Leading Through Service

Are you dedicated to helping others be their best selves? Whether it is in your home, your community, or your place of work you can serve — or lead— from any position or role.

The term servant leader might seem to be paradoxical at first. Can a servant lead?

The philosophy of servant leadership puts the needs of your team ahead of your short term goals and desires. As a servant leader you focus on developing the people around you and creating linchpins. The main focus of a servant leader is not dictating the work done, but promoting the performance of your employees. A servant leader looks at the needs of her team and asks how she can help to solve their problems — and help them grow.

“The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?”

— Robert Greenleaf, The Servant as Leader

Servant leaders believe that every person has value and deserves trust and respect. And that people can achieve much when they are empowered and have a purpose bigger than themselves.

Servant leadership deals with the reality of power in everyday life — its legitimacy, the ethical restraints upon it and the beneficial results that can be attained through the appropriate use of power. — The New York Times

What are the keys to servant leadership?

• Listen. Most people don’t know how to listen. They sit there, quietly waiting for their time to speak. Active listening requires presence and asking piercing questions. Really understand the problems (and the problem behind the problem).
• Mentor. Learn with your team. Focus on building capacities within your organization and help your team to get better every single day. Lead with learning.
• Feedback. Most people don’t know how to give feedback. And almost everyone I’ve met is uncomfortable receiving feedback. It’s a shame, because honest criticism is a gift. Start small, make it clear that your feedback is about the work — not the person. Provide analysis not opinions. And if you have something nice to say, make it known.
• Focus on We. It’s so easy to think about yourself, your needs, and your desires. But what if you focused on what we need to do as a team?

Servant leadership won’t transform your team or community overnight. It’s hard. But if you want to lead (and not just manage) you should begin by serving.

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