As mentioned in the article “The Key to Leadership; Serve to Better lead”, the journey to leadership begins with an intention: the intention of leading with heart by serving others and leaving ego at the door.
To be honest, this reflects my personal vision of leadership, as I am a strong proponent of servant leadership.
“Leadership is not about being in charge. Leadership is about taking care of those in your charge.” – Simon Sinek
What Is Servant Leadership?
Let’s demystify what servant leadership is and explore how this approach could help improve management within your organization.
Servant leadership is a practice in which the leader prioritizes serving their team to ensure its needs are met. The ultimate goal is to support, develop, and empower team members to become autonomous and successful.
Five Characteristics of a Servant Leader
Based on an article by Peyton Thompson from Charleston Southern University (April 11, 2023), here are five defining traits of servant leaders:
- They put others first:
- Motivated by altruism
- Focus on making decisions that are best for the group
- They add value to those around them:
- Aim to inspire and motivate
- Show gratitude and recognize contributions
- Highlight the importance of the team’s work
- They are good listeners:
- Practice active listening
- Stay open to learning
- Strive to understand before being understood
- Use others’ input to improve systems and processes
- They lead by example:
- Set the standard for how things should be done
- They value both results and relationships:
- Driven by excellence and achieving high goals
- Prioritize building strong relationships with those they lead
Active and Present Leadership
A servant leader doesn’t stay confined to their office, issuing orders. They are active and present on the floor, working alongside their team to contribute to its success. They respect team members’ experience, expertise, and knowledge, which are key to achieving great performance. Building trust requires not only leading but also showing trust in team members.
Cultural Change and Communication
Implementing servant leadership often involves a cultural shift, which can initially require significant effort. This shift must be communicated strategically to stakeholders.
A communication plan is essential. It outlines the actions required to promote the new management approach, ensuring intentions are clearly conveyed and resistance minimized.
The 10 Steps to an Effective Communication Plan:
- Define the general context:
- Team characteristics (shift schedules, diversity, skills, etc.)
- Define the project context:
- Stakeholders, resources, limitations
- Set SMART objectives:
- Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound
- Identify the target audience
- Develop communication strategies
- Craft the message
- Select communication methods
- Set a timeline and assign tasks
- Monitor and adapt
- Evaluate outcomes
The goal of this approach is to ensure that your intention behind this cultural change is clearly understood by your team members. Clear communication will give you the best chance to minimize resistance and maximize the likelihood of success.
This initiative is more likely to succeed if it is embraced at the top of the organizational hierarchy by company leaders. As a manager, you can rely on a general directive, which will make change management easier and allow for shared responsibilities within the communication plan.
You can implement this type of leadership or management style independently within your team. This is what I have done in all my management roles. However, it requires more effort because you are effectively isolated in adopting this approach. If other managers fail to understand the value of this method, they may become obstacles rather than allies in its implementation.
Trust the Process
Have confidence in the process—it works and is worth the initial effort it demands.
Points to Keep in Mind:
For employees accustomed to being told what to do and how to do it, the opportunity to gain greater autonomy and freedom in their responsibilities can initially feel unsettling.
In such moments, the leader must reiterate their trust in their team’s competencies and support them during the transition. It won’t always be easy, and this cultural shift will take time to demonstrate its full potential.
It is crucial for the leader to identify quick wins that can be implemented with their team to show that the method works and to convince skeptics to align with the new approach.
However, if the leader remains consistent and steadfast in their approach, adopting servant leadership as a management style will:
- Increase employee engagement and sense of belonging
- Reduce absenteeism or presenteeism (showing up physically but disengaged mentally)
- Encourage the use of team creativity
This shift ultimately fosters a more dynamic, collaborative, and productive work environment.
Impact on Business Performance
These changes will have a significant impact on team performance, which directly influences the company’s revenue. While adopting human-centric management approaches is essential for maintaining leadership in a team setting, it would be naive to ignore that the primary goal of most businesses is profitability.
For non-profits and other social enterprises, even though profit is not the primary objective, operational excellence and waste elimination remain universally sought-after goals.
In this context, waste refers to the seven wastes of Lean Manufacturing:
- Overproduction: Producing too early or in excessive quantities.
- Waiting: Idle time when resources are not being used.
- Transportation: Unnecessary movement of materials.
- Excess Inventory: Surplus stock at any production level.
- Motion: Unnecessary movement by workers and equipment.
- Over-processing: Using inefficient methods.
- Defects: Products or components requiring corrections or being scrapped.
The Eighth Waste: Human Potential
Many, including myself, believe that human development is the key element enabling businesses to exceed their limits and outperform competitors. The eighth waste, often overlooked, is the failure to fully utilize the potential of employees, colleagues, and collaborators.
Servant leadership aligns perfectly with the goal of eliminating this eighth waste. In my view, addressing this waste is the starting point for eradicating the other seven.
Why?
Employees who carry out daily tasks possess the most knowledge about what works and the challenges they face. However, they are often too close to the issues to see improvement opportunities. When asked why tasks are performed a certain way, their typical response is: “Because we’ve always done it this way.”
Continuous Improvement and Work-Life Balance
According to a quote by Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA:
“The most dangerous poison is the feeling of accomplishment. The antidote is to think every evening about what can be improved tomorrow.”
While inspiring, this mindset can conflict with work-life balance if employees continue to think about work improvements outside their working hours.
Instead, this philosophy could be adapted: “During working hours, consider daily how processes can be improved.” This allows employees to recharge during their time off, resulting in a better state of mind and increased creativity at work.
The Leader’s Role in Innovation
When employees respond with “We’ve always done it this way,” the leader’s role is not to dismiss their responses but to question the possibilities of doing things differently and better.
Analyzing production processes alongside the team and giving process specialists the freedom to reflect can lead to testing new methods. This opens the door to improvement while eliminating one or more forms of waste.
When employees feel heard and recognized for their contributions to process improvements, their engagement grows. This increases motivation and fosters a positive work environment. If the leader can influence natural leaders within the team, the entire group can gradually shift toward this new approach.
Building a Positive and Unified Team
The ultimate goal is to create a united team that works in a positive environment where healthy communication, respect, and collaboration drive success. This not only enhances team performance but also boosts the company’s financial outcomes.
A Win-Win Solution
The adoption of servant leadership empowers employees to innovate, eliminates waste, and aligns organizational goals with the well-being and development of its people—creating a true win-win scenario for all involved.
Discover the 5 Must-Ask Questions for Happy Teams
Do you want to better understand what motivates your team members and could help you create a happy team? My practical guide, 5 Must-Ask Questions for Happy Teams, is designed to provide you with simple and effective tools to:
- Create a climate of trust within your team
- Identify the true needs and aspirations of your employees
- Encourage meaningful conversations that foster collaboration
- Boost engagement and collective performance
- Anticipate and resolve challenges before they become obstacles
Carl-Michael Tessier
Coach in high-performance team development and tailor-made support
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