Our History
The Story of Wisconsin Servant Leadership
It all began in 1999.
That year, Wisconsin hosted the annual Greenleaf Center conference—a three-day gathering dedicated to servant leadership. At the close of the event, two Wisconsin leaders, Richard Pieper and Tom Thibodeau, extended an open invitation:
“If you’re interested in continuing the servant leadership conversation here in Wisconsin, join us this afternoon.”
A small group gathered. They exchanged names, phone numbers, and emails, sharing why servant leadership mattered to them. That simple act of connection planted the seeds of a movement.
Growing Across Wisconsin
Within a year, the first citywide meeting was organized. Soon after, servant leadership events began to take root in Milwaukee, Madison, La Crosse, Wausau, and Green Bay. Citywides were formed, conversations deepened, and a statewide network began to emerge.
Over time, two communities developed lasting rhythms:
Milwaukee Community Conversations
Now hosted on a three-college rotation at Alverno College, Wisconsin Lutheran College, and Milwaukee School of Engineering.
La Crosse Community Conversations
Hosted twice a year at Viterbo University.
These gatherings created spaces for leaders from all walks of life (business, education, nonprofit, and community) to reflect, learn, and lead by serving.
Servant Leadership in Wisconsin: Growing Through Roundtables
Servant leadership continues to grow across Wisconsin in many ways – through conferences, professional learning, and community gatherings. Yet perhaps the most deeply meaningful expression of this movement can be found in roundtables.
Roundtables are small groups of people who meet once a month to reflect on and discuss an aspect of servant leadership. They are places of trust, dialogue, and shared growth, where leaders from every walk of life sharpen their practice by listening, questioning, and encouraging one another.
The first roundtable launched in Milwaukee in 2011. Today, 13 roundtables meet regularly across the state.
- Three meet virtually, connecting people regardless of geography.
- One meets in a hybrid format.
- The rest gather in-person, rooted in their local communities.
Each roundtable is facilitated by a volunteer – someone who not only guides the conversation, but also models the servant-leadership mindset in action.
These roundtables are more than meetings; they are living reminders that servant leadership flourishes best in community. They give space for people to pause, reflect, and recommit to people-focused leadership.
A Global Moment
In 2019, Wisconsin servant leaders set their sights on hosting an international servant leadership conference. Plans were underway when the pandemic disrupted everything. Instead of canceling, the team adapted, transforming the event into a 2021 virtual international conference.
The result was extraordinary:
- 1,200+ attendees from around the world
- 68 sessions across two days
- 111 resources shared
- A renewed sense of energy and possibility
Looking Ahead: WISL-IP
The success of the virtual conference sparked a new vision. Leaders developed the Wisconsin Servant Leadership Institutional Platform (WISL-IP), a collaborative effort to equip and inspire leaders across the state.
Working as a quantum organization, WISL-IP facilitates resources, connections, and inspiration for leaders at every stage of their journey. The goal: to ensure servant leadership continues to grow, not just as an idea, but as a lived practice across Wisconsin and something for other areas to learn from.
What started as an impromptu invitation in 1999 has grown into a statewide and global movement grounded in the belief that true leadership begins with service. Robert Greenleaf writes: “The best test [of a servant-leader], and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit, or, at least, not be further deprived?”
About WISL: Becoming a Quantum Organization
At WISL, we are working to re-energize Servant Leadership for today’s world. We draw inspiration from Shakespeare’s timeless words in Hamlet: “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Four centuries later, that truth still reminds us that reality is far richer and more complex than we often imagine.
From Predictability to Possibility
For centuries, leadership models were shaped by Newton’s worldview -predictable, orderly, and mechanistic. But the last hundred years of science have revealed something more profound. Chaos Theory shows us that within disorder, there is hidden order, patterns, and self-organization. Quantum Mechanics teaches us that reality itself is relational, uncertain, and dynamic. These scientific revolutions challenge us to rethink how organizations should work.
The Quantum Organization
- Holistic people, processes, and values are deeply interconnected.
- Adaptive resilient in the face of constant change.
- Self-organizing leadership emerges across the whole system.
- Value-driven rooted in vision, purpose, and care for people.
- Relational shaped more by connections than control.
This perspective echoes the insights of thought leaders such as Steve Burrell and Dana Zohar, who argue that organizations thrive at “the edge of chaos” where innovation, collaboration, and transformation emerge.
Why WISL Chooses This Path
Our volunteer network may appear, at times, complex and even chaotic. Yet within that complexity lies our greatest strength: the synergy of diverse voices, perspectives, and talents. By embracing a Quantum mindset, WISL builds an organization that is transparent, caring, and accountable. An organization that evolves as new possibilities unfold.
We believe this is the next chapter of Servant Leadership: not just leading by serving, but creating organizations that honor complexity, nurture connection, and adapt with purpose.