Photo Credit: Tri Pham, FLickr
The servant-leader is servant first.
Marcel Schwantes, founder of Leadership from the Core, has written a piece on the 10 Leadership Habits Found in the World’s Best Leaders. These ten habits are derived by Larry Spears from the Robert Greenleaf‘s pioneer work in servant leadership. Read the article for Schwantes full commentary, but the 10 habits follow:
- Listening
- Empathy
- Healing
- Awareness
- Persuasion
- Conceptualization
- Foresight
- Stewardship
- Commitment to the Growth of People
- Building Community
Another list of qualities to consider is posted by business leader Skip Prichard‘s 9 Qualities of the Servant Leader. Both Prichard’s list below and Schwantes’ list above are excellent markers for your own leadership:
- Values diverse opinions
- Cultivates a culture of trust
- Develops other leaders
- Helps people with life issues
- Encourages
- Sells instead of tells
- Thinks you, not me
- Thinks long-term
- Acts with humility
Finish the whole of his article here (and don’t miss the comments – fascinating).
Photo Credit: Virginia Guard Public Affairs, Flickr
Marcel Schwantes has also written 10 Compelling Reasons Servant Leadership May Be the Best, Says Science. In this piece Schwantes tackles the misconceptions about servant leadership as well as the many reasons why it’s the best form of leadership. I personally love this article because the evidence of the kind of company that prospers under servant leadership is undeniable. We know these organizations by their service – like Chick-Fil-A, Southwest Airlines, Home Depot, Ritz Carlton, FedEx, UPS, U.S. Marine Corps, and many others. Very persuasive.
Finally, I’d like to share General Stanley McChrystal‘s view of leading “like gardeners”. My husband is a gardener. Even after a long, tiring day at his regular job, he puts in the time necessary to tend the plants he’s growing. Bent over, on his knees sometimes, doing the work of nurturing them to reach their maximum fruitfulness.
“Regular visits by good gardeners are not pro forma gestures of concern—they leave the crop stronger. So it is with leaders.”
Employees and customers know the experience (or lack thereof) of the leader who truly attends to their needs. No drive-by visits here. No sprinkling of some corporate fairy-dust just by the sheer presence of the leader in the room, or the building, or on podcast/commercial.
McChrystal warns against the leader who becomes too important to personally serve his personnel or customers.
“I would tell my staff about the “dinosaur’s tail”: As a leader grows more senior, his bulk and tail become huge, but like the brontosaurus, his brain remains modestly small. When plans are changed and the huge beast turns, its tail often thoughtlessly knocks over people and things. That the destruction was unintentional doesn’t make it any better.”
Photo Credit: Matt Monge Facebook pageYouTube Video – Servant Leadership – Leadership From the Core – Marcel Schwantes
10 Compelling Reasons Servant Leadership May Be the Best, Says Science – Marcel Schwantes
9 Qualities of the Servant Leader – Skip Prichard
The Understanding and Practice of Servant-Leadership – Larry C. Spears
General Stanley McChrystal: We Should All Lead Like Gardeners
Glassdoor’s 2017 Best Places to Work Rankings: The Importance of Common Purpose – Barry Sanders
Monday Morning Moment – True Humility in Leadership – So Not Cliché – Deb Mills
Larry C. Spears and Robert K. Greenleaf
The World’s 10 Top CEOs (They Lead in a Totally Unique Way) – Marcel Schwantes
World-Class Customer Service – The Key Is Caring – Horst Schulze on a Culture of Service – Deb Mills
Happily Ever After – What Makes Relationships Work – Poster – Frank Sonnenberg
