Servant leadership tends to impact the most significant and potential hotspot of all– inclusion. It establishes the employee-leader relationship with respect, value, and empowerment.
‘Treat others as they would like to be treated’— is the Platinum Rule of leadership. As modern necessities call for modern inventions, people are changing for good. People are promoting diversity, making inclusion happen in wider circles, and providing equitable resources.
Amid these, the behavior of leaders matters, as it can create changes in the business, and impact people, culture, market presence, stakeholders, and the organization. Leadership styles can be understood by observing successful leaders. While Warren Buffet and Steve Jobs used the laissez-faire leadership style, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates are known for their strategic leadership style. Other styles are democratic, transactional, transformational, bureaucratic, and coach-style.
What is servant leadership?
Coined in 1970 by Robert K. Greenleaf, servant leadership would probably be the least studied one. Notable leaders, who initially followed this style of leadership, are best known for their contributions to society rather than business-corporate interests. A few of them are Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa, and Dalai Lama. Interestingly, many new leaders follow similar pathways to success, idealizing the strategy and those leaders’ methodologies. Unlike the former leadership styles that primarily targeted business improvement before employee well-being, today’s organizations and leaders focus on the cherished outcome — inclusion. Of course, the question arises if we have standing proof of success stories or corporate leaders of today exercising this kind of leadership style practiced by former social workers or spiritual leaders who have different mottos and goals. Does it truly have the potential to be an effective leadership style? And the answer is yes! Interestingly, many leaders of some of the most successful companies follow the servant leadership style. To name a few, Jack Welch, Former CEO of General Electric, Alan Mullaly, Former CEO of Ford Motor Co and Boeing, Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube, Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, Fred Smith, CEO of FedEx testify to the impact and reach of servant leadership style.
Why add servant leadership style to your toolkit?
It leads to a long-term commitment and effective employee engagement that contribute to the company culture and business outputs. Of course, the catalyst here is the unselfish leader, who instills altruistic behaviors with humility and authenticity.
What isn’t servant leadership?
Many researchers consider servant leadership an oxymoron. They misinterpret that the leader is servile. We need to note that the often-idealized attributes like the one with ‘power’ or ‘authority’ or ‘machoism’ are passé, as pointed out by recent studies. What differentiates servant leadership from the other acclaimed styles is that it follows the ‘follower first’ principle, unlike the models that focus on goals first and empowerment next.
The style directly represents inclusion with trust in employees with visible or proven potential, allowing them to make their contributions first and then achieve the results faster, with a collaborative effort and creating much healthier accountability and ownership.
