My daughter has been working for the same company for two and a half years which is pretty long for a young woman. Her situation came to mind when reading this week’s lesson on servant leadership. She has been a dedicated employee who works hard, picks up extra shifts, fills in where needed and goes that extra mile to get her job done. This year she got a new store manager. The new store manager took notice of how she performed and dedicated herself to helping my daughter move up in the company. This leader was committed to the growth of her employees and empathized with them in their need to grow as an employee. We learned that a servant leader, has the following characteristics, listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, and building community (PSU WC, 2014, L.11). This leader took the time to listen to my daughter’s aspirations to grow in the company. At first my daughter thought she was hearing the same old song and dance that she has heard in the past from other managers who ended up being transferred to a new store or leaving for personal reasons.
She found a second job because she was not getting enough hours to survive. Well all of the sudden, an opportunity arose where she could move up into a management type position. This new manager and another manager who has worked with her these last few years highly recommended her. This new manager recognized her contributions and put her first by helping her to get this promotion. According to Northouse (2013), “in regards to follower performance and growth, the servant leader behaviors focus directly in recognizing followers’ contributions and realizing their human potential” (p. 230). In the end she was hired for this new position at a different store. Now she feels great to be given more responsibility and the trust with the company has been reinstated. This leader helped grow the community at this other store by placing an employee who is motivated and empowered to lead others in her team.
This is a clear example of how servant leadership works. We learned in the lesson this week that servant leadership is where a leader puts its followers or in this case associates needs first and helps them to succeed (PSU WC, 2014, L.11). This new manager built a relationship with my daughter which will empower her to grow to her full potential (PSU WC, 2014, L.11). She will succeed at this new position because she is dedicated to her job. This is a promotion she was looking for a long time because it will allow her to grow her potential and use the skills she has learned through the years. She is in empowered to motivate others and put other associates first in order to help them succeed in growing their full potential. In the end this will help the company to perform at its maximum because they are empowering someone that has a strong worth ethic that will pay it forward. We learned in this lesson that servant leadership involves empowering your followers by putting their needs first and which encourages the follower to become a servant leader which allows everyone to perform at their maximum potential (PSU WC, 2014, L.11). In the end there are positive outcomes for the follower, the leader, and the company.
References:
Pennsylvania State University. (2014). Leadership in Work Settings. Retrieved at: https://cms.psu.edu
Northouse, P.G., (2013) Leadership: Theory and Practice. California. SAGE Publications, Inc.
Michelle Jane Chervenak says
I was glad to hear that your daughter was given an opportunity to advance her career and found a leader who could demonstrate that servant leadership was successful. I have worked in several companies where there was no display of servant leadership. Turnover rates are very high and management does not show any concern for their followers except to complete job requirements and tasks at hand. I have always been a hard worker and, like your daughter, I have been in situations where management had noticed my dedication and hard work, but have either not helped me grow to my full potential, or have left the job before they could do so. I think that this is an example of how everyone can benefit and succeed, including leaders, followers, and the company, when servant leadership is demonstrated. Thank you for sharing your story. I hope the best for your daughter.
Heather Bennett says
Thanks for sharing your story about your daughter. Did your daughter find it ironic that when she told her manager about getting the second job that a management position had opened up? I wonder what would’ve happened if she hadn’t needed to get another job in order to survive?
According to the lesson, “Servant leadership aims to develop followers into leaders in their own right. People who are more developed are able to think for themselves and as a result are able to act on their own to get things done, which allows the leader to focus on other things” (PSU, WC, L. 11, p. 3). I wonder if because your daughter seemed to be more developed, the leader was torn between giving her this opportunity to be a manager in another store. She knew how great your daughter was and how because of that she was able to focus on things she needed to focus on. I am sure she knew letting her go was the right and best choice but she struggled with it until she was forced with making the decision when your daughter approached her with a second job.
Do you agree? Do you think this is a problem for leaders? To let great developed followers move on with the next step?
Ashley Rotell says
I think that it is wonderful that your daughter finally got the change to move up the chain of command that she so rightfully deserved. It is wonderful that she finally got a manager that not only listened to her, but who also followed through on their word to help her take a step up in the company.
The new manager your daughter was able to gain your daughters trust and form a relationship that allowed her to listen and empathize with her about how hard she was working at her job and it not getting noticed, or just getting overlooked. I believe your daughter will now have more empathy to her employees in her new position, because she knows what it is like to be overlooked by management. (Northouse, 2013. p. 221) Your daughter will have a better understanding when it comes to conceptualizing in her new position because she has such knowledge of her job and what it entails and what her employees should be working towards achieving. She will be able to better identify when things are going wrong and have more ways of resolving the issues because of her years on the job and experience. (Northouse, 2013. p.227)