I have worked forever in the hi-tech industry (so, have most of my readers….). One highly over-used and under-practiced phrase I have heard from senior organization leadership is – Our Company practices the Servant Leadership paradigm as a management philosophy. Clearly, several of the top-ranking organizations have succeeded in achieving this management style.

In my work experience, I have heard a lot of this talk, at company meetings, etc.…. But very few of my managers have ‘walked this walk’. I am unsure how many have even attempted to understand and internalize the true meaning of Servant Leadership and what actions are required to function as an effective Servant Leader. I am not implying that this style does not work – just that it is more often preached than practiced.

The phrase “Servant Leadership” was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay he says:

Quote:

“The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.

Unquote

History has provided great examples of people whose entire life was being a Servant Leader, 24×7, 365 days a year. Think of Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teressa, Nelson Mandela – to name a few. Amazing leaders, whose day-to-day lives set a bright example of true leadership and caring deeply for the people they served. Mahatma Gandhi said this very succinctly – “Find yourself in the service of others”

As per Wikipedia – Servant leadership is a leadership philosophy in which the goal of the leader is to serve. This is different from traditional leadership where the leader’s primary focus is the thriving of their company or organization.

A servant leader shares power and uses their ‘leadership power levers’ to put the needs of the employees first and helps people develop and perform to the peak of their abilities.

Most of the time, management is so focused on meeting quarterly and annual business/revenue/sales objectives – that they forget that it is their employee pool, that makes things happen. The multitude of cogs/gears in the machinery that must operate precisely for the organization to succeed is taken for granted. It is here that Servant Leaders can make a difference. Every cog/gear in the machinery is an individual with aspirations and needs. They have personal and professional goals and must be nurtured and encouraged to grow. They have a life outside of work – and they work hard every day to support their ‘life outside of work’.

The enlightened Servant Leader recognizes this. When the individual contributor is listened to, supported, and allowed to grow, the organization will get an exponential benefit out of this. It is a lot more effort by the Leadership team and more difficult than cracking the proverbial whip. The consequence of the Servant Leadership management style is far-reaching, permanent, and leads to a superior workplace environment with a loyal and dedicated workforce.

My intent of this blog listing is to encourage senior leadership, the captains who are at the helm, to think of the longer term and take the more difficult approach. Become Servant Leaders because you believe in it, rather than something you are expected to do as internal executive policy. Think of your team as your work-family. Just as your home-family responds to the caring, empathy, listening, etc. – you will soon see similar results with your work-family in the organization.