In Command of Guardians…The Best New Servant Leadership Book for 2019
I met Eric Russell at the 2017 Robert K. Greenleaf International Conference for Servant Leadership. I attended one of his sessions and was impressed with his authenticity and practical applications of servant leadership. His research and work had been applying servant leadership concepts with first responders.
A year later, I heard from Eric and he asked me to read a revised version of a book manuscript he was working on. To be honest, I had planned on taking a couple of weeks off in December and was looking forward to not thinking about servant leadership for a few weeks. But I liked Eric’s work and was interested, so he sent me the manuscript.
I started reading a few pages on my computer screen when it came through on email. It didn’t take but a few more pages for me to be captivated and know that I needed a print copy to mark and make “memory notes” in the margins. For the next few weeks in December 2018, I carried around three thick stacks of chapters with big binder clips and any time I had waiting time, I would take out In Command of Guardians and read more.
First, I was profoundly moved by Eric’s book. I have been reading Greenleaf, studying organizations, writing training workshops, writing books, and trying my best to practice servant leadership in my life for 38 years. During the early part of this time period, there were only Greenleaf’s writings. Then practitioners began writing about their application experiences within organizations. And some consultants, feeling the popularity of this thing that Southwest Airlines and TDIndustries and a few other companies excelled at, took their basic spiel and stamped “servant leadership” on it. But once in a while, there would be a resource that stood out among the rest and would take you to that deeper, meaningful place of servant leadership that is so powerful. This is what In Command of Guardians did for me.
It has done it for me in a big way. In such a big way that I will keep this folded-corners, post-it-noted, marked-all-up manuscript within reaching distance of my desk. I will be referencing it and learning from it for years to come. I love the way Eric has taken so many practical aspects of servant leadership and given them a “how to” with examples. When I read the chapter “Fostering Responder Servant Followership”, it triggered enlightenment, new ideas, and new languaging to express the challenges I have in coaching well-intentioned servant-leaders who can easily make missteps. It has given me potential strategies to make progress with these well-meaning leaders. I believe others who read this book will have the same experience on challenges in leadership they are dealing with.
One of the insights that came to me early in reading Eric’s book is, of course, it is an outstanding resource for first responders. But it is also a great resource for any organization, student of servant leadership, or practitioner. Everything Eric suggests is directly applicable to all who want to be a better servant-leader.
Another plus about In Command of Guardians is that Eric skillfully cites research studies and references that support the ideas he shares. Sometimes when authors do this, the book can feel cold and too academic…removed from “the real world.” But Eric has adeptly partnered the suggestions/research validation with soulful, heartfelt writing of front-line challenges including suicide rates, decisions to block entrances to burning building for the safety of responders’ lives, showing empathy, vulnerability, dealing with the trauma and loss of life, and the reality of the unknown risk every time a first responder answers a call. I could feel the words Eric writes in every paragraph.
The topics covered in In Command of Guardians are so spot-on: bureaucracy (a word I can never spell), calling, listening, healing (what an exciting thing to see in the book…very few people pick up on this from Greenleaf’s writing and how essential it is), vision, the greater good, serving the growth of those you lead, trust, servant-followership, community building. Others may have written about these traits/skills/concepts, but Eric linking these to first responders makes the concepts jump off the page into our soul. I will be quoting and citing from this book.
The case studies at the end of the chapter are extremely powerful applications. But I want the answers! I told Eric after reading the manuscript, I am waiting for the workbook that will provide some answers that we can model from. Of course we know part of the power of servant leadership is committing to the rigor of finding these answers for ourselves.
If you are looking for a great book on leadership, this is the one to buy. You won’t be disappointed. And, it will give you an even greater appreciation for those in our society called to protect us from harm.
“We have used a number of coaches, facilitators, and consultants through many years at Bridgeway. Sadly, too many have been considered ‘the flavor of the month,’ a fad without staying power. Ann McGee-Cooper and Associates partners with us, focusing creatively and intentionally on a small number of clients to ensure servant leadership really ‘takes.’ I've never before experienced the breadth of team leaders saying ‘this is the best thing we've done.’ From helping create a powerful tool chest of communication tools to individual executive and team member coaching to specific problem-solving, AMCA has already added significant target in the first year.”