Servant leadership in the 21st century still starts with focusing on the growth of others and extends to leading by example and illustrating the company’s core values and mission. It also means joining team members in the trenches to achieve goals. These actions build a foundation for trust, accountability, and collaboration. The characteristics of this leadership style require that a leader dig deep and boldly embrace transparency and authenticity in their communication style and interactions. Leaders must also be visionaries who inspire others to work toward common goals. Egos and personal agendas have little authority or room within the servant leadership style.

Within the framework of servant leadership, there are seven main characteristics and ten basic principles. The seven main characteristics center around being a team player who is fully engaged in the process, actively listens, and encourages participation by showing interest in the team’s overall well-being. A servant leader is also skilled in shifting directions when needed while remaining focused on building a community with a shared goal. Team members’ strengths and weaknesses are identified and drawn upon to effectively engage, motivate, and inspire the team to succeed. Trust is achieved through authentic and transparent communication. Finally, the servant leader is responsible for accountability.

Seven characteristics associated with servant leadership:

• Active and Engage: The servant leader excels in finding a connection with team members and has the ability to overcome mental and life challenges and remain focused during challenges in the workplace. 
• Listening: Paying attention without judgment to the words, underlying tones, and body language accompanying the words. Listening requires engagement, clarification, and patience. 
• Empathy: It is vital to get to know each member of the team. Learning their strengths, weaknesses, passions, and indifferences will allow the servant leader to make the best combinations of tasks. The servant leader may also find ways to turn weaknesses into strengths and assist their team members in achieving success levels that had not been previously considered possible.
• Healing: The servant leader recognizes that some team members may have experienced toxic environments and may bring elements of those experiences to the table. Working to uncover these elements and finding ways to reconcile them is an essential part of success.
• Self-Awareness: Setting aside ego and personal agenda, the servant leader is aware of self-weaknesses and strengths. This awareness provides insight into how the leader’s skillsets best fit within the parameters of the overall team and goals.
• Persuasion: The servant leader builds consensus on the team rather than using a top-down or dictatorial leadership style. This approach increases engagement and productivity while reducing staff burnout and turnover.
• Conceptualization: The servant leader creates an overall vision for the team or organization and can focus on the larger picture. To accomplish this goal, the leader has to have a clear concept of what success looks like for the team and what achievements may be possible. 
• Foresight: Servant leaders actively look at what has worked in the past and what has not worked. This information provides plans to achieve both present and future goals. Completing project reviews after any project can provide essential information for this purpose.
• Stewardship: Some terms are “Leading by Example” or “Walking the Talk”. The leader’s actions must match the leader’s words to retain authority and trust. Actions that do not support the team’s values, commitments, goals, and other standards will diminish the leader’s power and effectiveness. 
• Commit to the growth of your people: Identifying the potential in team members is one part of the servant leader’s mission. This act may even involve seeing something in a team member they do not see on their own. The leader must allocate time and training dollars to develop the identified potential.
• Building Community: Building on the vision and goals of the organization while engaging team members in the process is essential to this leadership style. Engagement is created when a leader takes an interest in the potential of each team member. The leader knows what is necessary and valuable to each team member. The elements of trust and authenticity are fundamental to building the foundation for a robust community.

Where did the term Servant Leader Originate?

Robert K. Greenleaf conceived the term servant leader in his 1970 essay “The Servant as Leader.” This essay outlined the servant leader’s principles and characteristics and sparked a leadership movement through service. Servant leaders lead by example and focus on the growth and development of others. They see the bigger picture and involve their team in achieving the overall goals. 

Pros and Cons of Servant Leadership

From a business perspective, the servant leadership approach yields a higher return on investment (ROI) than other styles. Within the servant leadership model, success outcomes are clearly defined, and there is a high level of accountability. A collaborative approach of engaging team members in the processes and putting people over projects creates a foundation for creativity and innovation. Team members feel involved and heard. Thus, ownership and responsibility for success become a goal for all members, not just the leader. By building a community of trust, deeper relationships form, higher ethics are maintained, and members are more motivated to work as a unit. 

However, the servant leadership style’s decision-making process can be lengthy and stalled at some points. This results from the time it takes to develop relationships and consider all the opinions presented by the team members. Leaders may consider the staff’s wants and needs when working on a project, which may sometimes conflict with the goals to be achieved. Because a servant leader has to consider all of these things, the servant leader can sometimes be viewed as powerless.

However, there are some influential servant leaders throughout history, such as Christ, Mother Teresa, Herb Kelleher (former CEO of Southwest Airlines), and Nelson Mandela. These leaders utilized the servant leadership style in such a way that their successes were celebrated by many.

A Necessary Tool  

Putting forth the effort to be a servant leader requires hard work and dedication. It is also the best way to gain and retain talent. 

While building trust, servant leaders must be able to put their people first while balancing the organization’s needs. In addition, servant leaders must allow themselves to be vulnerable and open. Servant leaders must also work to build a community of trust that includes “walking the talk.” Though difficult and time-consuming, servant leadership brings returns of higher ROI, increased productivity, increased staff morale, higher levels of engagement, reduced turnover, reduced staff burnout, and many other benefits. Implementing a servant leadership style might be challenging, depending on the organizational culture. However, it is possible to utilize these elements in building a successful team. Keep in mind the benefits of higher ROI, lower turnover, and the other benefits of this style.

Take Action

What elements of this style can you use in your current role, and what impact do you see it having on your performance and your team’s performance? What has been your experience working in a servant environment? As always, we invite you to jump in and be a part of the conversation and movement to impact how leaders lead positively! To learn more about how we can create a learning experience for your organization, email us at ala@deneenattard.com.

Learning on a Dime is a collaboration between DeNeen K. Attard and Jeni McIntosh-Elkins.  

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