We are experiencing the Great Resignation of 2022, where a record number of people have left their jobs or positions after the pandemic. Although there are many reasons for the Great Resignation, one that has been proven is the inability of leaders to serve their people.
Our world doesn’t necessarily need more leaders. It just needs more values-based servant leaders!
Servant Leadership is a philosophy of leading from the bottom up. It is different from traditional leadership in which leaders place themselves at the top and the people they lead are underneath. Servant leadership is truly serving and supporting others as a priority, not just serving for results.
One of the reasons our country is experiencing the “Great Resignation” is that many leaders of schools, organizations, and businesses continue to utilize a traditional style of leadership.
While all leaders bring their own unique talents to their organizations, there are some key traits that all servant leaders practice. They take the time to implement these practices in their day-to-day lives until they become habitual. Eventually, servant leadership becomes the culture of the organization, which produces leaders at all levels!
One major difference between traditional leaders and servant leaders is how they measure their success. Traditional leaders measure their success in results, while servant leaders measure their success by the growth of the people they lead. Traditional leaders are interested in the final “product” their organizations produce, while servant leaders are interested in developing the people who create those very “products.” Everyone grows as a result of servant leadership. Here are some of the other qualities of a servant leader:
Emotional Intelligence- The ability to listen to and be empathetic toward those you lead. It is genuinely taking an interest in those you lead by understanding them personally and not trying to “fix” them. It is not responding back to them with your “one up” story or thinking about what you are going to say instead of focusing on being present with them in conversation.
Self-Awareness- An understanding of how your behavior affects those you lead. It is the awareness of your strengths and your weaknesses as well as those you lead. It is having the awareness of seeing different perspectives and leading through problems and solutions.
Commitment- Having resilience through consistency in serving those you lead. One of the most difficult habits to develop as a leader is commitment to the daily habits that will lead to trust. It is doing what you said you were going to do, even when your mood is drastically different from the mood you were in when you made the commitment.
Servant leadership is a pathway to multiplying leaders. It fosters a nurturing environment that creates positive influence in the lives of those we lead. Healthy organizations create leaders at all levels, regardless of a person’s title or duties. Investing in servant leadership is one of the greatest decisions a leader can make, especially during challenging times.
How will you make servant leadership one of your values?