Transforming Leadership in the Pattern and Power of Jesus of Nazareth

Our mission is to provide opportunities for the spiritual formation and leadership development of people who are called to be servant leaders. Our work is to convene, teach, nurture and learn through conferences, programs, retreats and publications.

The Institute for Servant Leadership recognizes and affirms the spreading transformation of global consciousness in today's world. Our purpose is to influence that transformation toward systems and relationships which will enhance all of life. In that context, we, as members of the Christian tradition, affirm that human leadership can also be transformed from ranking modes of domination to linking modes of servanthood in the pattern and power of Jesus of Nazareth.

We believe that Servant Leaders will:

• Engage in a spiritual journey rooted in a worshiping community and a personal spiritual practice.
• Enhance the power and freedom of others.
• Value all people, with special compassion for the least privileged in the human family.
• Work for justice and peace in the world through the practice of non-violence.
• Celebrate with gratitude the sacredness, abundance and interconnectedness of all creation.
• Embrace a simplicity of life that honors work and the willingness to be held accountable, while leaving time for rest and play.
• Recognize the gifts of each person, and seek discernment through dialogue as the context for all decision making.
• Call others to be Servant Leaders.

History

The genesis of The Institute for Servant Leadership came when Bennett Sims was elected Bishop of Atlanta and began a quest for a new kind of leadership. Bennett had rejected the authoritarian, top-down school of leadership that was dominant in the workplace, and instead sought a model that was built on collaboration. He believed that a leader's first obligation was to serve.

Bennett found a kindred spirit in the seminal work of Robert K. Greenleaf and, upon his retirement, he joined with Emory University to launch a program of continuing education in servant leadership.

In 1988, The Institute for Servant Leadership became an independent nonprofit corporation and moved to its present home in North Carolina. It is governed by a Board of Trustees that is national in scope and is composed of men and women from business, nonprofit organizations and church leadership.

Strategic Vision 2008 - 2010

1. Annual Conference

• Continue to grow and enhance our existing annual conference, which is focused on one of the many aspects of servant leadership, as well as to explore new marketing and promotion opportunities.
• Continue to feature world-class speakers such as Desmond Tutu, Joan Chittister, Phyllis Tickle, Karen Armstrong, James Carroll, Barbara Brown Taylor and others.
• Continue to seek collaborative partnerships in order to broaden dialogue and balance presentations so that participants can gain new insights into the potential of creative collaboration for their own leadership practices.
  

2. Program Initiatives

• Young Adult Initiative: This program, in the form of a weekend retreat, is designed to provide young adults with an understanding of the principles of servant leadership. Participants will explore a new way of being that has the power to transform human community.
• Clergy Initiative: Geared toward new clergy, this four-day retreat will explore effective leadership models for the parish setting. Modules will include: Community transformation, creative human relationships, mentoring and servant leadership.
• Parish Partnership Initiative: This initiative is designed to support parishes in a move away from the authoritarian, top-down practice of leadership that is dominant in today's society and, instead, to introduce the principles of servant leadership and, over the course of two to three years with the collaboration of both the laity and clergy, to bring about the transformation of the life of the whole community.
• Congregational Leadership Development: This program, a natural extension of our Parish Partnership Initiative, is currently being developed and is designed to coordinate and sustain an integrated program for training laity and congregations for authentic leadership - ministry within the church. It is designed to be in harmony with existing program initiatives which are available for ordained clergy.

(See activities page for more detailed explanations of the above initiatives. )

3. Turning Point Newsletter

• Continue to develop Turning Point as a contemporary commentary on the practice and application of servant leadership in the transformation of communities.

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