LET's Coach
On the Path to Excellence
What is Servant Leadership?
Servant leadership puts people first, or at the very least, on the same level as other top priorities of an organization. Its foundational element is care; care for all those who are touched by the organization. This includes its employees, clients, marketplace, and community. At its heart, servant leadership is about identifying the highest priority needs of those being served and then working to meet those needs. According to Robert K. Greenleaf, who developed the idea of servant leadership, the best test for servant leadership is:
“Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wise, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?”
Who is the Servant-Leader?
There are a growing number of businesses that are embracing a very different approach to doing business; one that is gentler, kinder, and keeps people’s best interests at the forefront of their endeavors. Quoting Greenleaf again,
“The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions.”
One-third of the Forbes list of "Top 100 Companies to Work For" are practicing servant leadership. This includes Starbucks, FedEx, Marriott International, Herman Miller, Toro Company, TDIndustries, Southwest Airlines, and Men's Wearhouse.
Why Servant Leadership?
It boils down to two things – excellence and distinction. Excellence is the result of putting people on the bottom line alongside the rest of the organization’s priorities. In the business realm, it means creating a double bottom line of people and profit. Excellence builds a new level of momentum that brings distinction. Distinction occurs when an organization sets itself apart from its competition with a unique advantage. The unique advantage is a high level of trust and loyalty in the organization's ranks that fosters attraction. Distinction ultimately attracts two drivers that are needed to keep the momentum growing - talent and clients.
While people prosper in servant-led companies, new research demonstrates that these companies are also performing better financially. During a ten-year study period ending in 2005, stocks from the five hundred largest public companies averaged a 10.8% pre-tax portfolio return. During the same period, the eleven "Good to Great" companies studied by James Collins averaged a 17.5% return, while the returns of eleven publicly traded companies that are quite known for practicing servant leadership averaged 24.2%!
Organizations practice servant leadership because they want to establish and nurture a double bottom line of People and Profit. For a different perspective on why we need servant leadership, please read this article.
How Do I Implement Servant Leadership?
Good question, and not an easy one to answer here on a website. Every organization has its unique situation and characteristics that must be taken into account. This means there is no predictable, one-size-fits-all solution with instruction manuals that can be handed to you. However, LET’s Coach, in conjunction with its Business Partner Pathways With Purpose, has developed a process called The Shift that is specific enough to include the stable, foundational building blocks that must be present, but also flexible enough to be molded to your organization’s unique culture and set of criteria.
For more information on servant leadership,The Shift, and how it could help you, please Contact Us or call Eric Torok at 208-301-8047.
