On Servant Leadership
The servant-leader is servant first … It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions …
Mirages
In the desert, travelers experience an optical phenomenon called a mirage in which light rays are bent to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The effect often looks like a small lake or pond. You’ve probably experienced the same thing to a degree if you’ve ever been on a highway in very hot temperatures. The asphalt in the distance seems to shimmer and appear wet, yet when you reach that spot in the road, the asphalt is dry.
In my speaking and consulting engagements with leaders from around the world, I have noticed servant leadership produces a type of mental phenomenon similar to a mirage. The C-suite executives in many organizations see servant leadership as a lose-win situation. A servant leader seems to be a “doormat”—someone who allows himself or herself to be taken advantage of. Or the leader seems weak. That is the mirage. My experience suggests when you work from the mindset of serving first, you see the situation for what it really is—a win-win. Not a position of weakness, but a position of strength.
James Kouzes and Barry Posner in Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It, say, “Leaders we admire do not place themselves at the center; they place others there. They do not seek the attention of people; they give it to others. They do not focus on satisfying their own aims and desires; they look for ways to respond to the needs and interests of their constituents. They are not self-centered; they concentrate on the constituent … Leaders serve a purpose and the people who have made it possible for them to lead … In serving a purpose, leaders strengthen credibility by demonstrating that they are not in it for themselves; instead, they have the interests of the institution, department, or team and its constituents at heart. Being a servant may not be what many leaders had in mind when they choose to take responsibility for the vision and direction of their organization or team, but serving others is the most glorious and rewarding of all leadership tasks.”
Servant Leadership is about being a servant first!
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