As mentioned in my previous article, ‘ How to become a good leader ‘, the rise to leadership begins with an intention. That of placing oneself at the service of others and leaving one’s ego at the door. To be honest, this is my vision of leadership, because I am a big fan of servant leadership .
Let’s demystify what servant leadership is and how this approach could help us in the quest to improve management within our companies.
Servant leadership is a practice where the leader places himself at the service of his team with the aim of ensuring that their needs are always met. This with the aim of supporting, developing and empowering the members of its team.
It is important to understand that this is often accompanied by a culture change so it will require significant effort initially before the change is adopted and understood by the team.
However, if the leader remains consistent and constant in his approach, it will increase the commitment and sense of belonging of employees, reduce absenteeism or presenteeism (showing up to work with body and not mind) and will promote the use of team members’ creativity.
Impact on business performance
These changes will have a major impact on the team’s performance, and therefore on the bottom line generated by the company. Although we must favor human approaches during our management to maintain our position as leader of a work team, it would be hypocritical to believe that the primary goal of most companies is not to make profits.
For NPOs and other social enterprises, although money is not the primary goal, everyone seeks operational excellence and the elimination of waste.
The word waste in the current situation refers to the 7 wastes of Lean Manufacturing which are:
- Overproduction which is producing too early or in too large a quantity
- Waiting times which are resource inactivity times
- Transport which is an unnecessary movement of materials
- Excess inventory which is excess stock at all levels of production
- Unnecessary movement of workers and equipment
- Inappropriate processes which is the use of ineffective methods
- Defects which are defective products or components requiring correction or scrap
The 8th waste: human potential
Many, like me, consider that human development is the main element allowing companies to surpass their limits or their competitors. There is an 8th waste that is almost always neglected: forgetting to use the full potential of your employees, colleagues and collaborators.
Servant leadership works in perfect harmony with this desire to eliminate 8th waste. From my point of view, I consider eliminating this 8th waste as the starting point for eliminating the other 7.
Why?
We agree that the employees who carry out daily tasks are the people with the most knowledge about what works and the problems they encounter every day.
Normally, they are too close to the wall to see the possibilities for improvement. If you ask them about why tasks are done the way they are now, most of the time the answer will be: because we have always done things this way.
Continuous improvement and work-life balance
According to a quote from Ingvar Kamprad , founder of Ikea, the most dangerous poison is the feeling of accomplishment. The antidote is to think, every evening, what can be done better tomorrow.
I like this quote because it tells us that we must always work to improve the situation. A small downside, however, for your employees is that it goes against a healthy work-family balance if everything is in excess. It is important to unhook.
I could be changed to: think, every day, while at work, about what could be accomplished better.
Rest time, at home, in the evenings, will allow your employees to be in a better position at work and therefore more creative.
Role of the leader in innovation
If we return to the classic response from employees that the task has always been accomplished this way, the role of the leader is not to invalidate the answers received, but to question employees about the possibilities of doing the tasks differently and better .
Analyzing the different stages of production with your team and giving process specialists space to think freely allows you to try new working methods. We thus open the door to improvement and at the same time the elimination of one or more wastes.
I hope this article inspires you to learn more about servant leadership. My next article will deal with a false belief held by certain people. That of believing that placing oneself in the service of others means letting one’s employees do whatever they want. Don’t laugh, I’ve received this comment a few times.
Need help to take action or simply to clarify the next steps to take? Do not hesitate to contact me . It is with pleasure that I support you in your new challenges.
Carl-Michaël Tessier – Manager and Team Leader
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