There are plenty of different types of leadership styles out there. And leadership trends over the years have certainly shifted. From “Who Moved My Cheese” to the “One-Minute Manager,” there are hordes of sound ideas for leaders to leverage. And the goal is to lead in such a manner that employees, colleagues, and subordinates all feel inspired to do their best, be more productive, and become loyal to the company mission. But what about leading with a servant’s heart?
Have you heard of this concept? It’s a respect-based leadership method whereby those who are led by someone actively practicing the servant leadership approach perform at a higher level. On its surface, servant leadership may sound like you’re giving up control, positioning, or authority. But you’re not, and when exploring the purpose and principles behind it, you’ll see why so many company leaders and professionals are taking a new approach to inspiring their teams.
In the Servant Leadership Method, People Come First
When you’re in a management position or leadership role, you’re responsible for metrics, performance, and people. You have to oversee policies and put out fires. You’re charged with solving new and emerging problems. And somewhere, in all that responsibility, you also have to be mindful of your leadership practices.
The key to adopting a servant leadership method lies with a constant reminder that regardless of the nature of your business offering, as a leader, you’re in the people business. People come first, so do their needs and preferences. Now, this, of course, doesn’t mean you have to be soft and let your teams run amuck. It does, however, mean viewing every engagement, company dynamic, issue, or conflict from a position of empathy.
Approach each conversation with respect and dignity in a way that allows you to rise above the minutia. There may be an acute problem. But taking the high-road and big-picture perspective, you can see deeper into the concern to find a more positive way forward.
For example, let’s imagine you have an employee who, for the last week, has been reporting late for work. Instead of approaching the employee with reprimands or write-ups, consider talking with the worker about why he’s been running late this week. Be kind and sincere about opening this dialogue. And when he tells you he’s recently moved his aging mother into his home and is still adjusting, you realize slapping him with disciplinary action isn’t appropriate. Maybe he just needs extra time to adjust to his new household dynamic. And a servant leader will look for ways to help ease that work-life balance during the transition.
In this situation, the results prove which style is most productive. If you come at this employee with reprimands, he’ll be compounded by stress at home and at work, likely resulting in poorer work performance. He might even build up some resentment with you or the company, feeling as though his employer doesn’t care about what is happening in his life. It could lead to him quitting or getting fired.
Alternatively, taking the servant leadership approach will reinforce this employee’s value and place in the organization. Supporting him will inspire loyalty. And focusing on finding solutions to help him through this time in his life will ensure he continues to be productive at work, despite having extra stress at home.
It’s About Them Achieving Their Goals
A strong leader knows success doesn’t lie with the success of one. Leading with a servant’s heart means recognizing the greatest success comes when those around you are striving for and reaching their own goals. When you make it easier or frictionless for subordinates to achieve their goals, you’ll move the whole company forward.
If you talk with your teams individually about their goals, look beyond the common responses like, “I have to pay my bills” or “I’m just trying to keep a roof over my head.” Look deeper into what fulfills them as a person, which could be a hobby, a cause they hold dear, or a personal life goal they have for themselves. As a leader, you have a valuable opportunity to provide meaning to their work and the job. And when you know what fulfills them individually, you can look for ways your company can connect to those core visions and purposes.
As an example, maybe you have an employee who’s been with your company for a while now. And in conversation one day, she tells you she regrets having not finished her college degree years ago. Based on her role with the company, she’s more than competent without the degree. But recognizing she has a personal desire to one day achieve it might present opportunities for you to help her get there.
Maybe you can’t offer a tuition reimbursement program for this employee. But you can encourage her to take the next steps to see what she needs to get that college degree. And you can maybe be flexible with her about working hours during the week to allow her to fit in a class schedule. Championing her efforts to achieve her personal goal will only solidify her place in the company and inspire a deeper loyalty.
Respecting Various Perspectives
People have different personal truths and experiences from which they draw information for making decisions, interacting with others, and behaving in general. You may not know these experiences first-hand or even agree with some of the perspectives among your ranks. But every single one is valid to that employee and deserves acknowledgment. Respect where others come from when they describe their views of a particular situation. It validates their voices and feelings, even if you disagree and take action in a different direction. Employees who feel heard are more productive than those who feel as though their perspectives don’t matter. And who knows. You might encounter something new or discover a new idea just by listening to the perspectives of others.
Planting Seeds for Future Leaders as You Go
You know that being a great leader means demonstrating impeccable leadership behavior. This still applies when you’ve adopted a servant’s leadership approach. When you demonstrate empathy in front of your teams, either with client interactions or fellow employee engagements, you’re essentially planting the seed for future leaders to emerge.
