Who is a servant leader? Whatever you thought a servant leader is, he (or she) is not a leader that the people must serve or the humble leader atop a group of leaders that who live fat off their people.
A servant leader is one who considers it a privilege to serve. It is very easy to talk the talk of being a servant leader. Putting it into practice is the difficult part. The hallmark of a servant-leader is selflessness; he or she must always place the rules and interests of the organisation, whether a team, firm, unit of a firm or country above their own interests or that of a select group, committee or board. A servant leader does not work for narrow interests. How can we be servant-leaders in our firms and communities?
You cannot be a servant-leader if the people you lead remain Lilliputians. You must grow people in stature and capacity, making transformative contributions to their lives. This comes from having the heart and passion to serve. Servant-leaders are seldom people who have their minds elsewhere from the endeavour in which they lead people; they are also never reluctant or leaders by accident. A good book says, ‘if anyone would be the first, he must be servant of all’. This is the bedrock of servant-leadership. It starts from the heart; it starts from that passion to grow people and allow them to also have different kinds of capacity. And capacity is all about productivity; it is not about enjoyment or “spoils of the big position”. Servant-leaders earn respect not because of the titles on their name –plates or the sizes of their perks but by the ability to lead people to fulfil tasks and visions that positively impact the organisation and the skills, abilities, proficiencies and self-confidence of their subordinates. You are not a servant-leader if you achieve goals but do not build people and their capacities. Servant-leaders develop the next generation; they just don’t use people to achieve personal or organisational goals.
A servant-leader must earn the confidence of his “troops”. He must be trustworthy. It is only then that he can demand and get the personal sacrifices that are often required to achieve great goals. A wise leader knows that he cannot achieve goals alone. Followers give their best when they know that their leader genuinely cares. The pressure to perform and deliver is always high in positions of authority or responsibility. But the servant-leader must be able to blend the drive for performance with empathy and compassion. Mistakes will be made while carrying out even the most delicate or strategic assignments. A servant-leader does not put down those who stumble; he corrects and inspires them to take learnings and do better. A servant-leader is hence not the leader of only the star performers; rather he leads the whole team! The stars learn from his humility and are better able to play as members of one team.
It is not enough to brand yourself a “servant-leader”, rather people will make the decision themselves when you consistently display a culture of service and leadership. Servant leaders are able to inspire and lead even those who are not directly under their authority. Their followers are not restricted to those in their operational or functional areas, their department, ministry or organisation. When people see a servant-leader, they “feel” them and naturally gravitate towards them. They inspire people even across cultures and national boundaries.
When next you hear someone describe himself or herself as a “servant-leader”, be sure to hold them to these standards! If you also want to be one, you now have some idea of the challenge. Would you humbly devote part of the time you ought to spend in the club to patiently coach a struggling person in your team? Would you wait in the office and work on a big report with your team or dash home and harass them over the telephone? We will talk more about the challenges of being a servant-leader in the next two weeks.
