Servant Leadership
"Servant-leadership is all about making the goals clear and then rolling your sleeves up and doing whatever it takes to help people win. In that situation, they don't work for you, you work for them." ― Ken Blanchard
There are so many great quotes on servant leadership and rightly so, as those who have become great leaders quickly recognized that being a leader is being a servant first. This has been modeled by many great leaders throughout history. I have covered this topic in the monthly thought before but I believe it is important to reinforce it and especially as we start a new year.
Our country recently mourned the passing of President George H. W. Bush. President Bush was a good example for all of us on how to be a good leader and be humble. He had many great quotes but perhaps one of my favorites was “don’t confuse being soft with seeing the other person’s point of view”.
Sometimes I think people view servant leadership as being a “weak” leader. To the contrary, respect from and for others is something that you earn and exhibit. It doesn’t make you a weak leader but rather a strong and confident leader, as President Bush so eloquently stated.
No matter where you are in the organization, you should have an attitude of servant leadership, and treat others with dignity and respect.
In one of the organizations that I was proud to lead as the President & CEO, I spent the bulk of the first 3 to 4 months after the strategy was developed to communicate such strategy and vision throughout the organization and established measurements and accountabilities for each of the strategic objectives. Then, I did my best to equip the people and let them do their jobs while challenging them and pushing them along the way. Bottom line…I got out of the way and tried to serve their needs as best I could to help them, and the organization win.
What has been your experience with your supervisors who have displayed servant leadership in how they approached working with you or with others? My guess is that not only were you excited to work with them, but the organization was successful as well.
Perhaps a great way to start the new year is to think about how you can become a great servant leader!!
Happy New Year!!
Rod
Philippians 2:5-7: In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in hu