To help you acquire the abilities of a servant leader, take the following actions:
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1. Set an exemplary example
A servant leader should constantly set a good example for their group. You should be prepared to assist your team in whatever way that you ask them to as a servant leader. Your team members will be more engaged in their job and the organization when they realize that you are prepared to work just as hard as they do.
2. Explain to them the value of their work
Employees feel more empowered and inclined to put in more effort to contribute to the success of the company when they believe that their job matters to the whole. Ensuring that your team members comprehend the importance of their job and how it directly affects the company’s overall performance is crucial for a servant leader.
3. Promote cooperation and staff involvement
It is the specialty of servant leaders to make their staff feel respected and heard. By proactively promoting cooperation and soliciting ideas for improving the company, you show them that you respect and appreciate what they have to say. Your team may be motivated to pursue greatness and do better work by using this strategy.
4. Encourage the development of your group
Servant leaders put equal emphasis on developing their team members become outstanding leaders as well as on becoming excellent leaders themselves. When working on collaborative projects, you may motivate team members to assume leadership responsibilities. They are more inclined to pay attention to advice on how to make their job better if they are aware of your dedication to their professional development.
5. Show personal concern for your team members.
Demonstrating your genuine concern for your team members is another way to develop into a servant leader. When you can help your workers achieve a better work-life balance and manage their personal stress, show them empathy and provide guidance. Your staff is more likely to enjoy going to work and delivering high-caliber work when they believe they matter as people, not simply as workers.
6. Request input
A servant leader should always seek out opportunities to grow as a leader and support their group. When a team member has an idea to enhance productivity or advance the business, encourage them to share it with you. Make an effort to give your team members the confidence to approach you with ideas at any time, and persistently solicit input from those who don’t naturally provide it.
Examples of servant leadership
Here are some instances of servant leadership in action:
Setting an exemplary example
When a sales team supervisor is willing to complete the same chores that they give to their team members, they are exhibiting servant leadership. The supervisor intervenes by assisting the team on the sales floor to help them reach their objectives when they are having trouble meeting their sales targets.
Promoting cooperation
By conducting frequent small group meetings, the manager of a sizable call center invites customer service representatives to share their thoughts on how the business might advance. Associates are asked to discuss how the organization can enhance the customer experience, how to make the associate’s work simpler, and what the management team can do to enhance leadership during these meetings.
Taking personal care of your team
A medical office aspires to demonstrate to its staff that it is concerned about their general health and well-being in addition to that of its patients. The firm has a corporate wellness program in place to incentivize employees to adopt healthy behaviors. Employees who have their yearly wellness checks, lose weight, or quit smoking are eligible for gift cards, and their gym subscriptions are reimbursed.
What qualities make someone a successful people leader?
I believe that becoming a great people leader is not easy. To succeed in this position, one needs a certain set of abilities, characteristics, and attitudes. It also requires a thorough comprehension of what it means to lead others. In my previous column, I hinted at the turning point that, in my opinion, marked my transition from people manager to people leader: realizing that my role went beyond just employing, training, and compensating employees. I was providing them and their families with the chance to enjoy the life they had always wanted.
People leadership versus people management
According to renowned leadership expert Peter Drucker, “Management is doing the things right.” “Doing the right thing” is the definition of leadership, and I think that every great people leader is born with this quality. Supervisors cling to their staff members. Leaders grow and release them. Supervisors inform. A leader motivates. Managers take all the attention. Leaders give people the opportunity to shine.
Too many people leaders, in my opinion, are really people managers. It’s not their fault; they are frequently elevated to leadership roles due to their technical prowess, but regrettably, they haven’t had the same opportunity—or maybe they haven’t wanted to—to hone their people skills. Or they are eager to advance in their careers but aren’t yet prepared to prioritize their team. Others are “psychopaths,” possessing grandiosity, charm, and charisma that might be confused for vision or confidence. These traits are frequently helpful in advancing one’s career in business.
Leaders that prioritize people
No, the truth is that not many individuals excel at becoming people leaders. Great leaders are visionaries, achievers, and entrepreneurs, but regrettably, not all of them can really claim to prioritize their team members.
Since enjoying people is the first step towards being a people-centric leader. You might chuckle, but I can’t tell you how many times in my work I’ve seen “people leaders” declare that they detest working with staff. It is essential that you comprehend your staff members; motivate and uplift them. And you can only naturally like people and want them to succeed if you really do. As a people leader, this kind of selflessness and emotional intelligence are crucial, although they are frequently absent from job descriptions for leaders. EQ is a fundamental strategic requirement for managing the elusive and erratic emotions of employees; it makes motivating leaders productive rather than too sentimental. HR may be learning how to utilize technology to support their capabilities, but without the ability to go out into the workplace, speak with your employees, and sense what’s truly going on inside, you can’t be a great people leader. There is never a spreadsheet that can fully replace the value of emotional intelligence.
In addition, a great people leader possesses the following qualities in combination: influence, compassion, openness, determination, capacity to make difficult decisions, commercial acumen, diplomacy, leadership expertise, operational excellence, accountability, and integrity.
Is it clear why so many leaders find it difficult to lead by example? You must be sensitive and sensitive but also a strategic hardliner; imaginative yet realistic; adept at running the books and the board while also setting the standard with innovative ideas.
Being a people leader practically requires having two personalities. having many facets, being able to change perspectives quickly, and being expected to emphasize and have an impact on every aspect of company.
