Servant Leadership is a Mindset, Not a Style

When I wrote my most recent book, Serve Up & Coach Down, my goal was to address a crucial gap in servant leadership that often leaves middle managers struggling more than succeeding. If you have both a boss and employees you lead, then this week’s blog is for you.

Many don’t understand what Servant Leadership actually is. The essence of servant leadership lies in having the right mindset—to be the one others can rely on to achieve success while helping others achieve theirs.

We serve those we follow by believing in them, and we serve those we lead by coaching them. The power of servant leadership is rooted in our humility and our genuine conviction to make a significant impact on those we serve.  Let’s dive deeper into the actions of Servant Leadership. 

Serving Those We Lead: Serving is Coaching

I believe our number one job as leaders is to make our people better. And that is done through consistently coaching our team members. A great coach helps their team members achieve success they wouldn’t attain on their own. Our role is to develop our team members, teach them, and push them to be their best. To achieve this, we must commit to spending time with them regularly. This time shouldn’t be about inspecting activities or verifying results; it should be about preparing them for their opportunities. It’s about making them bigger and better than the challenges they will face in the coming hours, days, and weeks.

This principle is easy to believe in but hard to commit to in terms of time and effort. However, to truly obtain the dedication and level of success we want from our teams; leaders must dedicate time to team members through weekly team practices, one-on-ones, and proactive engagement in the field or on the floor. This should be a proactive behavior, not a reactive one that only happens when there’s a problem or a big opportunity.

Coaching others so they can get promoted and become more successful is vital. This means that if we do our job well, our team members may grow so much that they leave us for better opportunities. If we truly care about serving others, we should be proud of their growth, even if it means they move on. Of course, we hope that all our great team members stay, but coaching is about fostering growth and success, regardless of where they end up.

Serving Those We Follow: Serving Up

Serving those we follow can be more challenging to accept, but it’s crucial for achieving team goals and earning the trust of those we lead (yes serving those we FOLLOW helps gain the trust of those we LEAD).

Often, as leaders, we may feel that the direction given by our superiors differs from what we think is best. We might also feel frustrated if our opinions weren’t sought. Many of us have experienced this in our leadership journey, and our own team members have felt the same about us.  Which is why when we  truly serve up, it helps our own team members do the same. 

Here’s my challenge: “Serve Up.” Truly serve up. Don’t just follow instructions; seek to understand what and why you are being asked to do something (not in a challenging way, but in a way that will equip you to do what is asked even better).

There may be times you will need to just be humble and assume that the directives are correct, recognizing that our perspectives may simply be different- and move forward anyhow (it is the same thing you would want from your own team).

We want to be seen as the one others can count on, the one who will go above and beyond.

Consider this: How many of us want our followers to believe in us? How many of us want the best for our team members and would never intentionally lead them astray? We want our team members to know we care for them and want the best for them. We should believe in those we follow the same way we want our people to believe in us.

Leadership is learned from fellow leaders. Most of us have learned what to do—and what not to do—by observing our leaders.  Be the leader that others can positively learn from. 

Additional Actions of Servant Leadership

A couple more actions, or mindset approaches, of Servant Leadership are autonomy and empathy.  Empowering team members by giving them autonomy shows that you trust their abilities and judgment. This can increase motivation, enhance innovation and further develop personal growth. Autonomy does not mean you give them their orders and walk away.  Rather it is an entire approach of allowing your team to work collaboratively and individually on what is assigned to them, yet still holding everyone accountable to their goals and expectations.  It still means having one on ones and coaching them to success, but allowing them to make mistakes, grow and learn is a crucial element of Servant Leadership.

Empathy is necessary at every level of Servant Leadership. Understanding and addressing the needs and concerns of your team members can strengthen relationships, improve communication and foster a supportive environment. Empathy does not mean that you allow everyones home problems to invade the workspace, or that you coddle those that do not want to follow directives.  It means you have tools and resources available for those that may be struggling and that you practice discernment when a team member needs help. 

Conclusion

Servant leadership is a mindset dedicated to having a profound impact on those we serve, whether they are peers, bosses, customers, or clients.  Serve Up & Coach Down is not just a leadership style; it is a mindset. By having the right mindset, we can truly embody the spirit of servant leadership and watch our team flourish, which also aids the entire company to lasting success. Let’s get our minds right and embrace the true essence of servant leadership!