While studying servant leadership I have taken the time to reflect on the people that have been leaders in my life and me as a leader. As we begin our careers we feel the sense that we will be successful and find a sense of accomplishment along the way. I have noticed along the way that there are people that are able to achieve greatness in their careers very quickly and some of us take a little longer to get there.
I often wondered what were the differences between the two types of people. In my mind I always felt that the person that was able to rise quickly up the ladder of success had a better leader or mentor than the person the did rise so quickly. This may have been true or not. I spent some time thinking what could have been the difference. I see that some leaders that I have worked with or along side of were able to make a decision to put there workers ahead of them in order for their success. This really made no sense in that I would think why would do that and put your own success at risk.
In reality the leaders that I worked with that put the workers ahead of them was working towards their goal. The goal being that they developed a person to be more than what they were when they started. I read about Greenleaf and his explanation of the process and came across this question, Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? (Greenleaf.org) I guess if I had to answer it the leaders that I reflected on did this in their own way to make sure the people that worked for them were able to grow as individuals and employees then in return do the same for others.
Getting back to the two types of people, I think that the ones that were able to grow quicker than the others in their field of work were fortunate even if they did not realize it that their leader put their interests first in order for them to take the steps needed to achieve success. For the other people maybe their leaders need to ask the question of themselves more often what have I done to help me to help you find success.
references:
https://greenleaf.org/what-is-servant-leadership/
Kevin M Mcbreen says
Help me help you:
When I was younger and just starting my career path I too though that success would have come much faster than it did. After having now 18 plus years in my field and 14 of those years working under the same boss (mentor) I understand why my climb to success has taken so long. My boss has been mentoring me using a servant leadership approach. Just this past year have I realized that successful people lead successful people. Being a good leader doesn’t mean trying to be king of the hill and stand above everyone else. A good leader is walking with his/or her troops, encouraging them and motivating them to their fullest potential.
Great post by the way!
David Becker says
I have also thought about all the different leaders in my life and found that the good ones use Servant Leadership to some degree. My first Leading Petty Officer (LPO) taught me that by making sure your people are successful makes you look successful. My first LPO worked hard to make sure I got to go to schools for my military development and advancement. He seemed more concerned with my career and helping me reach my goals than his own career. My first LPO ensured I had the training, experience, and was psychologically stable to be successful (Northouse, 2013).
I have taken my first LPO example of Servant Leadership and integrated it into my own style of leadership. In this way his example and all the help he provided me, developed me into a Servant Leader as well (Northouse, 2013). I have found that by helping my own subordinates to be successful in their own career has yielded great dividends. These dividends have not only been in the success of my own career but in the strong relationships I have made with subordinates. I have found it to be a useful network of people that help make me more efficient as a leader. I would also agree that people grow faster in their career field if they are lucky enough to have a Servant Leader guiding them along the way.
References:
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Inc.
Shannon Royal Allamon says
This was a well-thought out and refreshing post contained with a lot of great views. I agree that servant leadership is one of the most effective, successful, and rewarding forms of leadership. This form of leadership is focused on developing and supporting subordinates to their fullest potential. Servant leadership not only allows employees to be mentored but also allows an individual to learn about themselves as a leader. For instance, a leader can lean how to adapt behaviors to different situations that involve supporting your subordinates emotionally or psychologically. Also, leaders who utilize this method enhance organizational performance through open communication and trust-based relationships. An open and cohesive work environment lead to employees being more involved, satisfied, productive, and motivated.