The previous article gave Jahnvi a new perspective on her journey as a first-time manager. She found a new road that crosses through the heart of her people and takes her to new heights of success. She started her journey with a mindset to learn everything she could about being an effective manager and now she aspires to be an efficacious leader for her people. This entire journey will help her climb the ranks and give her an edge to keep her team motivated at all times.
She has covered a great length to understand four different dimensions of leadership and has exhumed the requisites of becoming a first-time manager, her values, locus of control, setting goals and achieving them, her learnings from The Strangest Secret, how to handle missed goals, an overview of feedback, the gateway to discovering the blindspot, frameworks of feedback, the concepts of feedforward, the overview of the interpersonal skills, the techniques to enhance interpersonal skills, better team management using people reading guide, the techniques to effectively manage a team, an overview of time management, the time management matrix, and the techniques to manage time effectively, the art of delegation, ways to consider capabilities of her team, the process to delegate effectively, unconscious bias, how to be an unbiased leader, strategies to eliminate biases at work, the art of inspiring others, and overview of servant leadership so far.
One thing she learned about servant leadership is that it takes a genuine intention to build a servant-first mindset. It starts with a desire to serve its people and directly skyrockets the performance of the personnel and organization. She wants to be on the front line advocating for change for others and wants to build on the culture she believes in, as “For individuals, the character is destiny, and or for organizations, culture is destiny.”
While Jahnvi was digging deep into servant leadership, she found research that states:
According to new research from France’s Emlyon Business School, servant leadership not only improves staff morale but also enhances corporate profit. It emphasizes that leaders who are more approachable and less overwhelming to their employees are more likely to produce better results for their companies. Therefore, it is clear that servant leadership benefits all stakeholders, including stockholders.
Jahnvi’s brain started processing the information and she started looking for a modern-day servant leader who made a difference for his organization during his tenure. This is what she found.
Tony Hsieh, the former CEO of Zappos and founder of LinkExchange, is a brilliant example of servant leadership. He is well-known for his dedication to providing a positive and enjoyable work environment for his staff. He believes that employees should be happy at work, and he fosters an environment in which employees are encouraged to be themselves while still having fun. As a result of this, Zappos has achieved exceptional levels of customer happiness and employee engagement.
Jahnvi was inspired by this astounding example of servant leadership and swore to herself to make her people feel valued and supported by her to gel them well with motivation and productivity. She plans to encourage her team to take risks and be creative. To be an effective servant leader, she has to start by understanding the building blocks to create a positive and supportive work environment.
Building Blocks Of Servant Leadership
Effective leadership is an inside job–it’s a question of the heart.
– Blanchard, Conley
Servant leadership results in a happier, more secure, and empowered workforce, as well as a more profitable business. Servant leaders work side by side with their teams, setting goals, rewarding them when things go well, and guiding them when things go wrong. They assist their team members in winning by adapting their leadership style to each person’s level of development on whatever task or goal they are working on. It is the most effective strategy to achieve both positive relationships and results.
Creating a true servant leadership culture requires three building blocks–
Building trust
Trust is like oxygen. Most people don’t think about it until they don’t have any.
It takes a comprehensive and long-term approach. Servant leadership is essential for leaders who wish to establish trust with their team members because servant leaders exhibit trust-inspiring behaviors. They extend trust and prioritize their people’s needs before their own. And trust in their leader grows when they believe their leader is looking out for their best interests and is there to assist them reach their goals. Trust is built when people act in trustworthy ways.
Listen to learn
One of the most important characteristics of a servant leader is the ability to listen and act on what is heard. Effective listening enables firms to establish an environment in which employees feel heard, which is essential for retaining a contented and engaged staff. According to Jim Collins’ book “Good to Great,” “There’s a huge difference between the opportunity to ‘have your say’ and the opportunity to be heard.” Great leaders observe this distinction and create a culture in which individuals have a significant opportunity to be heard.
Give and receive feedback
“Feedback is a gift. When we receive it, our self-knowledge expands. When we give it, it’s an opportunity to show our teams we genuinely care about them.”
Servant leaders understand that there is nearly always an inconsistency between their intentions and how they are viewed. To bridge this gap, servant-leaders are always open to learning about themselves and seeking insights into how they appear to others. With this awareness, they enhance the activities that others find beneficial and liberating. They also welcome comments on what’s getting in the way of changing inefficient behaviors.
Jahnvi was imbibing these building blocks and trying to befit them in her life. She was contemplating the ways she can make her people open up to her and confide in her about the challenges they face at work. She decides to practice the art of listening to make better decisions and inclines more toward seeking feedback from her team. However, before putting these concepts to practice, she wants to understand the themes of servant leadership.
