In the realm of leadership philosophies, one concept has gained prominence for its humane and transformative approach -what is Servant Leadership. As the name suggests, this leadership style focuses on serving others, prioritizing the well-being and growth of team members over the traditional hierarchical power dynamics.

This article will delve into the essence of Servant Leadership, exploring its principles, benefits, and applications in diverse organizational settings.

Understanding Servant Leadership

A servant leadership style increases the likelihood that employees will feel valued and appreciated. Because of this, they are 4.6 times more inclined to give their all on the job. Who or what is a servant leader, finally?

Robert K. Greenleaf first used the phrase "servant leader" in his 1970 article "The Servant as Leader." Leaders should put the needs of their followers and society at large first, according to the principles of servant leadership. Leaders who adopt this approach prioritize the needs of their team and company. Their personal goals should be given the priority they deserve.

Strong support for workers is critical to servant leadership, which aims to realize a goal. In turn, this fosters an environment where people can develop professionally while also contributing their unique perspectives and ideas. The key is to avoid controlling others and using poisonous leadership styles and instead focus on gaining influence and authority.

Empowering staff is a critical component of servant leadership. However, the leader remains.

What Does A Servant Leader Focus On?

Defining the company's long-term goals and relaying those objectives to employees. Building a culture of responsibility and providing the team with the trust they need

Providing the necessary time, energy, money, and expertise to the team so that they may achieve their goals. Building an environment conducive to team success (rather than giving them detailed instructions for every task).

Bottom-up empowerment entails fostering team members' competence in making decisions, working together, and believing in themselves.

The Characteristics Of A Servant Leader

The goal of servant leadership is to create a supportive workplace by providing your team with the resources they need to succeed. However, how does it seem in reality? In this article, we will examine the seven defining features of servant leadership.

• Teamwork- Prioritizing the team is essential.
• Satisfaction of employees - The key to success is a happy workforce that works together.
• Versatility - Servant leadership adapts to many contexts, from profit-driven sales settings to socially-minded nonprofits.
• Engagement and motivation- Engagement and motivation are fueled by the high levels of assistance that servant leaders deliver to their staff.
• Honesty - The group has faith in its leader's ability to make things clear, no matter how complicated or unpredictable the circumstances. Leaders who put others before themselves must really want the growth of their teams and individuals. Leadership should prioritize being genuine.

Ownership stimulates commitment and purpose, which in turn enforces accountability. Workers own the outcomes of their efforts as they pursue personal objectives.

What Does Servant Leadership Look Like In Practice?

An essential goal of servant leadership is to shift the dynamic between upper-level management and staff from one of "controlling activities" to one of mutual support and cooperation.

An opponent of more authoritarian leadership approaches that center on connections between bosses and subordinates, Robert Greenleaf invented the phrase "servant leadership" in the twentieth century.

In servant leadership styles, the boss aims to boost creativity, give workers more agency, and make sure everyone is safe. One of the goals of servant leadership is to help other people become better leaders.

To lead with this approach, one must exhibit qualities like compassion, attentiveness, generosity, and dedication to the development of others.

Being An Example - Humility, Authenticity, And Trust

Your leadership must be built upon humility. Your subordinates will obey your orders out of fear if you act superior and powerful when you talk. Your words and deeds should instead serve as an authentic and believable example to emulate.

Showing Why The Work Is Essential - Awareness And Purpose

Everything that goes into making a clock tick is vital. Any team may say the same thing. Everyone in the team plays a crucial role in getting the job done.

Boosting morale is as simple as getting this word along to workers. Plus, it has the potential to boost their efficiency.

One approach is to be transparent about the effects their effort will have in the future. You can demonstrate the effect both internally and externally.

Instead of focusing on measurements and figures, shift the conversation to the person or persons who will put their work to use and expand upon it. Continue to connect their successes to the broader objectives of the company. A stronger affinity with the company's goal is encouraged by this.

The most important thing is to acknowledge the positive efforts they are making. Recognizing and rewarding employees for their efforts is, for many, the most crucial part of their job.

Encouraging Collaboration - Community-building And Commitment

A servant leader is someone who inspires others to pull together and support one another. Motivate your staff to be more dedicated to each other in order to boost teamwork. Another thing suggests that they share the load. Lastly, team members may be included in the decision-making process.

To get their input on the new project or their ideas for improving their job, ask what they would want to accomplish. The most important thing is not to rush and to accomplish things at your own pace. In today's fast-paced environment, it's easy to look beyond the needs of your staff and focus on getting things done. However, servant leaders are different.

Supporting The Team's Growth And Development - Foresight And Resourcefulness

A key component of a servant leader's job is to understand and foresee the requirements of their staff.

When delegating tasks for a project, for instance, be sure that everyone in the team has access to the necessary resources or the means to acquire them. Take action with a focus on helping others, and you'll provide them with the tools they need to succeed.

Caring For The Members Of The Team - Empathy And Compassion

Likewise, a servant leader will work to make everyone feel welcome. Workers need to be at ease in this setting. Asking pointed questions or voicing particular grievances shouldn't make them feel intimidated.

Promoting understanding and empathy is of paramount importance in this setting. If an employee complains about a colleague to you, you shouldn't brush it off as unimportant just because you're busy. In the end, you help them overcome the dispute by taking the time to go through it together. Kindness is in your nature.

Asking For Feedback - Listening Skills

Establish a rapport with the worker that allows for attentive listening. Rather than waiting for problems to arise before asking follow-up or open-ended inquiries, a servant leader does it routinely. They take criticism well and are open to suggestions for improvement.

How Do You Become A “Servant First” Leader?

Although it requires time and effort, servant leadership is a transformative type of leadership. If you want to demonstrate servant leadership, here is the place to do it.