Remember, you won’t always see the immediate results. Not all employees are meant to be leaders, either. But when you lead empathetically and respectfully by example, you will be impacting that one person who is meant for leadership. It might be months or take years before you see that individual step into a management role or position of authority. But know your efforts directly encourage those who are meant to lead, lead.
Hiring for Character, Not Just Competence
When you approach your company interactions with a servant’s heart, you learn to recognize a new perspective. You’ll begin to see everyone’s character, not just job performance or the job. The character of your team will be what connects the people to the work and each other. Remember, character refers to the aspects of an individual that make a person unique and demonstrate the quality of nature. Behaviors and attitudes can be changed. Character usually cannot, at least not, without professional help.
When you’re onboarding new team members, you’ll look for character, not just competence. It’s the character that binds teams together, and without it, you’ll have employees that just won’t be a good fit. You might even be able to readily spot a few of these misaligned characters in your organization now. No matter how intelligent, great at the job, or downright brilliant they are, if they aren’t a good character match for the team, they’ll stick out like a sore thumb.
A New Way to Correct Missteps
Many assume that leading with a servant’s heart means you have to accommodate demands and manage loosely. But it’s actually the opposite. Correcting mistakes and handling discipline is still a critical management process. With that servant mentality, however, you’re approaching each potential conflict poised to deliver precise resolutions and next steps. Caring about employees as people will allow you to approach these corrective conversations knowing you’re authentically assisting them in being better.
You want them to succeed, at the job, in the role, and overall. The best way for them to reach their full potential is with your constant guidance in correcting missteps along the way. They’ll respect you for your approach. And they’ll appreciate your authenticity in coaching them to be better. Additionally, your courage to address the problems immediately will be contagious, as well.
Supporting Personal and Professional Success
That open-door policy still applies when leading with a servant’s heart. Your teams need to be comfortable coming to you with good things, goals, and issues. You’ll want them to tell you what their goals are so you can help them grow and achieve them. Personal and professional development plans with each employee will keep them moving toward betterment.
Heed the well-known Sir Richard Branson quote that says, “Train people well enough so they can leave; treat them well enough, so they never want to.”
Your To-Do List for Incorporating the Servant’s Leadership Methodology
Supporting employees will, in turn, drive your company growth and success. Without those valued team members, your business would certainly fail. You won’t be able to control your employees. So, in an effort to inspire and motivate them to be better, here is the shortlist of empathy-driven steps to adopt into your leadership strategy.
- Be an authentic listener
- Be fully present with every engagement
- Provide judgment-free feedback
- Take a personal interest in each employee
- Lead by example
- Encourage any and all ideas
- Address mistakes immediately and calmly
- Become an expert at non-verbal communication
People Analytics Can Help You Gauge Your Leadership Impact
Your plate is full. You likely have a million tasks and projects to oversee, in addition to managing your team or teams of employees. You’re just not going to have time to sit down and chat with every employee all the time. But what you can do is tap into some people analytics to help keep a finger on the pulse of your leadership impact.
Surveys are great tools, in part because they can be anonymous and repercussion-free. Employees will share how they feel about your overall effort to improve your engagement methods. Happiness surveys will tell you where your people stand in terms of how they feel about the company trajectory, the culture, and your leadership style. They’re also great tools for collecting fresh ideas for areas of improvement.
Combatting Stress in Today’s Workplace
If you still aren’t sure about adopting the servant’s heart method of leadership, consider this. Forbes says empathy is the most important leadership skill and muscle to flex of them all. Empathy is more important now than ever because the stress dynamics in today’s workplace are so complex. The data supports it, too. People are experiencing multiple layers of stress as a result of economic hardships, health concerns, the pandemic, and more. Leading from a perspective of empathy allows you to recognize these new stress factors and provide the needed support to keep your teams on track, supported, and growing.
Check out these stats:
- 42% of people admit experiencing a decline in mental health
- 57% of people report increased anxiety
- 54% of people say they’re emotionally tired
- 20% of people say stress affects their ability to concentrate
- 12% of people are still struggling to juggle responsibilities
Additionally, contributing to stress is the new strain on the work-life balance. Recent studies show that when work is high-pressure or stressful, sleep is compromised. One survey in particular by the University of Illinois found rude or condescending emails at work spills over into the personal life, affecting partner relationships and family engagements. And now that so many people are embracing the remote working environment, it’s even harder to separate the work-life dynamic.
If you’re looking inward and exploring new ways to improve your leadership practices, consider the servant’s leadership method. It’s deeply rooted in empathy and can have company-changing benefits across a variety of engagements.
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