Servant Leadership- In a nutshell

One of the biggest buzzwords in Agile is “ Servant Leadership”. But do people really know what it is ? How can you serve and lead the same time ?

Servant Leadership is a philosophy of leading people with a desire to serve rather than from a desire to command. It is the shift from traditional idea of “command and control” management style, and is all about putting people before power.

Why is servant leadership important in today’s world ?

Gone are the days of “top-down” ,”command and control”, ”instructive” styles of management where bosses dictated sub-ordinates. In today’s digital business environment, regressive management styles of displaying authority, controlling people and showing bossy attitude are recipes for disaster.

Employees can no longer be treated as cogs in a machine who are to be dictated , instead they are greatest assets to the organization for the innovation, knowledge and skills they bring to the table.

What are the top 3 qualities of a servant leader?

Being a servant-leader requires a great deal of skills combined with emotional intelligence. Below are top 3 qualities :

1. Empathy : Servant leaders are humble and empathetic towards their team. They have a people-first attitude ,understand their vulnerabilities and value people for what they are. This makes servant leaders always approachable because the team feels at ease with them.
2. Excellent listening : One of the indisputable traits of any good leader is being a good listener. They listen actively without judgement or criticism and provide thoughtful responses. It is extremely important for every individual in the team to feel that they matter , they will be always be heard and can share their thoughts without any inhibition.
3. Committed to growth of people : A servant leader is always personally invested in the professional growth and well-being of the team. They connect individually with people to develop their strengths, identify opportunities for growth, make them feel empowered thereby building self-organizing teams.

Let’s also bust some myths

1. It is not being “soft” : Servant leadership does not mean being “subservient” and letting team do whatever they want. They set clear goals to the team , hold people accountable by measuring their performance and work with the team to achieve the goal.
2. It is not about always saying “yes” : Servant leaders always challenge status quo, engage in constructive discussion when they disagree with the team. They do not burn themselves out by saying yes to everything , instead they focus on high value items and honestly communicate the same to team & stakeholders.
3. It is not being about selfless : Servant leaders put their team first but that doesn’t mean they give up on their goals. They are humble yet ambitious and their ambition is directed towards the organization, not themselves. They know when to keep their goals aside and get into action, they also know when to step away and guide the team to come out of a difficult situation.

With the philosophy of putting people first, servant leadership has grown into a global leadership style embraced by organizations to build trust, collaborative culture and self-organizing teams.