leadership that has a focus on

benefiting the organization

(Bass, 2000)" (Winston, n.d.).

Servant leadership is an

authentic form of leadership

that can be modeled by those

who strive to put others before

their own goals.

THE INCUBATOR IDEAImage(s) from Microsoft Clip

Art.

FACULTY AS LEADERS

If faculty do model Greenleaf’s vision, are online faculty who

model servant leadership in the classroom and other interactions

with learners assisting in leader development?

Do faculty model the type of leadership that is conducive to

innovative organizational cultures?

Do they create trust and meaningful relationships that sustain

both student and faculty as continuous learners?

FUTURE RESEARCHImage(s) from Microsoft Clip Art. Copyright © ZSRS 2013

QUESTION

Can the concept that faculty as servant leaders as a

method of enhancing online learning and especially

leader development be tested?

NOW IS THE TIME

Student engagement, as a challenge that affects leaders and would

be leaders becomes a more important consideration for academic

institutions in a time of unprecedented technological change, as

well as amidst leadership crises the likes of which Greenleaf (1978,

1986) attempted to caution society about.

If there was ever a time when Servant Leadership was needed,

some say that time is now on a variety of levels.