Servant leadership might appear to be a new term for many but it has been a growing philosophy and a set of practices that has been becoming more and more relevant in the diverse working structures, especially in over-populated countries like India. Servant leadership has revolutionized the concept of leadership by introducing a shift from the traditional command and control model. The primary objective of efficient servant leaders is ensuring that the teams’ needs are being met, while also encouraging team players to make better decisions and be more innovative.
While traditional leaders primarily focus on the growth of an organization, servant leaders put their employees need at the fore. This strategy of leadership is targeted towards boosting the morale of the employees and driving the best performance out of them. Especially, at a time when businesses and its people are coping up with the fast-paced transition in operations, servant leadership has evolved to be of key relevance. The disruptions in normalcy and way of doing business have prompted the need for a more comprehensive and communal leadership approach.
The most distinguished characteristic of a servant leader from traditional leaders is that s/he is a servant first and primarily focuses on other people’s well-being and growth. In other words it is not a sole leader with power but a leader who is a power-sharer. Some of the few characteristics of a servant leader include:
Listening skills: While a good leader can be attributed for his/her power, decisiveness and strong communication skill, active listening is also a core value of a servant leader to understand the need of the overall group.
Empathy: Efficient leadership is bringing out the best solution by considering others’ point of view. Efficient servant leaders truly feel and understand how their decisions and actions will be impacting others in the team.
Awareness: Servant leaders stay completely vigilant about the things going around them and stay aware understanding issues involving ethics and values. Their primary role is to strategically be aware of how individual actions can impact the organization as a whole.
Selflessness: Servant leaders are servants first and leaders later; hence motivating and guiding others towards the path of success. Their attitude towards empowering the entire team impacts the overall growth of an organization.
Accepting new ideas: One of the key attribute of a servant leader is to accept all views and ideas. They are open to addressing all disagreements and opinions while also further encouraging others to be candid and focused.
Lead by example: Presenting an image of being not a boss and rather a steward, the servant leaders becomes the guiding ship who leads by setting up themselves as an example to influence the team; thereby, driving the organization’s growth.
Collaboration: With an attitude to be an equal part of the team, servant leaders are effective in making the team players realize that they are equal contributors towards organizational success; their boosting team building with better collaboration.
Accountability: Servant leaders in the organization works with the ideology that only they are accountable to their superiors and safeguards the mistakes of his/her team members. They further seek feedbacks on their own performance and gradually improve their leadership.
(The author is Mr. Gaurav Bhagat, Founder, Gaurav Bhagat Academy (GBA) and the views expressed in this article are his own)
