The Role of Self-Leadership in Service Leadership

One of the core beliefs of the service leadership curriculum proposed by the Hong Kong Institute of Service Leadership and Management is that ‘Every day, every human occupies a position of leadership and possesses the potential to improve his leadership quality and effectiveness’. This core belief is in sharp contrast to some of the mainstream leadership theories that only a few people and elites can be leaders. In this paper, a lecture plan regarding the nature of self-leadership with reference to service leadership is presented. The topics include definitions and concepts of self-leadership, relationships between self-leadership and service leadership, ways to promote self-leadership, and conclusions and reflections. During the lecture, students are also encouraged to reflect on how well they lead their lives, with reference to the concepts of self-management, self-monitoring, and self-improvement.