Becoming a Servant Leader, for real this time

There you are sitting in another leadership conference being sold the dream of becoming an influential leader, one who inspires team members' performance and brings about a unicorn-like change in your organization. You chose this conference because the presenter is one of the most sought-after speakers in the organizational behavior and leadership field. The speaker goes through a list of common leadership styles that resonate with you. You hear the great things about transformational leaders and begin to envision what life would look like if you actually became one. You would give motivational speeches during team meetings, create high-performing teams, and be adored by your colleagues. In fact you believe one day you will be up there presenting your work on leadership to thousands. The presenter continues to go through the list of leadership styles when suddenly you hear the words “servant leadership”. You’ve heard of this style of leadership before, but never viewed it as worthy. After all, who would do everything in their power to climb the corporate ladder, only to go back to serving others needs? Despite your apprehension, you listen on and wonder if the speaker will change your perspective.

“Now this next leadership style we are going to discuss is the most impactful of them all in my opinion. Some of you have probably never heard of it. Some of you have probably tried to implement it in the past and fell back into old habits. And some of you have heard of it and for whatever reason decided this leadership style is not for you. It's called servant leadership. And I know what all of you are thinking, the name sounds so strange. And I get it, how can the words servant and leader coexist? Well first let's look at what a servant leader actually is and why this leadership style is so powerful when implemented correctly.”

“Servant leadership focuses on the growth, well-being and empowerment of employees. Unlike other leadership styles that are used to directly drive results for the organization, servant leaders gain results by prioritizing employee engagement and commitment. The highlight of servant leaders is how they display their authenticity, trust, and honestly with their team. One of the myths of servant leadership is that servant leaders are nice people that are always polite and kind to their team. While it's great to be nice, servant leadership isn't about being nice at all. Servant leaders hold individuals accountable and have open and honest communication with their team. But they do it in a way that builds the employee up by guiding the individual towards the best resources and methods to become impactful.”

“For example, let's say we have an employee named Susan and her boss is named Robert. A little bit about Susan. She currently holds the title of Junior Account Manager. She’s outgoing, charismatic and is always eager to learn. All her colleagues love having her on the team. But despite Susan’s great personality she is in the low to middle of the pack in terms of performance on Robert’s team. Currently she’s coming out of a rough first quarter of the year, only hitting 67% of her sales target. This puts Susan in a negative headspace and she fears if she doesn’t turn things around she will be fired sooner than later. In comes Susan’s supervisor Robert. Now Robert can look at Susan and take multiple approaches. He could practice transactional leadership and come down really hard on her about her performance. He could practice transformational leadership and try to inspire change within Susan. Or he could choose to practice servant leadership in the situation. When Robert approaches Susan regarding her performance he begins the conversation with empathy and honesty. Then he asks Susan how he can support her, carefully listening. Based on Susans needs, he pairs Susan with one of the high-performing Senior Account Managers for the entire month so she can learn and develop new habits and strategies for closing deals. Instead of monthly check-ins, he and Susan now meet every week to discuss progress and continued areas for growth. Notice Robert didn't sugarcoat Susans performance and was open and honest in the beginning of the conversation. He provided empathy which showed Susan he actually cared. And then he gave Susan the space to express herself while practicing active listening. Last, he determined Susans needs and opened himself up to being more available for her as she tries to grow. Robert is a servant leader. “

“Now before I go any further, let me tell you what a servant leader is not. Servant leaders are not weak! Let me repeat that. Servant leaders are not weak! Historically servant leadership has been perceived as a submissive leadership style, but servant leadership is anything but weak. The problem lies in our belief system that tells us that real leadership is about making tough decisions, holding employees accountable, and leading employees to achieve company goals. And while these aspects of leadership are vital, they often don’t lead to the type of engagement and energy needed from employees to sustain success.”

“So you ask how can a leader be tasked with making critical decisions, developing important processes and strategies, achieve record-breaking revenue goals, and hold the title of servant leader? Well first you need to check your ego at the door. You can’t be a servant leader and care more about yourself and your success. Servant leaders have a deep care for their team and intentionally spend time building up their employees. Second, relationship building with your team is key. Spend time individually with each member of your team and gain a better understanding of their personality type, personal goals and ambitions, strengths and weaknesses, and communication style. If servant leadership focuses on growth and empowerment, then you have to know what to target within each individual in order to effectively grow them.”

“Third, you need to understand how to connect your employees' work with their goals and ambitions. So as you're assigning people to projects, think about how this project not only serves the purpose of the team but how it serves the individual as well. This is how you're going to increase engagement and get people excited about the work that they do, which is going to lead to high energy throughout your team. “

“Fourth, you can't forget about the power you hold. Much of servant leadership is about empowering others, but as the servant leader you possess a one of a kind type of power that your team leans on for their growth and evolution. Continue to nurture your power so that you can sustain the efforts you put forth. Nurturing your power means continuing to assess how your power and influence is impacting your team and making adjustments where needed. Continue conducting check-ins with your team members and pay close attention to patterns and behaviors within your team to determine whether or not your team is going down the right path.”

“Though servant leadership is fantastic, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that it is challenging to implement and will take a concerted effort on your part. Don't expect to wake up tomorrow and all of sudden call yourself a servant leader. It's going to take time to reframe your mind from a result-oriented leadership style to a style that focuses on the well-being of others. But by practicing the habits and behaviors of a servant leader each day, you will see yourself slowly become one . Folks, it's time to become a servant leader for real this time.”

Wowed and amazed, you realize everything you thought about servant leadership was the complete opposite from the truth. You see that by empowering others, you in fact become even more influential and powerful in your own right. But now it is time to embark on the journey and make the much needed changes in your leadership. Not for your glory, but for others.