News Article

Larry Spears, one of the world’s foremost writers and thinkers in the area of contemporary leadership studies, will dialogue with members of the Gonzaga University community from 4:30-6:30 p.m., Monday, Dec. 11 in the Russell Theatre on the GU campus.

Spears, CEO for the Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership in Westfield, Ind., will take part in an interactive discussion with the Gonzaga community on servant-leadership in this dialogue sponsored by the Gonzaga School of Professional Studies, the university’s Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies, the Gonzaga Master’s of Organizational Leadership program, and the GU undergraduate Comprehensive Leadership Program.

The event will be moderated by Chris Francovich, assistant professor in the GU Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies.

Spears has consulted with many of the Fortune 100 companies that have been praised as among the best companies for employees, including Starbucks and Southwest Airlines, and is deeply respected in the leadership field. Spears also is an editor and writer on servant-leadership, and his edited books include the anthologies “Focus on Leadership,” “Insights on Leadership,” “Reflections on Leadership,” and “Practicing Servant-Leadership: Succeeding through Trust, Bravery, and Forgiveness.” 

Gonzaga, over the years, has enjoyed a unique and powerful connection with Spears. In recent years a mutual partnership has been fostered between the Greenleaf Center and Gonzaga to publish The International Journal of Servant-Leadership, a journal of science, art, and social justice aimed at drawing the world to greater health, wisdom, freedom, autonomy and the values of sacrificial love toward the common good. 

In the words of the Greenleaf Center, servant-leadership is “ a practical philosophy which supports people who choose to serve first, and then lead as a way of expanding service to individuals and institutions. Servant-leaders may or may not hold formal leadership positions. Servant-leadership encourages collaboration, trust, foresight, listening, and the ethical use of power and empowerment.”

For more information, contact Shann Ferch, professor of leadership studies and editor of The International Journal of Servant-Leadership, via e-mail or at (509) 323-3490. To find out more about servant-leadership or the Greenleaf Center, visit the Greenleaf Center Web site.