Servant Leadership is a cornerstone principle of the Solstice culture. When engrained and celebrated in a business it creates a collaborative, dynamic environment that people love to be a part of. This is a presentation I recently gave to our staff on the qualities of a Servant Leader. I wanted to share it with the broader business community. Enjoy and would love to hear any additional insights in the comments below.
2. www.solstice-mobile.com
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
2
Coined by Robert Greenleaf in his
1970 essay,The Servant as Leader
Servant leadership is a philosophy
and set of practices that enriches
the lives of individuals, builds better
organizations and ultimately creates
a more just and caring world.
3. www.solstice-mobile.com
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
3
Servant Leadership is not a leadership style as much as it is a
behavior that you adopt over the long term.
It is a person's dedication to helping others be their best selves at
home, work, and in their community. Anyone can serve--and lead--
from any position or role in a family, workplace, or community. - S Chris Edmonds
At work, Servant Leadership is about putting your team first and
yourself second
6. www.solstice-mobile.com
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
6
Servant Leaderships is about focusing on other people’s needs,
not their feelings. A servant leader does not avoid making
unpopular decisions or giving team members constructive
feedback when it is needed.
7. www.solstice-mobile.com
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
7
Servant Leadership requires rare qualities
•a paradoxical combination of courage AND humility
•a high degree of self control…
•validation needs that have largely been met
Conversely, qualities that get in the way of servant leadership
•Ego, that makes it difficult to 'want to serve’
•Greed
•An unhealthy desire to control
9. www.solstice-mobile.com
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
9
#1 They Listen
Servant Leaders make a deep
commitment to listening intently and
understanding what others are
saying.
•Give people your full attention
•Take notice of their body language
•Avoid interrupting before they've
finished speaking
•Give feedback on what they say
10. www.solstice-mobile.com
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
10
#2 They Empathize
Servant leaders strive to understand
other people's intentions and
perspectives.
•Put aside your viewpoint temporarily
•Value others' perspectives
•Approach situations with an open
mind.
•Get to know the worldview of each of
your teammates
11. www.solstice-mobile.com
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
11
#3 They Heal
Servant Leaders acknowledge the
emotional health and "wholeness" of
people, and supports them both physically
and mentally.
•Make sure that your team has the
knowledge, support and resources they
need to do their jobs effectively
•Ensure they have a healthy workplace
•Take steps to help them be happy and
engaged in their roles.
12. www.solstice-mobile.com
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
12
#4 They Are Self-Aware
Servant Leaders look at themselves, think
deeply about their emotions and behavior,
and consider how they affect the people
around them.
•Know your strengths and weaknesses
•Ask for other people's feedback on them
•Learn to manage your emotions, so that
you consider how your actions and
behavior might affect others
13. www.solstice-mobile.com
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
13
#5 They Persuade
Servant leaders use persuasion – rather
than authority – to encourage people to
take action. They also aim to build
consensus in groups, so that everyone
supports decisions.
•Build consensus in groups
•Weave others feedback into your
message
•Explain the “why?”
•Build your expert power
14. www.solstice-mobile.com
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
14
#6 They Conceptualize
Servant Leaders look beyond day-to-day
realities to the bigger picture.
•Create a vision for your team
•Give your team a brand!
•Make it clear how people's roles tie in with
Solstice’s mission and long term objective
•Develop a long-term focus for yourself and
for others that you mentor
15. www.solstice-mobile.com
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
15
#7 They Teach Others To Serve
Servant leaders educate the members of
their team through their words and actions,
and they encourage their people to set
aside self-serving behaviors in favor of
serving others.
•One or two conversations may not have
the desired change in an employee's
mindset.
•Be tenacious and invest whatever time it
takes to educate and inspire servant
leadership practices
16. www.solstice-mobile.com
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
16
#8 They Lovingly Hold Others Accountable
Servant Leaders take responsibility for the
actions and performance of their team.
•Know that no one is perfect, and everyone
makes mistakes--including yourself.
•With that in mind, push for high standards of
performance, service quality, and alignment
of values
•Hold yourself and your teammates
accountable for their performance.
•Protect the culture. People want to work
with winners
17. www.solstice-mobile.com
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
17
#9 They Develop Their Teammates
Servant leaders are committed to the
personal and professional development of
everyone on their teams.
•Understand their developmental needs and
give them the skills they need to do their
jobs effectively.
•Find out what individual’s personal goals are,
see if you can give them additional
responsibilities that will help them achieve
these.
18. www.solstice-mobile.com
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
18
#10 They Develop Community
Servant Leaders develop a sense of
community within their teams.
•Provide opportunities for people to interact
with one another outside of project tasks
•Organize social events such as team lunches
and outings
•Celebrate team wins and individual
accomplishments
•Dedicate the first few minutes of meetings to
non-work-related conversations.