Greenleaf Best Test Assessment Launches

    ATLANTA, GA, June 22, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership announces the introduction of the first-ever assessment to give organizations insight into how their servant-leaders support individual growth according to GREENLEAF'S BEST TEST . As originally stated in The Servant as Leader essay in 1970, the best test is "do those served grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?" In short, the assessment technology will help people and organizations answer the important question: "How are we doing on the servant leadership journey?" The online tool is powered by Strategic Management Decisions (SMD), the survey and assessment technology leader.

"Our partnership with SMD allows us to unify the servant leadership movement through a common framework that helps organizations grow in their ability to serve their various stakeholders while showing a connection between their servant leadership practice and organizational outcomes," states Patricia Falotico, CEO of The Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. "Think of the Best Test assessment as a beacon that will make visible some of an organization's neglected corners and make it safe for open, healthy dialogue around vision, policy, and even contentious issues; or, as a framework for organizational life, a declaration of intent to move forward and be held accountable to a very high standard of interdependence."

The GREENLEAF BEST TEST Assessment can be used as a baseline assessment for organizations just beginning the servant leadership journey or as a reality check for those that have some experience with implementing Greenleaf's ideas. GREENLEAF BEST TEST Assessment will be made available to organizations through a network of consultants certified to deliver it in keeping with Dr. Greenleaf's philosophy. It has already undergone pilot and validation testing.

The instrument follows the Best Test from principle to practice by investigating three categories of inquiry.

1. The bulk of the questions follow Greenleaf's model by investigating the outcomes for those
who are being served. Included are items that correlate support for physical and emotional health, opportunities to gain and integrate knowledge, avenues to express heightened autonomy, and opportunities to continue the cycle of service.
2. The goal of servant leadership is to create a leader-full organization where everyone can serve an appropriate leadership position, but the assessment still contains a group of questions that probe the behaviors of designated leaders.
3. Finally, the questions that make this an effective servant leadership assessment are those that ask about matters of heart, spirit, joy, and community. These human experiences give juice and meaning to work, yet are not often discussed, much less measured.

About Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership
Robert Greenleaf coined the term "servant leadership" more than four decades ago. With the goal of promoting a more just and caring society, Greenleaf created a compelling vision of individuals and institutions focused not on the accumulation and exercise of power for personal advantage, but on sharing power, placing the needs of others first, and helping people develop and perform to their full potential. Today, many of the world's most successful organizations have embedded this vision of servant leadership at the core of their operating model.

The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership is dedicated to expanding the reach of Robert Greenleaf's vision to as wide an audience as possible, reaching out and serving individuals and organizations in the for-profit, not-for-profit, and public sectors. Through our conferences, workshops, customized training programs, consulting engagements, research grants, and extensive catalog of publications, the Center provides information, support, and a collaborative network for those committed to living and leading with a servant's heart.

About SMD
SMD is a talent assessment and analytics company enabling businesses to monetize people management, ultimately accelerating and optimizing business results and ROI. Since the launch of its patented technology, SMD Link, more than 1,000,000 assessments have been conducted and analyzed on the platform. The platform includes assessments for hiring, employee engagement, employee development (360), and career development.

Founded in 2008, SMD has infused innovation into a function that has seen few advances in decades. Recognized for its state-of-the-art practices, SMD is truly redefining how human resources operates, and how it can have an impact on the bottom line. SMD clients include UPS, Bank of America, Dow Chemical, Grant Thornton, Dignity Health, Feeding America and Universal Health Services, Inc.
http://www.smdhr.com

For more information, contact The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership at [email protected].

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