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Piedmont Sponsors Community Book Club

Piedmont Orthopaedic Complex is proud to sponsor The Junior League of Macon's annual Community Book Club.

The JLM is encouraging its members and people in the community to read "Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness" by Robert Greenleaf, and meet up at planned discussion groups around town to discuss the role of a servant leader.

The first book club meeting will be held on Monday, April 25th at 6:30pm at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. Panelists will be Rebecca Grist, Jessica Walden, and Rob Betzel.  The second book club meeting will feature Piedmont CEO, Dr. Mike Peed, and Stacey Harwell-Dye as panelists and will take place Tuesday, April 26th at 10:30am at Barnes & Noble. 

Robert Greenleaf's innovative book, which was originally published in 1970, has been extremely popular and has even launched a leadership institute called the Robert K Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. 

According to the Center, "Servant leadership is a philosophy and set of practices that enriches the lives of individuals, builds better organizations and ultimately creates a more just and caring world."

While servant leadership is a timeless concept, the phrase “servant leadership” was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay, Greenleaf said:

“The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.

“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? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?“

A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. While traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid,” servant leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.

While attendees are encouraged to read the book, we invite anyone who is interested in the topic to please join us for the interactive discussions. Even if you haven't had a chance to read the book, please consider meeting us and discussing your feelings on the servant leader.

Copies of the book are available for purchase at Barnes & Noble.

posted 05/01/2017 in News

Tags: Community, book club, mike peed, servant leader, leadership, volunteer

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