07/04/2026
Farewell to Jeff Miller...
Memorial Tribute for Jeffrey P. Miller, Ph.D. Miller
📍He Has Gone Further Than We Have
Jeff Miller was the creator and catalyst of many networks bringing together Servant Leaders around the world. For years, he taught Servant Leadership at universities across the United States and served as a consultant for transformational work with individuals and organizations. He also co-created and led programs at the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. Jeff did hundreds, thousands of things. Yet his achievements never went ahead of him. His humanity always came first. Not his accomplishments, though he had many. We always had confidence in walking forward with him.
“It’s not about me, but it begins with me.”
📍His Greatest Gift Was Finding Peoople
He found people. He connected them and invited them to the common table. He found me, too, and brought me in. He connected us with many remarkable individuals.
During the first year of our center, I received weekly personal encouragement, support, and inspiration from him. It was also then that he introduced me to people across Europe building similar initiatives. I loved receiving messages that began with: “Hi, you may not yet know that there is a Servant Leadership center in Poland. Please meet Magda…” He connected us with people such as Dirk van Dierendonck, Greenleaf UK, the center in Iceland, Reginald Lewis, and Pat Falotico. At times he invited me to sit in on his courses; at others, he led webinars for our community, such as “The Healing Organizations,” or met with our clients.
📍Service Is Presence and Humility
In 2023, thanks to Personel Plus and Małgorzata Rzewuska, an in-depth interview with Jeff and Evita Salles was published. In it, Jeff told Polish managers:
🔑“Servant Leadership always reaches into both the past and the future, it has a wide spectrum. When you say “philosophy,” you are looking at life as a whole, with ideas meant to be lived out. At its core, it is leadership of being, not merely leadership of doing. Let us begin with the most fundamental ways of serving. Sometimes it is simply being present with someone and truly listening. Greenleaf wrote extensively about the power of listening. We live in organizations and societies full of people who feel unheard. At times, the greatest wisdom is silence”
🟩No Monument🟩
I know you would not have wanted tributes.
You were simply a man. Simply, like any of us.
I will not build you a monument, Jeff.
I leave only one thing: thank you.
For your journey. For your faithfulness. For the good you left in people.
If I could say one more thing to you, it would surely be this:
thank you for everything.
And now rest with the Good Shepherd 🐑we spoke about.
You may rest in peace 💔
Aneta Montano Joanna Poznalska