The Themes of Servant Leadership
Servant leadership promotes the growth and development of individuals while cultivating a collaborative and supportive work environment. In recent years, many innovators are speaking and writing about servant leadership as an emerging paradigm of leadership for the 21st century. Danah Zohar goes so far as to say in her influential book on quantum sciences and leadership, Rewiring the Corporate Brain (1997), that “servant-leadership is the essence of quantum thinking and quantum leadership.”
It is also the essence of the following themes:
Calling
Servant leaders have a deep sense of calling to serve others and contribute to a greater purpose beyond themselves. They prioritize the needs of their followers, recognizing and valuing their unique contributions. According to a study by Van Dierendonck and Patterson (2015), “Servant leaders who view their work as a calling inspire their employees to exhibit higher levels of engagement and commitment.”
Awareness
Servant leader builds on the awareness, peculiarly self-awareness. Awareness aids in the comprehension of issues regarding ethics, power, and values. It gives them an opportunity to look at most situations through holistic and integrated perspective. “Awareness is not a giver of solace—quite the opposite,” Greenleaf observed. It both disturbs and awakens. Effective leaders are usually alert and a little concerned. They do not seek solace. They have their own inner peace.”
Stewardship
Stewardship is defined by Peter Block (1993), author of Stewardship and The Empowered Manager, as “holding something in trust for another.” In Robert Greenleaf’s perspective, all institutions, CEOs, staff, and trustees play important roles in holding their organizations in trust for the greater welfare of society. Servant leadership, like stewardship, begins with a dedication to serving the needs of others. It also emphasizes the importance of openness and persuasion above control.
Listening
Leaders have traditionally been praised for their ability to communicate and make decisions. Although these are important skills of a servant leader and they must be supported with an unwavering dedication to listening carefully to others. The servant leader attempts to identify and clarify the will of the group. He or she is receptive to what is stated and unspoken. Hearing the unsaid words is also listening. Listening, combined with intervals of reflection, is critical to the servant leader’s growth and well-being.
Persuasion
Rather than coercing compliance, the servant leader strives to persuade people. This trait is useful while negotiating with business partners, clients, and stakeholders. Because servant leaders are concerned with the well-being of others, they only utilize their influence to benefit others. A servant leader is good at bringing people together.
Growth
A servant leader’s ultimate responsibility is to establish others. They will most likely help employees create a clear career path and provide resources to help them develop from one level to the next. They believe that people have intrinsic worth beyond their monetary efforts as employees. As a result, the servant leader is sincerely devoted to the development of every individual in his or her organization. Servant leaders acknowledge the enormous responsibility of doing everything in their power to promote their employees’ personal and professional development.
Empathy
It lies at the heart of servant leadership. People must be respected and valued for their distinct and individual spirits. Even when compelled to oppose certain habits or performances, one assumes the good intentions of coworkers and colleagues and does not reject them as persons. Those who have become good sympathetic listeners are the most successful servant leaders.
Foresight
Servant leaders possess the ability to anticipate future trends and challenges, allowing them to make informed decisions and guide their organizations effectively. Foresight allows the servant leader to understand past lessons, present realities, and the probable outcome of future decisions. It’s also profoundly ingrained in the intuitive mind. Their forward-thinking approach helps create a sense of stability and confidence among employees.
Community Building
Servant leaders excel in community building, fostering an environment where collaboration, trust, and shared purpose thrive. They recognize that much has been lost in recent human history as a result of the shift from small communities to massive institutions as the primary shapers of people’s lives. This knowledge prompts them to seek out ways to foster community among individuals who work within a certain institution.
Healing
Servant leaders possess a remarkable ability to heal and restore individuals and organizations in times of adversity. Relationship healing is a tremendous force for transformation and integration. One of the most powerful aspects of servant leadership is the ability to heal oneself and one’s relationships with others. Many people have shattered spirits and experienced a range of emotional wounds. Servant leaders are natural healers and they heal everyone they meet or come in contact with.
Conceptualization
A hallmark characteristic of servant leadership is its capacity for visionary conceptualization. Servant leaders have the unique ability to think beyond the present, envisioning possibilities and guiding their organizations toward a desired future.
Deep down Jahnvi knows that she has to bring these themes into practice to communicate the promise and power of this concept to serve her people well. She might be carrying some of the servant leadership themes naturally, however, she has to be more aware of her actions to find their existence. She believes she will have to enhance the effect of these themes through practice and learning as it can offer great possibilities for the future in creating better and more caring organizational dynamics. She looks forward to instilling the learnings in her team.
https://www.harmonycrew.com/effective-listening/
https://www.skipprichard.com/how-to-be-a-servant-leader-and-build-trust/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/servant-leadership-truesuperpower-abhishek-rathi/
https://www.modernservantleader.com/servant-leadership/tony-hsieh-completes-his-service-on-earth/
https://theservingway.com/receiving-feedback/
Written By: Jimmy Jain
Edited By: Afreen Fatima
Society of Design Thinking Professionals
