Posted by When you hear the words SERVANT LEADERSHIP, what comes to mind?
The word servant means to perform duties for another person. The word leadership means to provide direction to other people. Does this mean that SERVANT LEADERSHIP is providing direction to a team of servants who must take orders from you?
Today I will tell you what it really means to be a servant leader.
Robert K. Greenleaf was the founder of the modern Servant leadership movement and the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_K._Greenleaf). He states that:
- 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.
A traditional view of leadership is that a leader acquires and uses power. Often someone becomes a leader because of the power and prestige that is earned from having an important title. For many people having power and being a leader also means earning a lot of money. Clearly a leader with this focus is in the game for himself.
Many organizations have a pyramid structure, with the leader at the top of the pyramid. People lower in the pyramid are there to serve the leader and the leader has all the authority. In some cases the leader even gains recognition at the expense of others.
For example, in the biography of Steve Jobs I learned that Steve Jobs was a very arrogant leader. There was even a story where he was speaking with an employee who shared an innovative idea that Steve Jobs dismissed as a stupid idea. The next day he returned to the employee’s cubicle to share a great idea, which turned out to be the same idea that the employee had shared with him yesterday.
THIS IS NOT WHAT SERVANT LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT!
Servant Leadership means that you are a leader because you want to help people. It also means you are not afraid to share your power and to develop other leaders. You take on a leadership position to serve others, not to be served by them. Building up other people does not threaten your position as a servant leader. It helps your organization to grow.
A true Servant Leader puts other people first and cares about their needs. Helping people to develop and to perform at high levels is what a Servant Leader does. The focus of a servant leader is on the growth and well-being of other people.
At the end of the day it is very satisfying to know that you are a leader if your focus has been on helping others.
For example, when I was a division governor for my Toastmasters district one of my area governors would joke that I was his boss. My answer was always that I was not his boss, I was his primary support person. As Division Governor my job was to lead and support my team of area governors in accomplishing their goals and responsibilities, not to have them do my bidding. Success as a division governor means my team members are enjoying their roles as area governors and through their efforts they are making the clubs in their division feel supported and are helping to meet the needs of the clubs in their area.
Conclusion
If you embody the philosophy of Servant Leadership then you take on leadership roles because you want to help people. You also work hard to develop and support other people as they learn and grow to become leaders themselves. Creating other leaders is not a threat to a servant leader’s position. It is an opportunity to help their organization grow.
As a servant leader your mission in life is to provide a vision for your team. You direct your team to work toward this vision. Through your confidence and support you persuade others to work towards your vision.
By developing others and showing appreciation for their efforts you make them feel like valued members of the team.
As motivational speaker Dave Ramsey says: “True leadership is servanthood. Put the interests of others at the center of your decisions.”
Always remember that true leadership is about serving others, not having them serve you.