3.7 Servant Leadership

Servant leadership flips the script on traditional top-down management. It's all about putting employees first, helping them grow, and sharing power. This approach can lead to happier, more engaged workers and better overall performance.

Key principles include listening, empathy, and persuasion. Servant leaders focus on long-term growth, not quick fixes. They aim to build strong communities within their organizations, fostering collaboration and innovation along the way.

Servant Leadership Philosophy

Core Tenets and Goals

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• Servant leadership is a leadership philosophy in which the main goal of the leader is to serve their followers, putting the needs of employees first and helping people develop and perform as highly as possible
• Servant leaders share power, put the needs of others first, and help people develop and perform as highly as possible
• Servant leadership inverts the norm, which puts the customer service associates as a main priority rather than the traditional top-down hierarchical approach
• Servant leadership incorporates service to others, a holistic approach to work, building a sense of community, and the sharing of power in decision making

Key Principles

• The principles of servant leadership include listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, and building community
• Listening involves actively seeking to identify and clarify the will of the group, listening receptively and reflectively to what is being and not being said
• Empathy means striving to understand and empathize with followers, accepting and recognizing them for their unique perspectives and gifts
• Healing refers to helping followers overcome personal challenges and make whole those with whom they come in contact
• Persuasion involves relying on persuasion rather than positional authority in making decisions, convincing others rather than coercing compliance
• Conceptualization is the ability to look at a problem or an organization from a big-picture perspective, thinking beyond day-to-day realities

Long-Term Behavioral Approach

• Servant leadership is not a leadership style or technique as such, but rather a way of behaving that is adopted over the longer term
• It complements other leadership styles such as transformational leadership but has a distinct focus on serving others first
• Servant leadership requires a sustained commitment to prioritizing followers' needs and development over time
• The principles and behaviors of servant leadership are cultivated and embodied by the leader in their day-to-day interactions and decision making

Servant Leader Characteristics

Listening and Empathy

• Servant leaders actively listen to their followers, seeking to identify and clarify the will of the group
• They listen receptively and reflectively to what is being and not being said, picking up on subtle cues and unspoken needs
• Servant leaders strive to understand and empathize with their followers, accepting and recognizing them for their unique perspectives and gifts
• They assume the good intentions of others and do not reject them as people, even when forced to reject their behavior or performance
• Empathy allows servant leaders to create strong interpersonal connections and build trust with their followers

Healing and Persuasion

• Servant leaders are adept at healing relationships and helping followers overcome personal challenges
• They recognize that they have an opportunity to help make whole those with whom they come in contact, whether it's resolving conflicts, addressing emotional issues, or supporting personal growth
• Servant leaders rely on persuasion, rather than positional authority in making decisions
• They seek to convince others, rather than coerce compliance, and are effective at building consensus within groups
• Persuasion skills allow servant leaders to influence and guide their followers without relying on hierarchical power

Conceptualization and Foresight

• Servant leaders seek to nurture their followers' abilities to dream great dreams
• They have the ability to look at a problem or an organization from a conceptualizing perspective, thinking beyond day-to-day realities
• This conceptualization involves visionary thinking, creativity, and the ability to provide meaningful direction for their followers and organizations
• Servant leaders also exhibit foresight - the ability to understand lessons from the past, realities of the present, and the likely consequence of decisions for the future
• Foresight enables servant leaders to be proactive in their decision making and effectively guide their followers and organizations into the future

Servant Leadership Impact

Employee Well-Being and Engagement

• Servant leadership can lead to greater employee job satisfaction as employees feel their voices are heard and that the leader puts their interests first
• This can result in lower turnover and reduced costs related to hiring and training, as employees are more likely to remain with servant-led organizations
• Organizations led by servant leaders may experience higher levels of employee engagement and commitment
• Empowered employees are more likely to be creative, share knowledge, and go above and beyond in their roles, driving overall organizational performance
• Servant leadership's focus on empathy, emotional healing and people development can improve employee well-being and reduce stress and burnout as employees feel more supported and experience a greater sense of psychological safety

Collaboration and Innovation

• By prioritizing the growth of employees and building a sense of community, servant leadership can enhance collaboration, knowledge sharing and innovation within organizations
• Teams are more cohesive and work together effectively when led by servant leaders who foster a supportive, inclusive environment
• Servant leaders encourage their followers to take risks, learn from failures, and continuously improve, creating a culture of innovation
• The emphasis on conceptualization and visionary thinking in servant leadership also spurs creativity and out-of-the-box problem solving

Organizational Performance

• Research suggests servant leadership is associated with better organizational citizenship behaviors, where employees go beyond their formal job requirements to support each other and the organization
• Servant leadership is also linked to improved job performance at both the individual and team levels, as employees are motivated and empowered to excel
• Studies have found servant-led companies exhibit various measures of superior firm performance, including higher profitability, revenue growth and net profit margins compared to organizations with other leadership styles
• The trust, collaboration and innovation fostered by servant leaders can lead to a sustainable competitive advantage for their organizations

Servant Leadership vs Other Styles

Comparison to Traditional Leadership

• Servant leadership is often contrasted with traditional, autocratic leadership where the leader exerts control and makes most decisions
• Autocratic leaders are focused on efficiency, order, and results, with communication mostly flowing top-down
• Servant leaders share control and facilitate followers' development, with more multi-directional communication and influence
• While traditional leadership can be effective in crisis situations or when quick decisions are needed, servant leadership may be better for long-term employee engagement and development

Similarities and Differences with Transformational Leadership

• Transformational leadership has similarities to servant leadership in terms of employee empowerment and intellectual stimulation
• Both styles motivate and inspire followers to achieve their full potential and contribute creatively to the organization
• However, transformational leaders focus more on organizational objectives and performance compared to servant leaders' emphasis on serving followers first
• Transformational leadership involves charisma and influence to align followers with the leader's vision, while servant leaders prioritize understanding and meeting their followers' needs

Contrasts with Other Ethical Leadership Styles

• Authentic leadership shares servant leadership's focus on self-awareness, ethics and concern for others, with an emphasis on the leader's transparency and consistency between their values and actions
• However, authentic leadership places less emphasis on spirituality, vision and serving the community than servant leadership theory
• Ethical leadership is aligned with servant leadership's strong moral emphasis and both styles strive to model and reinforce ethical behavior in organizations
• But ethical leadership focuses more on following specific ethical standards and principles rather than a general attitude of serving and developing others
• Spiritual leadership incorporates servant leadership concepts like altruistic love and spiritual well-being but includes additional elements of vision, hope/faith and inner life not found in servant leadership theory