Build Strong Communication Skills

Maximizing the potential of your team is the cornerstone of servant leadership ideology. Doing so will need your proficiency in conveying the goals and purposes of the company. That way, they'll have all the information they need to make good choices. Developing your abilities in brevity, clarity, and nonverbal cues can assist you in doing this.

Improve Your Listening Skills

However, there is more to communication than just words. Listening to and considering the perspectives of your team members is essential to this management approach. To fully grasp how they arrive at their decisions, hone your active listening abilities.

Develop Empathy

Being empathetic is essential for leaders. For servant leadership, it is of utmost importance. To empathize is to understand another person's situation from their perspective. You can put yourself in their shoes and understand things better. If you want to be a transformative leader, honing this talent is essential.

Work On Your Self-awareness

Some leaders have a magnetic presence and a gift for inspiring others with only their words. However, they must also be keenly aware of their shortcomings.

Being more self-aware entails paying attention to your words and actions and how they affect those around you. Part of this is also seeing how your current behavior differs from your ideal self-image and making a deliberate effort to change.

Learn To Use Your Influence For Good

A good leader must be able to persuade. Being able to persuade others that your way of thinking is correct is what it signifies.

One way of looking at this talent is as a variant of servant leadership. A servant leader, however, may use persuasion when necessary.

Here is a case in point. You may have to use your persuasive and influencing abilities to get your team to agree on something when they're not on the same page.

Start Putting Others First

One who prioritizes their interests above everything else is an autocratic leader. The servant leadership approach would find that disgusting.

A leader who lacks selflessness will struggle to make a difference. It implies you put other people's needs and aspirations above your own. Respecting boundaries is essential, of course. Taking care of yourself is still your responsibility. However, your agenda should not be prioritized.

Employee engagement may be increased by as much as 73% with this action, so it's a win-win.

Keep The Organization’s Goals In Mind

Organizational objectives remain at the heart of the servant leadership model. Even when emphasizing team involvement, this remains true.

Accordingly, bear these objectives in mind. It would be best if you kept the needs of any one person from causing you to stray from these goals.

With the company's future in mind, it is your responsibility as team leader to steer everyone toward a rational conclusion.

Learn How To Develop Others Holistically

various leadership styles take various tacks when it comes to staff development. Increasing output per worker is usually the target. It doesn't matter whether the leadership style is authoritarian or democratic.

The servant leadership paradigm recognizes the significance of efficiency and output. Equally important, however, is coaching each team member to improve their performance.

• Decision-making skills
• Communication skills
• Big-picture thinking

The team's performance will increase if you take a more comprehensive approach to developing your subordinates. It has the added benefit of boosting staff involvement.

Both the employees and the company's points of view are positively impacted by engagement since the former experiences more job fulfillment. Companies may boost their bottom line by as much as 24% by tracking employee engagement.

Servant Leadership Pros And Cons

Depending on the situation, a particular leadership style may be more appropriate than another. Each style has its own set of pros and cons. A leadership style grid will show that servant leaders are more concerned with people's well-being when their scores are higher.

Among the many benefits of servant leadership are the following: respect for leaders from their employees, a shared vision, increased trust between leaders and employees, leaders who listen to staff are more likely to foster innovation, and individuals who are able to grow professionally and personally in an encouraging setting.

There are a number of drawbacks to servant leadership, including the fact that very few leaders have actually practiced it, the fact that it can be challenging to implement cultural changes, the fact that decisions can be slow, which is problematic during times of crisis, and the possibility that employees will be overloaded with responsibility.

Pros Of Servant Leadership

• Focuses on the development and advancement of others.
• It has the potential to boost efficiency, creativity, and teamwork.
• Facilitates an atmosphere free from fear of failure.
• Minimizes employee attrition and disengagement.
• Grows confidence among executives.

Cons Of Servant Leadership

• There is a higher risk of burnout for servant leaders.
• Resource intensive.
• Challenging to educate other leaders to put service before themselves.
• It may take more time to do things or notice results.
• It may come off as lacking strength.

Examples Of Servant Leadership

Agile development environments on Scrum teams are the most common places to see servant leadership in the IT sector. While not often in a leadership role, the Scrum Master is an integral part of an agile team, collaborating closely with other members to define requirements, map out sprint plans, and overcome obstacles.

Many well-known corporate executives have served as servant leaders, including Alan Mulally of Ford Motor Company, Susan Wojcicki of YouTube, Paul Polman of Unilever, Howard Schultz of Starbucks, Tim Cook of Apple, and many more.

The businessworld looks up to these and many more individuals who are said to be excellent models of servant leadership. Success rather than profit is the primary motivator for these leaders, and they are also risk-averse.

Servant Leadership FAQs About Servant Leadership

What Is The Definition Of Servant Leadership?

Servant leadership promotes employee development, well-being, and empowerment. It promotes an inclusive workplace where employees may flourish as themselves.

Who Is The Best Example Of Servant Leadership?

The most famous servant leaders in history are Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther King Jr.

What Is Servant Leadership And Its Characteristics?

A servant leader promotes others and values-driven organizations that create fair, compassionate, and sustainable communities. A servant leader values collaboration as essential to an organization's development and success.

What Is A Servant's Attitude?

Similar to humility, servant leaders accept that they may not always be correct. They hear. They accept and act on the belief that others have valuable ideas. They must find the finest ideas, not simply theirs.

What Is A Faithful Servant Leader?

True servant leaders demonstrate a vision for the business and inspire a team to share it as they solve both failings. This lets your team own their unique contributions to the idea.

The Sum

Servant Leadership is a transformative philosophy prioritizing service, collaboration, and positive culture. What is Servant Leadership? It's not just a style but a holistic approach to reshaping leadership for inclusive and empathetic success.