A decade ago, workplace culture emerged as a crucial business issue as more CEOs and HR directors realised that performance, engagement, and creativity are driven by shared values and behaviours.
However, establishing a robust culture calls for visionary leadership. Dr. Jim Laub, an organisational leadership expert, conducted groundbreaking research, which served as the foundation for one paradigm I’ve been employing in my coaching and training practice to build leaders.
Laub outlined six crucial leadership traits that are necessary to develop a flourishing culture. These actions stem from the ideas of servant leadership, a people-first strategy in which leaders put others’ needs first and foster trust, engagement, and productivity in their surroundings.
How to be a servant leader
Both startup owners and Fortune 100 firms, like Southwest Airlines, have adopted servant leadership. For long-term success, they understand how important it is to prioritise people over money. These six behaviours—found in the research and best practices—will help your business develop a dynamic servant leadership culture:
1. They exhibit raw authenticity
In actuality, relationships and people are the foundation of both leadership and life. The fact that successful leaders are actual people is a good place to start. They are genuine if that’s more your style.
However, in a cold, transactional corporate environment, the phrase “authenticity” doesn’t sit well. What does that signify? Occasionally, when things get tough, managers tend to hide, retreat, refuse to cooperate, or put on a mask.
And that mask conceals who they are, perhaps in the way they yell at others or use their phoney charisma to compel attention.
Have you ever been around noisy, boisterous leaders who spoke three dB louder than everyone else? People assume that just because they talk a lot, they will be respected. However, false charisma is motivated by hubris, which is unsustainable, as we all know.
Being authentic means being the best version of yourself. It follows the guidance of both your heart and mind. The ways that servant leaders manifest themselves are:
- Preserving morality and confidence
- Taking responsibility for others
- Expressing what they truly believe
- Being receptive to criticism
2. They develop both individually and collectively
Servant leaders are indeed a different breed. They are happy to take on the role of learners since they are aware that it will improve them. Every individual possesses valuable lessons to impart to them, they understand.
They pose inquiries and genuinely want to know the responses. They never presume to know more than the individuals under their supervision. This is especially crucial for rookie managers overseeing long-tenured staff members or knowledge workers with specialised skills.
Consequently, by utilising these individuals’ abilities and training, servant leaders will empower them to offer brilliant concepts that result in excellent client encounters.
Servant leaders understand that developing their team members’ abilities and capabilities is what makes their organisations strong. They accomplish this by:
- Determining the ideal employment match for each employee based on their skills, abilities, strengths, and personality types to help them realise their full potential.
- Encouraging a “learning spirit” among staff members and making it apparent that “growing our people is one of our highest priorities.”
- Giving their work a purpose and meaning increases employee motivation.
- Providing chances for ongoing coaching, mentoring, and training that are in line with the goals of the organisation, the job, and performance standards.
3. They value their workforce.
Successful servant leaders genuinely regard other people. It begins with having faith in and confidence in others. Consider a group of people working on a difficult project, for instance. Giving their team the freedom to decide for themselves and take responsibility for their job is a sign of a servant leader who believes in their skills. A sense of security is produced when the team’s leader upholds a high esteem for each member, treats them with respect and decency, and has faith in their talents. Individuals are more inclined to provide their greatest ideas when they feel appreciated.
Consider a leader who constantly prioritises the demands of their group over their own. They check in with each person as a deadline draws near, offering assistance, finding out what they need to succeed, or even volunteering to take over work. Loyalty and trust are increased by servant leadership like this.
Listening is yet another essential skill. Let’s say a team member raises issues with the leader. A strong leader demonstrates their understanding of the problem by listening intently and without passing judgment. Honesty and cooperation are essential for problem-solving and creativity, and they are fostered by this open and responsive communication style. People are more inclined to remain involved and dedicated when they feel heard. These behaviours, which are based on respecting others, foster an atmosphere in which the team and the leader can flourish.
4. They foster a sense of community
By fostering a sense of community and encouraging a sense of connection and belonging among their team members, servant leaders effortlessly stand out from the crowd. Numerous research on human emotions has connected positive feelings—particularly those resulting from actions that are supportive of managers—to an individual’s level of engagement at work.
Another aspect of a successful workplace community is collaboration. A servant leader must not only articulate the company’s goal but also encourage their followers to participate as co-creators and co-contributors. This is in their DNA.
In cultures led by servant leaders, fear is effectively eliminated, allowing individuals to freely develop, create, interact, and communicate. This fosters a tangible sense of collaboration.
5. They develop future leaders by sharing their authority
Consider adopting the higher path of sharing power and letting go of control if you want to promote high trust, risk-taking, creativity, and open communication but are still riding your autocratic high horse and instilling fear.
This entails giving individuals the latitude to try new things, take initiative, push themselves, and make errors. Your team will achieve outstanding achievements as a result of unleashing discretionary effort. This calls for initiative, which may energise and inspire; it also means forging ahead of obstacles and establishing the pace.
This process entails understanding the procedures required to achieve the vision and making sure everyone is on the same page regarding the road forward, therefore it is critical to be clear about expectations and goals.
6. They develop future leaders by sharing their authority
Consider adopting the higher path of sharing power and letting go of control if you want to promote high trust, risk-taking, creativity, and open communication but are still riding your autocratic high horse and instilling fear.
This entails giving individuals the latitude to try new things, take initiative, push themselves, and make errors. Your team will achieve outstanding achievements as a result of unleashing discretionary effort. Servant leaders place their people in leadership positions so they can be exposed to new experiences and acquire new skills and roles, rather than using their positional power for personal gain, self-promotion, or requests for special privileges.
Leaders are found across an organisation, not simply at the top, in highly successful ones. Pushing authority down to develop a leader-leader culture is always the answer.
Retired U.S. Navy Captain David Marquet describes in his book Turn the Ship Around how he overturned a ship under his command by insisting on leadership at every level and questioning the U.S. Navy’s conventional leader-follower structure.
Because he decided to cede authority, his submarine shot up to the top of the entire fleet. Every day, the staff contributed their full intellectual potential, showing complete engagement.
Your subsequent action
Although there is an obvious route to success, we must never forget that leadership is a journey. The only people with a competitive edge are those committed to lifelong learning and development. “Flavour of the month” training should be avoided since it is rarely lasting or effective. Only with extensive coaching and the use of critical techniques and abilities in the workplace can these behaviours become deeply embedded in the brain.
(Tashia Bernardus)