Servant Leadership Definition
So, what does servant leadership mean? How can we define ‘servant leadership’?
The original modern derivation is thought to belong to author Robert Greenleaf in his essay ‘The Servant as Leader’. In 1970, Greenleaf subscribed to the view that the leader should put the emphasis on what his/her team members require from the leader to become autonomous and free-thinking themselves.
He referred to the ‘leader-first’ and the ‘servant-first’ mentalities. A leader-first mindset, according to Greenleaf, was espoused as ‘the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid”. Also, the leader-first syndrome was seen as occupying positions of power, and came across as ‘often large, complex, powerful, impersonal; not always competent; sometimes corrupt’.
Greenleaf wanted to promote the concept of an opposing viewpoint, driven by the rapidly evolving concepts of altruism and self-sacrifice, determined by new styles of businesses and ‘new regenerative forces operating within them’. Larry Spears, CEO of the Greenleaf Centre for Servant Leadership, stated in an interview:
“Greenleaf credited his reading of Hesse’s 1932 book, Journey to the East, as the personal source of inspiration in his coining the term, ‘servant-leader’ in his 1970 essay, The Servant as Leader.”
(Dittmar, James K. (September 2006). “An Interview with Larry Spears”. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies. 13 (1): 108–118)
His work quickly gained interest and ideas pertaining to the philosophy spread during the next few years.
So, in reality, what does servant leadership mean? How can we define the term ‘servant leadership’? Here are some examples.
“Servant leaders should seek to be servants first, to care for the needs of all others around them, in order to ensure growth of future leaders” Robert Greenleaf
“Stewards who are entrusted to develop and empower followers to reach their fullest potential” Sendjeya and Sarros
“The authority figure intends to promote the well-being of those around him or her. Servant leadership involves the individual demonstrating the characteristics of empathy, listening, stewardship, and commitment to personal growth toward others” Investopedia.com
The overall impression is one of caring, showing empathetic symptoms and highlighting interests of others above themselves. But it also goes deeper and more emphatic than simply showing altruism to others. Devoting our leadership skills simply to being the type of person who is at the beck and call of others would quickly make the leader and their department less competitive and taken advantage of.
Let’s look closer at what the whole concept of servant leadership conveys.
Servant Leadership Theory Explained
Above are the seven pillars from Sipe’s and Frick’s studies, that support the concept of servant leadership principles.
There are many servant-leader characteristics and principles that can be applied in the workplace. Servant leadership books confirm the theories first mentioned by Robert Greenleaf and others.
James Sipe and Don Frick in their seminal book ‘The seven pillars of servant leadership’ espouse that there are seven supports that can be developed by any leader in their quest to demonstrate servant-leadership.
When displayed effectively, the leader can demonstrate the perspective that serving others within the established organisation can lead to a furtherance of engagement and motivation within team members.
Sipe and Frick purported in their servant leadership book that within every employee there is a desire to control their own growth and progress, with the support mechanisms aligned with the servant-leader model as one that develops this initiative within the employee.
There are other facets of the model that can be determined as having impact on the results the servant leader is trying to achieve. Let’s look at just two:
Employee engagement and commitment
It’s often been rightly determined that a major contributor to the effectiveness of any business is the commitment and engagement of their employees. Much of this can be attributed to the specific management style.
Servant leadership can be seen to have an effect on the relationship between the employee and the manager. The method considers that the manager makes their employee the number one priority, putting their overall well-being ahead of all other components of the business. Hence the employee feels trusted and may be obligated to reciprocate this form of relationship.
Trust is built up and the employee feels responsible to their manager in creating higher performance and better results. Hence their engagement and commitment improves. It can also be seen that the reduction in employee turnover is increased when servant leadership is employed.
Following their leader’s role, employees’ commitment to the organisation is affected and improved.
Overall performance on the job
The servant-leadership approach tends to give people a sense of support and well-being, and can also heighten job performance and engagement from employees.
Setting overall goals in a servant leadership manner helps individuals to see that their performance is not being measured simply by top-down criteria, but also by a change in the hierarchy of the organisation and particularly of the department . This “bottom-up” style fills the needs of the employees first, and that elicits engagement and commitment from people working for their leader.
Servant leadership can have a big effect on the overall relationship between colleagues as well. When colleagues talk to each other about the leadership style and what goes on behind closed doors they are more likely to agree that their leaders see them as key components in the success of the business, rather than just an asset that they have to manage.
These principles can be put in place at various levels within the organisation and can be demonstrated as providing further engagement in the working environment for staff lead in this way.
