05-07-2025
The story of LEO, the Leadership Enhancement Organization, begins with a call to adventure during my first year of college. Timothy E. Sander, an esteemed innovator and the originator of "Thankful Stewardship," a significant contribution to modern servant leadership, sent me a message on LinkedIn: "Have you heard of servant leadership? If you're interested, we can talk."
I have to admit, my first reaction was, is this guy crazy? I had traveled halfway across the world to study in the U.S., and now he wanted me to learn how to be a servant. Curious, I decided to find out what he really meant.
While discussing it with Timothy in the following days, I became captivated by a story he shared with me.
He shared the story from Journey to the East by Nobel laureate Hermann Hesse. The story tells the journey of servant Leo, who supported and cared for everyone’s needs. Leo led through his care and spirit, holding the group together. When Leo disappeared, the group fell into chaos, realizing the importance of Leo’s values in the exhibition.
Inspired by the story, Robert Greenleaf coined the concept of servant leadership, emphasizing that “Leadership is not based on power, but on serving others.”
Looking back a year later, my conversation with Timothy sparked the torch for my journey with LEO in spreading servant leadership - breaking through the cocoon of ego and embracing the power of serving others
The path LEO has taken is one that I haven’t walked before; it felt more like crossing a river by feeling for stones beneath the surface.
As an international student who had been in the U.S. for just over half a year, I faced a significant challenge: I knew only a handful of fellow Purdue students. Promoting LEO and servant leadership required expanding my network. Choosing LinkedIn to build connections, I could gain an initial understanding of my peers.
I started with just a dozen connections, but over time, I expanded my network to more than 4,000 people. I reached out to my peers, inviting them to participate in LeoChat, a discussion about what servant leadership meant to them, and to contribute articles. Starting from nothing, LeoChat has now published over 100 articles on servant leadership.
I have also published, “LEO 100 Servant Leaders,” a series of 100 students, scholars, executives and leadership coaches, explaining what servant leadership means to them
Looking back on these achievements, I think the most important skill I learned is ignoring rejection messages and keep contacting new people. Even if you contact 100 people and only one responds positively, it’s worth it.
The journey of spreading servant leadership has always been a collaborative effort. LEO has been fortunate to receive backing from prominent figures who joined the team. Leaders broaden the audience by liking, commenting, and sharing LEO articles to expand LEO’s activities.
In October 2024, I had the opportunity to go to New York to accept the Servant Leader Youth Exemplars Award from the Robert K. Greenleaf Center. Although I don’t have any relatives in the U.S., many LEO team members gathered at the ceremony to support me and celebrate my success! Among them, JeanAnn Nichols, former VP and GM at Intel Corporation, took a five-hour flight to celebrate and personally guide me in networking at the event. That night, she gave me a real-life lesson in “serving others.”
The encouragement among team members has helped me understand life’s purpose. As one of LEO's team members, Len Jessup, PhD, former president of Claremont Graduate University and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, put it, “Leadership is about the journey, not the destination. Make choices today that will create a lasting, positive legacy for future generations.”
LEO started with small victories that gradually accumulated, demonstrating the global adaptability of servant leadership.
We have already established numerous LEO Global Chain Brands, including Brazil (Portuguese), Waseda University (Japanese), Türkiye (Turkish), Beijing (Chinese), NUS (Singapore), and the University of Nairobi (Kenya), among others. I believe the concept of servant leadership will change workplaces from environments focused on material needs to places of self-actualization, increasing the well-being of each individual’s life and human civilization.
My induction into the 2024 Greenleaf Center for Leadership Hall of Fame has also allowed me to experience personal milestones firsthand.
Today, reflecting on LEO's journey and the impact I have created, I understand more deeply that maintaining curiosity is the key to unlocking the exploration of unknown territories. I’ve learned that serving others is important to build genuine and positive connections and embrace servant leadership. By providing value to others, I can also elevate the value of our existence, even through seemingly small acts of service.
Jenny Guan is an Honors sophomore at Purdue University Daniels School of Business and the John Martinson Honors College, majoring in Business Analytics and Information Management, and the founder of the Leadership Enhancement Organization (LEO) to promote global servant leadership. Recognized on the Dean's List and Semester Honors, she also excels in table tennis, winning the 2023 and 2024 Regional National Collegiate Table Tennis Association Women’s Team and Singles titles. Jenny is honored as an inductee of the third annual Robert K. Greenleaf Servant-Leader Hall of Fame, and she thanks her mentors and Purdue University for their unwavering support. Feel free to connect with her on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jennyguan2004/. You will be seen, heard and recognized in LEO.
