Servant Leadership Philosophy: Workplace and Personal Life

Introduction

Whereas there is no universally agreed definition, leadership essentially means the process of influencing a group of people to accomplish a shared goal or objective (Northouse, 2013). A leader offers guidance, direction, and motivation. Different leaders use different styles to influence their followers. For instance, some prefer making all decisions by themselves, while others grant their followers decision-making authority. Leadership style basically constitutes what is known as leadership philosophy — the set of values, beliefs, attitudes, and principles that form the basis of a leader's behaviour or approach to leadership (Kouzes, Posner, & Biech, 2010). Leadership philosophy is what a leader stands for, what a leader believes in, or what makes one leader different from another.

It is important to understand one's leadership philosophy. This knowledge is crucial for gauging how effective one is with respect to their leadership style — that is, their strengths and weaknesses. In this paper, I describe my leadership philosophy. First, I describe my personal management mission statement and then explain it in light of leadership philosophy. Next, I explain how I can implement my leadership philosophy at my workplace. Finally, I consider how I can implement my leadership philosophy in my personal life.

Personal Management Mission Statement

From my perspective, a leader is one who serves others. A leader places their own interests after everyone else's. In other words, a good leader prioritises the needs of his or her followers. Rather than expecting their followers to serve them, good leaders serve others. They share power with their followers, help them grow, and value them. They lead from the front and roll up their sleeves to work alongside their followers. Following from this belief, my personal management mission statement reads as follows: leadership is service to others, not being served.

My leadership philosophy is consistent with the theory of servant leadership. Though servant leadership has been in existence for centuries — or even millennia — the concept was first formally described by Robert K. Greenleaf in his 1970 essay "The Servant as Leader." Greenleaf describes servant leadership as leadership that "begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first" (Northouse, 2013, p. 220). A servant leader is consciously or naturally motivated by the need to prioritise the needs of those he or she serves (Greenleaf, 2003). In other words, servant leaders put the wellbeing of their followers before their own. They are selfless, supportive, effective listeners, persuasive, and influential. Servant leaders are also constructive, motivating, flexible, and noticeably committed to the growth of their followers (Northouse, 2013). These characteristics set servant leadership apart from other leadership styles.

Servant leadership is advantageous for a number of reasons. First, servant leaders build strong relationships with their followers (Neuschel, 2005). Due to their evident commitment to the needs of their followers, servant leaders gain the trust and confidence of those they lead. With assurance that the leader is concerned about their wellbeing, followers reciprocate by demonstrating loyalty to the leader, ultimately resulting in a strong team. Another advantage of servant leadership is that it fosters shared decision-making. Servant leaders empower their followers to participate in decisions. This participative approach further strengthens the leader-follower relationship, as the leader demonstrates acknowledgement of followers' ideas and opinions (Northouse, 2013). An even more important advantage is that servant leaders support the growth of their followers. Unlike other types of leaders, servant leaders are likely to generate leaders with similar characteristics — in other words, they help their followers become servant leaders as well.

However, servant leadership may have some downsides. For instance, the participative style a servant leader encourages may be perceived as a lack of authority or control. This is not necessarily true. Being a servant leader does not inevitably mean a leader has no power over their followers, nor does it mean that one is a doormat for everyone to step on. Instead, servant leadership means that although the leader gives followers an opportunity to offer their perspectives, the ultimate decision-making authority rests with the leader (Greenleaf, 2003). Furthermore, servant leaders can more readily maintain team cohesion due to the immense trust their followers place in them. Another concern about servant leadership stems from the perception that servant leaders focus too much on people as opposed to the task, potentially compromising results. While there could be some merit in this argument, it is important to note that servant leaders tend to be effective because they are directly involved in doing the work themselves. They do not simply issue directives and wait for reports — they lead from the front.

Implementation of Personal Leadership Philosophy at the Workplace

The relevance of servant leadership in the professional workplace is immense (Davis, 2017). This is particularly true in today's workplace, where employees desire flexibility, recognition, motivation, and empowerment. As noted earlier, servant leaders put other people's interests first. Accordingly, the first step in implementing servant leadership at the workplace is to understand the needs of followers. What are their interests? What matters most to them? What do they value? Do they need only good compensation, or do they also need a friendly work environment? Do they value work-life balance? Do they like being involved in decision-making? Answering these questions helps the leader gain a better understanding of their followers' most important needs.

For instance, if followers desire a proper work-life balance, a servant leader will assign work roles with this need in mind. The leader might allow a worker who recently had a baby to arrive later or leave earlier than the standard time, so as to allow the parent more time with their child. Such a worker may also be permitted to work from home or to use the organisation's day care facility. Allowing such flexibility demonstrates that the leader cares not just about work output, but also about the non-work needs of their followers. In addition, rather than imposing decisions on followers, a servant leader will invite team members to share their perspectives regarding how a particular task or challenge should be approached — whether it involves a new initiative, a change in process, or a shift in strategic direction. A servant leader acknowledges that followers may even have better solutions to a given problem, and therefore allows for the consideration of multiple perspectives before a final decision is made.

It should be noted that servant leadership is not a one-time event — it is a process, and also a culture. The leader creates and maintains a culture of servant leadership within the organisation (Spears & Lawrence, 2002). This means that everyone in the organisation must embrace the language of service. There is likely to be little or no success if only the leader is committed to servant leadership. It should be a value espoused by everyone in the organisation, from top to bottom. This means that the leader should clearly communicate servant leadership as a core value of organisational culture — not just during an annual staff meeting, but at every available opportunity. The leader can take advantage of team-building events, employee discussion forums, staff gatherings, and even informal conversations to reiterate the importance of servant leadership and rally followers around it. In this way, servant leadership becomes institutionalised within the organisation's culture.

If implemented at the workplace, servant leadership can generate significant benefits for the organisation. As a leader, implementing servant leadership would help me build a sense of community. This has the potential to increase follower engagement, enhance commitment to work, and reduce turnover (Davis, 2017). Such employee outcomes can positively affect organisational productivity and performance.

Conclusion

Overall, servant leadership is a leadership philosophy applicable not only in the workplace, but also in one's personal life. The philosophy can be applied at work and in the family setting to promote strong relationships, trust, respect, and collaboration between the leader and followers, or between spouses. A fundamental attribute of servant leadership is selflessness. Motivated by the desire to serve others, servant leaders regard other people's needs and interests as more important than their own. This makes servant leadership a particularly distinctive approach compared to other leadership styles. Servant leadership may have some shortcomings, but if effectively applied, it can result in more fulfilling workplaces and personal lives.

References

Blanchard, K. (2003). Servant leader. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Davis, C. (2017). Servant leadership and followership: Examining the impact on workplace behaviour. New York: Springer.

Greenleaf, R. (2003). The servant-leader within: A transformative path. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.

Kouzes, J., Posner, B., & Biech, E. (2010). A coach's guide to developing exemplary leaders: Making the most of the leadership challenge and the leadership practices inventory (LPI). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.

Neuschel, R. (2005). The servant leader: Unleashing the power of your people. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.

Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Spears, L., & Lawrence, M. (2002). Focus on leadership: Servant leadership for the 21st century. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.