Examples Of Servant Leadership In Business
We all love a good case study in the Leadership Development Training that we run so this blog should be no different! So, what are some of the ways that servant leadership mentality is being used in business today?
Some of the main benefits of servant leadership is to develop others, to drive a vision that inspires people, to get employees to buy into a better future, and build cohesion for the future.
Many organisations have introduced the concept of servant leadership, with varying degrees of success. Here are some examples of servant leadership in action:
FedEx
The US delivery company, founded in 1971 by Fred Smith, developed a servant leader culture, allowing the company to thrive and grow accordingly.
Their philosophy of ‘People-Service-Profit’ could only work if it was embedded into every decision that the company made. In fact, Smith’s quote of “when people are placed first, they will provide the highest possible service, and profits will follow“ has become a mantra that everyone in the company demonstrates, or they risk going against company culture.
Starbucks
The overall culture of social responsibility that the company drives is deeply rooted in the concept and philosophy of servant leadership, as demonstrated especially by its founder Howard Schultz. After setting up the company, he wanted its culture to reflect the ‘future-focused’ ideology of ‘putting our people first’.
The servant leader philosophy fitted nicely into the big plans he had for the business and it is still championed in the way the company wants their people to thrive and develop in their careers.
TD Industries
How would you like to work for a company with these core values?
- Build and Maintain Trusting Relationships
- Fiercely Protect the Safety of All Partners
- Lead with a Servant’s Heart
- Passionately Pursue Excellence
- Celebrate the Power of Individual Differences
They define the culture of the mechanical construction and facilities services company, TD Industries, based out of Dallas, Texas.
They place the emphasis on servant leadership, with their key messages including “we have a diverse, people-centered culture built on a foundation of trust. We accomplish this through a Servant Leadership philosophy that puts others first.”
Fine words, but they prove this adage by walking the talk and getting their people to re-enforce their philosophies in the community whenever possible.
Nordstrom
Nordstrom are renowned for their extremely popular customer-centric focus and way of marketing their stores in America .
One thing that isn’t known about them very well is the organisational model that inverts the normal hierarchical pyramid.
Each staff member (known as partners) is seen as a leader in their own right. This attitude encourages staff to make decisions based on their own common sense. This can only happen with a servant leadership mentality that Nordstrom possesses in spades.
The Nordstrom brothers themselves started off in the stockroom and worked their way up. Their business philosophy as they built their business reflected ideally the servant leadership mentality.
Each of these businesses evoke a familiar emotional connection to their staff, partners and customers, driven by an unending desire to support their people and help them bring their best selves to work every day. They display very well the concept of servant leadership in action.
The Pros and Cons of Servant Leadership
Having got this far, we can be forgiven for thinking servant leadership should be the panacea that will solve all business challenges for leaders. But, for the sake of balance, let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of the philosophy, so we can weigh up when it’s good to develop this style and when it’s not so good.
The power of servant leadership
- Servant leaders earn respect from their employees
- It boosts team morale across the workforce
- Employees realise that management is looking out for their higher interests
- People feel more valued in their roles
- Companies share their vision and mission more openly, allowing people to buy into them and be inspired by them
- Because people feel trusted, they pass on that trust in their dealings with customers
- People involved in decision-making processes feel more confident that their views are taken into account when businesses challenges are being faced
- Leaders take into account the views of staff and show more empathy for their positions
- It builds pride in the minds of people working there, as they see their business as one they would choose to work for rather than just doing a job there
- Staff grow and develop their skills faster in an environment that supports advancement, decision-making, growth opportunities and collaboration between teams
Servant Leadership weaknesses
- Not many leaders and managers have grown up with this philosophy, so it may take time and effort for leaders to change their thinking
- Training managers to adopt the philosophy may need a change of cultural awareness, as staff may not have encountered this way of interacting
- Because staff will be involved in decision-making, it may take longer for those decisions to be bounced around and conclusions reached
- In crises situations, staff often look to leaders to take control and make fast decisions, something that servant leadership does not promote
- Staff may not have the confidence or capability to drive the business forward, hence leaving the business exposed if the decisions are critical to successful market competitiveness
- A mixture of different leadership styles exhibited by hierarchical enterprises may confuse people, as they don’t know which path to follow, especially if a different style or method has been used for a length of time
So, here we can see the differences between the power of servant leadership and servant leadership weaknesses. Servant leadership may not be the right set-up for every organisation, but in many cases, the pros outweigh the cons if the culture of the company can support the changes in leadership style. Any servant leadership book will extol the virtues of the philosophy, but you also have to identify when it may not be the most appropriate model to follow.
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