4. Maintaining Your Stance: History Reveals the Cost to Servant-Leaders

What can we learn from an analysis of the life journey of historical servant-leaders? Those who aspire to this leadership philosophy embrace the belief that their goal is to build a caring, collaborative, and just society (Greenleaf, The servant as leader. The Robert K. Greenleaf Center 1991/1970) that provides the opportunity for all to develop to the best of their potential. Simply, the nature of such positive and powerful aspirations will be challenged by a variety of obstacles during a lifetime. The chapter will present readers with stories of five recognized servant-leaders from the past. Today’s aspiring servant-leaders can appreciate the triumphs and costs and courage exemplified by these earlier men and women, and hopefully, are encouraged to maintain their own stance now and in the future.