“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (The NIV Study Bible, Luke 6.31). This oft quoted, easy to comprehend but extremely difficult to live by rule is the mindset that drives the theory of Servant Leadership. Servant Leadership is a relatively new theory that is derived from the writings of Robert K. Greenleaf in 1970 and turns expectations on leaders upside down, putting the emphasis on the follower’s growth and success rather than his or her own (Northouse, 2013). Although not applicable in all situations or industries, Servant Leadership and the spirit of the Golden Rule offer tremendous upside in and outside of the organization.
The term Servant Leadership appears to be contradiction. We’ve been conditioned through experiences, books, TV and other media, and the majority of leadership theories to think of leaders as setting the vision, driving forward through force of will, pushing their followers to execute the plan, elevating themselves above their followers and maybe even yelling to do so! Counter to pulling or pushing followers, Servant Leadership accomplishes success for the team and organization through meeting followers’ needs. Path-goal theory has a hint of this as well, as leaders meet followers where they are at in their maturation, coaching and supporting followers to achieve their objectives (Northouse, 2013). Servant Leadership takes this to the next level by prescribing how leaders can put their followers first, actively tending to not only their business needs, but also their personal and emotional needs (Northouse, 2013). Reflecting back again on the Golden Rule, the mindset that a leader must get into for successful Servant Leadership is one of empathy and understanding. They do this by going beyond removing obstacles, to helping followers heal, grow, and succeed -essentially how the leaders would would want to be treated.
Sounds daunting, maybe even exhausting doesn’t it? In practice, Servant Leadership can in fact be exhausting and time consuming, but the rewards and the long-term effectiveness of this approach may be more efficient in the end. The model of Servant Leadership (shown below), offers a framework for applying the approach, which is built off of the ten characteristics (e.g., listening, empathy, awareness etc.), described by Greenleaf (Northouse, 2013).
While the above model looks clean and perhaps even simple, execution can be a major challenge if attempted without the right purposes or mindset. The antecedents help to assess whether the situation fits for Servant Leadership. For example, some cultures support a large distance between leader and follower that would make the closeness required for the behaviors in the middle box near impossible. Additionally, some leaders may not possess the maturity or ethics to carry out the behaviors in an authentic manner and some followers may not want the perceived intrusion of a leader exhibiting the behaviors. If conditions are ripe, the leader can move through the behaviors as needed to help achieve the outcomes. A quick fly-by sentence like that obviously doesn’t suffice, so allow me to provide a practical example.
Reorganizations within companies are typically intended to create synergies, tighter alignment, remove redundancies, etc. Often, there are side effect to reorganizations -collateral damage such as decreases in employee morale and self-confidence, fractured relationships, physical moves that are taken as negative, and for some, an immediate “fish out of water” syndrome. Our leader, Sarah, wishes to exhibit Servant Leadership and has her eyes on the positive outcomes of Organizational Performance and Follower Performance and Growth. First she must take stock of the situation, or conceptualize. The problems are sometimes obvious and other times very subtle, so identifying what is wrong and getting the team on course to achieve the goals of the organization, while justifying the reorg, requires establishing trust and openness so that the root cause of issues are uncovered and healing can begin. Let’s assume one team member, Jeff, has been moved around the organization often and his last manager was an oppressive and unappreciative type that broke Jeff’s will and, subsequently, he is considered an under-performer on his last legs with the company. It may require a lot of every Servant Leader Behavior in the above model above to save Jeff’s career. There may be so many burnt bridges that daily conversations, which might seem like mini-counseling sessions to Sarah, will be required for him to heal. This is the time to reflect on the Golden Rule…
How would Sarah like to be treated by a new manager if she were in the same situation?
Sarah will have to put Jeff in situations where he can succeed, make sure he receives regular praise, and co-create a development plan that helps Jeff fill gaps or patch the cracks in his skill-set. Sarah will also need to exhibit consistent, caring behavior. She’ll have to be empathetic and willing to deeply listen without becoming his babysitter. As he makes positive progress, she can give him more responsibility and accountability and give him opportunities to succeed that provide visibility as well.
None of these things are easy or quick and it will certainly take Sarah more work than barking out orders and taking no questions. In the end though, if she is successful in helping Jeff grow and become a productive, effective employee, the benefits will pay off ten-fold. The other team members will see the commitment and caring Sarah showed their team member and have increased trust and confidence in her as their leader. Jeff will know the effort she went through to help turn his career around and be very grateful and loyal. I would also wager that Jeff would likely behave in a similar manner to Sarah’s with his colleagues and others, especially when they are in need. This should make the whole team more effective and thereby add value to the company as well.
Appreciating the potential of Servant Leadership is relatively easy but executing it deliberately is a steep challenge. Having the right motives or a “Golden Rule Mindset” and working practically through the model of Servant Leadership should produce outcomes that makes the hard work pay off for your company. An additional benefit of this approach, is that it often creates a pay-it-forward domino effect through which followers exhibit the same characteristics, such as putting others first (Northouse, 2013). In the end, that might bring the most satisfaction and pride to Servant Leaders.
References:
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice (Sixth ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
The NIV Study Bible. Ed. Kenneth Barker. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995. Print.
Great entry Matt. For anyone look for a follow up on this idea, there is a classic article written by a renowned leadership author:
Prentice, W.C.H. (2004). Understanding Leadership. Harvard Business Review, 82, 102-109.