The heroes of the new
millennia will be servant leaders, quietly working out of the spotlight to
transform the world – Ann McGee Cooper and Duane Tramwell (Hero as
Leader to Servant as Leader). What a great quote from Ann and Duane! I have
often written about servant leadership, but I have become more and more convinced
that the only viable leadership approach left to salvage our businesses, schools,
universities, hospitals, and governments is that of Servant Leadership. Therefore,
more and more I have been thinking out loud about what Servant Leaders ARE,
KNOW, and DO!
It is my belief that
leadership manifests in those three ways:
Who we ARE –
this is about our character, out values, and our habits as individuals. The best leaders have a clear since of who
they are but they are always looking to improve. They are constantly monitoring
and calibrating their motives and attitudes to be on solid ground with their
mission, their people, and their own integrity.
What they KNOW – I have
often heard it said that leaders are learners. In fact, if you study the habits
of some of the more well know entrepreneurs, you will find they are voracious
consumers of information, books, and perspectives. They are constantly
reinventing themselves and not resting on old information but seeking new
frontiers of knowledge. Effective leaders are always learning in order to be
effective with their teams and their roles.
What they can DO – Obviously,
effective leaders have a bias toward action. They are experimenters and doers.
They have tremendous amounts of credibility with their teams because they have
learned the processes and strategies to implement and execute ideas. From basic
organization to more complex project and people management skills, leaders
worth following are always updating their own skill-sets.
With these dimensions in mind,
I would propose that truly skilled servant leaders should KNOW
they can DO the following and are able to do so because of who they ARE.
Listen without Judgement – in far
too many conversations, we are evaluating instead of just listening. I once
heard author and pastor Andy Stanley say is best when encouraged leaders to not
“how” an idea to death! Often when eager and gifted team members bring ideas forward,
our first reaction is to get into the “hows” such as “how are we going to do
that, how are we going to pay for it, or how are we gong to find the time to do
that?” Instead, we should start with “wow!” as in “Wow, that is a great idea or
Wow, I really appreciate your initiative!” See the difference?
Be Authentic – as leaders,
we need to be authentic and real to our teams. That does not mean we wear every
emotion on our sleeve, but we never try to portray an image but be
the leader we want to be! The leader that cares more about people than things, takes
most of the blame but shares more of the credit, and that admits mistakes and
makes things right.
Build Community –
great leaders know how to build community in the workplace, but they know it is
not easy. They have to focus on:
The people they gather
The value they want to intentionally add
The direction and strategies they set to create community
If all the above are in alignment,
then the possibility exists to build a caring, supportive, and accountable
community (versus the dumpster fire that too often typifies most work environments!).
Share Power –
this is tough for many. But leaders who are emotionally mature and secure have
no problems with this. They know the best way to lead an engaged and incredibly
productive team is to allow members to “own” their work and, subsequently, their
results! Simply put, this takes courage on the part of the leader. Primarily
because their own leaders are hesitant to do so! Heroic leaders who know they
should share power and do so out of habit, usually experience incredible returns
on such an investment.
Develop People –
finally, and speaking of investments, the best ones you can make as a leader is
to invest in your team members. Developing others may not be the only factor in
personal and organizational success but I can guarantee neglecting to do so
will be a primary source of failure! Heroic leaders intentionally develop their
team members but in a way that is customized to their goals, learning styles,
and personal strengths. Robert Greenleaf, the founder of Servant Leadership,
often wrote, the best way to determine if someone is an effective servant
leader is to observe if their followers are happier, wiser, stronger, and better
off due to the efforts of their leader.
As
leaders, there are many things we should be doing but I would like to encourage
you to do the difficult things, the inconvenient things, and the heroic things.
Anyone can lead at baseline, but it takes a special person to lead at a higher
level because they simply have a higher calling to do so!
As always if I can help you and
the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I invite
you to contact me.
Yours in leadership,
Bill Faulkner
Independent Coach, Speaker,
and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team TM
Email
= bill@outloudinc.com
For more information on the
John Maxwell Team, please visit
No comments:
Post a Comment