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- good stuff
- 6 mins
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has"
~ Margaret Mead, American cultural anthropologist and one of my favorite risk takers and question askers.
Say 'Hello' to . . .
Be the Change 509 – East Side Gladiators, a true grassroots organization created out of the sheer ambition and a collection of good people ready and willing to do good work behind the scenes.
In 2023, Petra Hoy, an Eastside Gladiator, was named one of Spokane's women of the year. The Spokesman wrote, "The group grew slowly by word of mouth. There is no website, just a private Facebook group and an email list that keeps everyone in communication. 'For the longest time, we didn’t have a name,' Hoy said. 'I feel like other people were looking for something to do and didn’t know where to start. I really like the idea of a group of people just doing stuff.”
And the Gladiators do do the stuff - they send thank you notes to librarians and valentines to seniors, they regularly mail postcards (using their own funds) for different issues all across the country, and just this past weekend, they collected new bras, underwear, and tampons for local women and cash donations for the Volunteers of America Hope House and Transitions' Women's Hearth.
Every week, the team gets an email update about opportunities to serve. BTC 509 - Eastside Gladiators are a real and true example of service leadership.
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Values and Mission and Vision . . .
Service Leadership was coined by Robert Greenleaf in the 1970s.
Larry Spears writes for Regents University about its ten prime characteristics: Listening, Empathy, Healing, Awareness, Persuasion, Conceptualization, Foresight, Stewardship, Commitment to the Growth of People, and Building Community.
Joe Iarocci wrote the book Servant Leadership in the Workplace: A Brief Introduction that highlights the impact of meaning, prosperity and joy within service leadership.
Sarah K. White wrote for SHRM about servant leadership characteristics - a person of character, puts people first, a skilled communicator, a compassionate collaborator, has foresight, is a systems thinker, and leads with moral authority.
Bringing the mission to life . . .
The Eastside Gladiators meet regularly where they support causes, but also one another. They build relationships while writing postcards. They laugh while they wave signs to passing cars. They make dinner plans and go to concerts together.
Because servant leadership prioritizes people which fosters trust, accountability, growth, and inclusion, "it encourages a forgiving and understanding attitude that allows employees to make mistakes, learn from their mistakes, and channel that into personal and professional growth in the organization."
Service Leadership is the real thing -- put yourself out there. Get dirty. Do the work. Make the change. Be The Change.
The difference it makes . . .
BTC 509 - Eastside Gladiators are doing incredible things for the local, national, and global communities through service leadership. They can be an example for others. They could be an example for you - for your team, for your organization.
Benjamin Laker writes in Forbes, "service leadership is changing the world." He explains that smaller more agile teams are innovative and customer focused, which in turn lead to higher productivity and better outcomes.
