Understanding the concept of servant leadership is one thing, but deciding if it’s the right leadership approach for an individual is quite another. Most people likely consider servant leadership as coming naturally as an extension of a person’s qualities and characteristics. An interesting concept is that a person can actually choose to adopt servant leadership as a leadership approach in his or her organization. In their article Five Necessary Attitudes of a Servant Leader, Larry Boone and Sanya Makhani (2012) assert that by reviewing the attitudes they have identified, a person can decide whether or not servant leadership will be a good fit as a leadership style. This assertion agrees with that of Northouse (2012) stating that anyone can learn to become a servant leader.
Servant leadership has been defined in several ways; it focuses on a leader’s behaviors, and emphasizes that leaders “be attentive to the concerns of their followers, empathize with them, and nurture them” (Northouse, 2012). What sets servant leadership apart from other approaches and theories that focus on leader behaviors is its emphasis on the development of followers (Northouse, 2012).
The model of servant leadership shows the relationships between antecedent conditions, servant leader behaviors, and outcomes; leader attributes like characteristics and attitudes determine and contribute to behaviors like conceptualizing and empowering, which results in outcomes like follower growth (Northouse, 2012). Leader characteristics, including listening, empathy, awareness, persuasion, foresight, and commitment to the growth of people, are an important aspect of servant leadership (Northouse, 2012). Attitudes, according to Boone and Makhani (2012) are critical as determinants of the behaviors that result in positive outcomes.
“Visioning isn’t everything, but it’s the beginning of everything” (Boone & Makhani, 2012). For a leader to lead, he has to know where he wants his followers to go. Leaders influence followers to accomplish a goal, and goal-setting requires leaders to both have and communicate a vision (Boone & Makhani, 2012). A person lacking the ability to look forward will have a very hard time inspiring or motivating others to follow his lead.
“Listening is hard work requiring a major investment of personal time and effort – and it is worth every ounce of energy expended” (Boone & Makhani, 2012). A leader should not influence followers to accomplish a goal that only he has in mind. Instead, leaders must work with followers to determine a collective goal, and then inspire and motivate them to achieve that goal. If a person is too busy listening to his own voice to hear his followers’ voices, he will not be able to effectively identify their needs or a collective goal, and will face difficulty in demonstrating to his followers that he understands their needs or can help them to achieve their goals.
“My job involves being a talent scout and committing to my staff’s success” (Boone & Makhani, 2012). A leader should be able to recognize followers’ strengths, and not only identify the ways those strengths can benefit the organization, but also help the followers to see how they can use their strengths to contribute toward goal achievement. On the other side of the coin, a servant leader should be able to recognize weaknesses, and work with followers to figure out the best ways around the obstacles those weaknesses may create in the workplace. The success of the leader and followers rely on one another; if followers have failed, so has the leader.
“It is good to give away my power” (Boone & Makhani, 2012). Leaders should be prepared to not only help their followers find their wings, but also to allow them to fly. The power associated with leadership is probably the most difficult part of servant leadership; the servant leader’s focus should remain on empowering and developing followers rather than on hoarding power. Boone and Makhani (2012) quote Maxwell as stating that “only secure leaders give power to others.” Empowerment means literally to give power or to enable (Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 2013).
“I am a community builder” (Boone & Makhani, 2012). Servant leaders, by sharing a vision, listening to followers, and recognizing and utilizing the strengths of followers, build a community of people united by a collective goal. Servant leadership incorporates directive, supportive, and participative behaviors, and requires the leader to work closely with followers to bring together the right people and reinforce the values and goals of the organization (Boone & Makhani, 2012).
A person may possess the right blend of characteristics and qualities to lead, but servant leadership relies heavily on the attitudes that determine how those characteristics translate to behaviors. Servant leadership is not for everyone; it truly takes a person who can put himself last, and who can commit to helping followers to grow and develop.
References:
Boone, L. W., & Makhani, S. (2012). Five Necessary Attitudes of a Servant Leader. Review of Business, 33(1), 83-96.
Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. (2013). Empowerment. Retrieved from Dictionary: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empowerment
Northouse, P. G. (2012). Leadership: Theory and Practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc.
In my blog I wrote about Servant Leadership as well. I took a different approach about how I was supported by a leader who showed the servant characteristics of Greenleaf which Northouse (2013) described listening, empathy, awareness, foresight, commitment to the growth, of people and the community. I had not thought about the approach that you took that an organization might want to adopt the servant leadership approach into their organization, I was writing about it as a personal choice from the individuals’ perspective.
I can see huge benefits in the business world if businesses were trained in servant leadership. This form of leadership helps bridge the gaps some organizations have between leaders and followers. It almost feels in today’s business world that there are communication barriers between leaders and followers. Some followers feel like their opinion does not matter. Your reference from Boone and Makhani (2012), “It is good to give away power is an example of that”. Sometimes if leaders give up some power it allows others to grow, develop, and creates a sense of pride in the workplace. By doing this leaders can build an atmosphere of trust between leaders and followers for the good of the organization.
Reference
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice (Sixth edition). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.