I am a big advocate of servant leadership- always have been. Time and time again, I get involved in conversations about how servant leadership is such a vital part of any leader’s toolkit. This is not some coincidence. Leaders across various levels in an organisation and across industries are starting to acknowledge the fact that serving people creates conditions that help people thrive, aids collaboration, and helps build trust. Trust- one of the biggest currencies that you can have as a leader.
When I wrote ‘A Servant’s Heart- Leadership that Inspires’, I anticipated a trend where leaders become more accountable for their team members. That they would play a bigger role in ensuring engagement, and retention of their people. I feel we are at a point where we can all appreciate this. Themes such as ‘The Great Resignation’ and ‘Quiet Quitting’ have emerged after COVID. While that’s a discussion for another time, it can be safe to acknowledge that these are eventually triggered by people feeling that their leaders do not support their aspirations and choices that support their work-life integration. The point being, if a leader were to adopt an attitude of serving others, he/she would be much better placed to support them and make them feel feel like their choices matter. And this is just one of the scenarios where the importance of servant leadership is being clearly seen.
So why does servant leadership helps you have a bigger impact on your environment and people? In living the values and attributes of servant leadership (also a topic for another day), there are 3 things that you are able to achieve. These make your environment conducive to high performance, collaboration and trust. It also makes life easier for others (and yourself), and influences your effectiveness as a leader. So what are these 3 factors that uplift your environment?
1. Remove fears- This is where you create psychological safety for people. In other words, you remove fears and concerns of people. These can be fears related to their status or position in the team. These can be fears related to the work itself- what if things go wrong. These can fears related to expressing an idea or opinion that may not be a popular one. When leaders look to serve their people, they ensure that understand and address whatever fears and concerns they have, that might come in the way of their success.
2. Meet people where they are- As a leader, it becomes important to build your awareness of and around people. Meeting people where they are is a great way to show awareness and empathy. What does this really mean? It means reaching out to people and understanding where are they at. In terms of the work to be delivered, in terms of any challenges they might be going through- at work or outside. It could be listening to them actively- their ideas, inputs, aspirations, what motivates them. Meeting people where they are helps you understand people. And you can serve people best when you understand them.
3. Enable people- You may have heard this quote, “Before you become a leader, success is about growing yourself. After you become a leader, success is about growing others”. A very apt quote that highlights the impact that any leader has. When you look at serving others, you focus on how you can serve, support and nurture people. What are the ways in which you can help them? How can they take on additional responsibilities, and how you can facilitate that? The more you look at enabling people, the more impact you have on their growth and wellbeing.
At this point, I would invite you to reflect on how well you address each of these factors. Do you often struggle with these, or do you find you support your people in the best way possible?