Ferdinand Angelo A.

Ibañez October 9, 2019

12- Gauss

Portfolio Output No. 21: Reflections on Leadership and Membership

Servant -Leadership
Robert Greenleaf once said, “Servant leadership always empathizes, always accepts the
person, but sometimes refuses to accept some of the person’s effort or performance as good
enough.” I know a leader that truly fits in the description of a “Servant Leader”. In my opinion,
Ramon Magsaysay, the seventh president of the Philippines, truly holds the title of being the
servant leader of the Philippines. According to the article of Jose V. Abueva, Magsaysay repre-
sented the restless energy, ambition, hope, and moral courage of a people grown tired of being
pushed around for so long and eager to prove their worth to the world. His role as leader of a
newly free people was unambiguous—he was to lead them in their quest for the good life. The
people could readily identify with their president because they felt he was sprung from them.
By his word, action, and habits, Magsaysay transformed the people’s expectations of political
leadership and the presidency. They looked up to him as their highest leader and many literally
marched with him to Malacañang. Never before had so many plain folk received so much of the
president’s personal time and attention. Everywhere Magsaysay went he raised people’s
expectations of what the government under his leadership would do for them. To the people
Magsaysay became a symbol and promise of a working democracy and a better life.  
My mother always tell me when I was young, “A good leader is a good follower.”
The keypoints of the article that made a great impact on me is as follows: 1) Being a servant. 2)
Being a leader. 3) Being a leader from being a servant. Being a servant allows someone to
empathize to people that is lower and will be lower in life-status of him/her. They will know
what will be the right decision in order to improve the poor’s life because they came from being
poor. Being a leader sometimes do not accept failure because he/she has a goal that he/she
wants to achieve with the group he/she leads. Being a leader from being a servant holds the
promise of bringing success by always elevating his/her groupmates goals in life with
reasonable and empathizing ways. The line “If there is a single characteristic of the servant-
leader that standout in Greenleaf’s essay, it is the desire to serve” made a great impact on me.
A leader must not attain his/her goals independently from other but to attain everyone’s goals
with the other or sometimes other’s goals only. He/she must want to serve others instead of
serving his/her self in the process of being a leader.
Overall, I like the article of Servant-leadership but IO can’t relate because I have
lived my life on becoming a leader-first than a servant-leader. This made a great impact on me
to change my ways.
Ferdinand Angelo A. Ibañez October 9, 2019
12- Gauss