Leadership

Servant Leadership

The Servant Leadership approach is based on the core principle of caring for others and giving up control rather than seeking control.

In a “Context, not Control” environment, you still need managers to coach and provide directions, but this is not the traditional role of a manager. That’s why we are looking for leaders that embrace Servant Leadership.
With Servant Leadership everyone is treated equally. Employees gain a chance to learn, and to set and accomplish goals with the support of their Manager. The servant-leader is first a servant, second a leader. In the first instance, they lend their support to addressing the needs and wants of the people and the organization. This is a priority and leadership is a secondary activity. This contrasts with the leader-first perspective, where a person aims to gain control quickly, often driven by material gain or influence. Therefore, servant leadership is a blend between leader and servant and servant leaders have strong leadership skills that should not be underestimated

Qualities of the Servant Leader:

1. Values diverse opinions: values everyone’s contributions and regularly seeks out opinions. If you are expected to parrot back the leader’s opinion, you are not in a servant-led organization.
2. Cultivates a culture of trust: people are comfortable to go about their activities in an environment of mutual trust and support. There is no back-stabbing.
3. Develops other leaders: servant leaders provide opportunities for learning and growth, demonstrating by example and teaching others to lead. They give up power and have deputies lead, replicating servant leadership through the organization.
4.  Encourages: the hallmark of a servant leader is encouragement.  The true servant leader says, “Let’s go do it,” not, “You go do it.”
5.  Sells instead of tells: a servant leader is the opposite of a dictator. The aim is to persuade rather than command.
6.  Thinks you, not me: there’s a selfless quality about a servant leader.  Those who only think, “How does this benefit me?” are disqualified.
7.  Thinks long-term:a servant leader is thinking about the next generation, the next leader, the next opportunity. They make continual tradeoffs between what’s important for today versus what needs to be done for the future.
8. Acts with humility: servant leaders are not concerned with job titles. A title is not a way to show he/she is in charge or “better than everyone else”. Instead, servant leaders act in a caring way towards others. Nothing is beneath them and they may be seen picking up trash or cleaning a table. Servant leaders set an example of service. With servant leadership, it is not about the leader, it is about others.

In Conclusion, servant Leaders support others to serve the needs of the organization. They do not seek prestige, status, material gain or control. Instead, they offer coaching and opportunities for growth, providing a demonstrable example of expected behaviors.