Servant leadership may sound contradictory at first. But here we explain how this leadership style can succeed and what advantages it brings. Servant leadership differs from “traditional leadership”, i.e. the traditional style of leadership. In this style, the supervisor encourages employees to do their best at 20bet casino login by motivating them and providing them with helpful tips. The main goal of traditional bosses is the success of the organization or company. This leadership style is often described as “command and control”.
WHAT IS IT?
Servant Leadership literally means “servant leadership”. In this style, the leader focuses on the needs, growth and well-being of the employee.
Rather than exploiting his/her authority, a servant leader works to support and empower the people he/she works with – serving them, so to speak. This includes creating an environment in which all employees can develop their authentic personalities. In servant leadership, bosses even take care of the personal and health development of their employees.
Servant leaders therefore focus on the people who are directly “under” them.
ITS ORIGIN
The concept of servant leadership was coined in the 1970s by mathematician Robert K. Greenleaf. In 1970, after a 38-year career with the telecommunications company AT&T, including as a manager, he published “The Servant as Leader.” In this essay, he first described his idea that good leadership consisted of serving others and helping them realize their full potential.
Greenleaf argued that traditional authoritarian leadership methods are not always effective, and that a new approach is needed to achieve an organization’s goals.
THE PRINCIPLES
1. listen well
Servant leaders always listen to others before speaking their own minds. They want to know what their employees are thinking and how they feel. Both what is being said and what is being kept quiet, he or she wants to hear out and thus clearly identify the group’s intentions. Periods of reflection are also important to better understand what is being heard.
2. Empathy
As a servant leader, strive to understand and empathize with others. Accept them in their uniqueness and always assume that everyone has the best intentions.
3. healing
Many people feel broken or hurt by negative experiences in the past, whether professional or personal. Servant-leaders, according to Greenleaf, need to recognize that they have the opportunity to help their employees heal.
In “The Servant as Leader,” Greenleaf writes about this: “The one being served and the one being led are subtly communicated that the pursuit of wholeness is something they have in common when the agreement between the servant leader and the led is implicit.”
4. consciousness
A general awareness and consciousness of oneself (“awareness” and “self-awareness” – not to be confused with self-awareness), helps the servant leader in their role. It can help to better understand ethics, power and values issues in employee:leadership. It contributes to a more holistic perspective through which the leader can also see his or her own strengths and weaknesses more clearly.
5. persuasiveness
When making decisions, servant leaders rely more on persuasion than on their own authority. He or she avoids forcing employees to comply and instead tries to build consensus. This is one of the clearest differences between the traditional authoritarian model and that of servant leadership.
6. conceptual power
Conceptualization means thinking beyond everyday problems and dreaming big, so to speak. All leaders must be able to make short-term, operational decisions.
Servant Leaders also work on their long-term, conceptual thinking. In this way, they ideally combine the perspectives of the board level (very long-term and not very detailed) and the employees (day-to-day operations, more short-term).
How does servant leadership work?
Servant leadership is difficult, probably more difficult than the traditional authoritarian leadership style. While servant leadership councils should strive for the ten traits described above, there are also some things to avoid.
- Employees must understand their job. Before the leader can support them in their goal, it must be clearly communicated what exactly the goal actually is. So it’s not a matter of leaving goals open-ended or up to the employees themselves.
- Servant leaders should also provide direction. Only when it is clear to everyone where things are headed can employees get support from their managers.
- Employees are responsible for their work. It is the role of the supervisor in servant leadership to support all colleagues as best as possible. However, this does not mean that employees no longer have to take responsibility for their own performance.
