A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. Servant leadership is a timeless concept, but the phrase was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in his 1970 essay The Servant as Leader. Greenleaf said:
“The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first… The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served.”
Greenleaf’s powerful Best Test for servant leadership asks:
- Do those served grow as persons?
- Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, and more likely to become servants?
- What is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?
While traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid,” servant leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first, and helps people develop and perform to the best of their ability.
It is helpful to remember that Greenleaf wrote the essay while leading people at AT&T. His work was lived out in the real world of business and working with people inside a large organization. Here are four of my observations from a fresh reading of the essay about how we can develop the skills of servant leadership:
1. Learn to Listen.
Leaders have traditionally been valued for their communication and decision-making skills. Greenleaf does not discount these skills. Instead, he pushes listening to a loftier role. Servant-leaders must have a deep commitment to listening and focusing on others. They seek to understand and clarify what is being said and what is not being said. This same skill is applied to oneself by listening to our own inner voice. Our inner voice will lead to empathy if we truly care about others more than we care about ourselves.
2. Practice Empathy.
The servant-leader strives to understand and empathize with others. People deserve to be accepted and recognized for their special and unique spirits. We extend grace to ourselves. Why not extend this same grace to others by assuming their good intentions? This kind of acceptance helps us avoid making others feel rejected, even when we suggest corrective behaviors or performance improvements. The most successful servant-leaders are those who become skilled listeners and then put their empathy into action.
3. Promote Healing.
The healing of relationships is a powerful force for transformation of individuals, teams, and entire organizations. Broken spirits and suffering from emotional hurts are part of our human condition. Servant-leaders recognize that they have an opportunity to help others become more whole. In The Servant as Leader, Greenleaf writes, “There is something subtle communicated to one who is being served and led if, implicit in the compact between servant-leader and led, is the understanding that the search for wholeness is something they share.” This requires vulnerability on the part of the leader and the other person. This is part of the healing process.
4. Use Personal Persuasion.
Servant-leaders rely on persuasion to lead change, rather than positional authority, coercion or compliance. This is one of the clearest distinctions between traditional authoritarian leadership and servant leadership. To move the group forward, the servant-leader builds commitment to shared values–often one person at a time. Greenleaf cites the example of John Woolman, an American Quaker and abolitionist, who spoke with his contemporary Quakers one-on-one and persuaded many to free enslaved people before the Civil War.
Employee engagement is a hot topic today, but we don’t emphasize the power of leader engagement enough. As leaders engage with the people around them with a “serve first” attitude, employee engagement will follow. It is hard to resist anyone who genuinely demonstrates that they care about us. Leaders who empower others and create environments for personal growth are rare, and they give their organizations a powerful edge in retaining and cultivating top talent.
Here’s your challenge: How well do you measure yourself against Greenleaf’s Best Test? In which of these ways could you put servant leadership into practice today?
Resources:
Greenleaf, R. K. (1970). The Servant as Leader. Robert K. Greenleaf Publishing Center.
