Servant Leadership 101

There is a swing in corporate boardrooms and human resource training that has nothing to do with innovation and productivity. It is a shift in philosophy away from the dog-eat-dog way of climbing to the top and stomping on top of people along the way. It is not your father's way of doing business but in this world of consciousness, it is the one way to best identify the new heart and soul of today's businessmen and women. That philosophy is a new way of leading. Its foundation is spiritual and its roots old and ancient but the effect that servant leadership has on an organization whether non-profit or for-profit is immeasurable.

At a grassroots level, servant leadership rests on an individual's willingness to lead through serving. This practice or philosophy is intent on building team dynamics in a corporate structure and eliminating the hierarchal governing that many corporations are used to. In servant leadership, executives and managers embrace the challenge of transitioning employees from an I-first mentality to a no-I-in-team concept.

Many corporate coaches and trainers typically use Jesus Christ as the premiere model of servant leadership. His words and style are often quoted as the standard for how to lead while serving. In fact, one of Jesus' most profound statements serves as the benchmark for servant leadership when several of his disciples (a body of twelve men He was mentoring) argued about who would be first and have place and presence with Him. To which Jesus said, let him who seeks to lead first become a servant to all. This completely mulled his disciples as their only view of leadership was shaped around the Roman culture they had seen. But in this piece of history, Jesus explains that true leadership, servant leadership, has nothing to do with authority and more to do with influence and real influence is found serving.

In the corporate arena servant leadership is becoming broadly accepted. Many corporations are instituting the principles and philosophy behind it in their value system as well as in the leadership development training. With broad appeal, executives as well as the entire organization are glorying the benefits that embracing servant leadership has had on the life of the company.

But servant leadership is not just for multinational corporations who have the resources to bring in a trainer to do extensive work in transforming an organization into one that buys into servant leadership. Entrepreneurs and managers of small companies can bring the fundamentals of servant leadership to their particular organizations as well.

Team Building

The most critical element of servant leadership is the elimination of an autocratic style of leadership and culture in an organization. Many companies and non-profits are based on a driving force that pierces the culture of an organization to lead by championing a cause. In servant leadership, the leader takes the role of championing differently embracing the concept that the best way to achieve a goal is by getting buy-in from a team and having the team drive home the mission of the organization. This team building is different from committees in that, servant leaders lead through consensus building and erecting a framework where the team understands that together they can accomplish anything.

Servant leaders as slaves

In one of Jesus' teachings He spoke of truly great leaders being slaves to all more than lording their authority over their subjects. In today's modern culture authority is as vile a word as any profanity spoken. The contemporary worker is looking for a leadership structure that values their input and ideas something unheard of in previous management styles. As a slave, servant leaders work with those they serve in mind more so than their own promotion.

Equality

Another hallmark of an organization that has embraced servant leadership is the declassification of people groups based on position, title, or role. Many companies have found that the current way of leading has created a void or gulf between the executive class and the worker class. This divide creates an isolationist labor view in the midst of the culture. In servant leadership, when everyone from the chief executive officer to the individual mopping the floors at night sees themselves as significant, valued, and important to an organization the character of the organization changes.

Humility

The last great attribute of servant leadership is humility. Organizations with strong servant leaders are easy to identify because there is very little mention of them and their accomplishments. They drive home what the organization is doing or what the team is accomplishing more than anything else. Humility is the defining cord for companies with servant leaders. When leaders walk in humility there is no time for grandstanding and self-adulation. The company and its people matter.

In today's world, servant leadership is become more and more the fabric of many great companies. As they continue the transition, servant leadership will be witnessed in greater measure as its attributes filter down from corporate America to government and ultimately to the community level. When we as a nation see ourselves as servant leaders the nation we envision will be the nation we experience.