Servant Leadership

Learn the 10 principles to "serving others" for personal and professional growth. It's called "Servant Leadership." Then, take our 10-question Leadership Quiz! How do you rate? Are you a Servant Leader?

10 Principles to Serving Others / Take the Leadership Quiz
 

Have you ever heard of “Servant Leadership?”  It's a powerful and proven method used to achieve personal and organizational success. It centers on principles that encourage identifying and satisfying other people's needs, before your own, through personal empowerment. Many well-known leaders have used this technique, and mastering the ten principles could lead you to the personal and professional enrichment you seek. 

Servant Leadership
Servant Leadership theory is credited primarily to Robert Greenleaf through his 1970 essay entitled, The Servant as Leader. However, Servant Leadership concepts have been used by other notable business leadership authors including, John C. Maxwell, M. Scott Peck, Ken Blanchard and Stephen Covey. Servant Leadership qualities are also evident in the actions and words of some of our most famous leaders, such as, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and President Calvin Coolidge, to name a few.

The concept is of Servant Leadership is simple―—if you care enough to first serve others, you will be enriched with personal and organizational success.

10 Principles

(Underlying Greenleaf’s concept of Servant Leadership are ten characteristics.)

1.Listen. Learn to naturally respond to problems by listening first.

2. Be Empathetic. Master the ability to see the world through another’s eyes. This requires the leader to have a genuine interest in his/her client and co-worker demonstrated by acceptance of each person, including their special needs and unique personality. However, the ability to empathize does not mean the leader tolerates unacceptable behavior or performance.

3.Have Foresight. Acknowledge that every important business decision is made with incomplete information.

4.Be Aware. Every good leader must have a general awareness of the business, clients and co-workers. Servant leaders, however, are inclined to seek out specific information believed to be potentially helpful to clients and co-workers. 

5.Be Persuasive. Servant leaders have highly developed persuasive skills. They persistently provide convincing and compelling arguments to achieve desired results.

6.Be Conceptual. This is particularly important when leaders are trying to inspire clients and co-workers to achieve vision of a desired future state.

7.Be a Healer. Recognize that a leader has a unique responsibility to heal. In this sense, it means to make yourself and your relationships whole or complete. As a role model, your desire is to see this caring attitude reflected by a shared search for organizational wellness.

8.Be a Steward. This requires a commitment to serve the needs of others and an acknowledgment of the trusted position you have accepted as a leader.

9.Be Committed to People. Successful leaders have a passion for the personal growth and development of others.

10.Build Community. Build an organization of people that nurture a sense of community.

Personal Readiness for Servant Leadership

Are you a Servant Leader? Do you display the characteristics required for Servant Leadership? Let’s find out.  Answer the following questions TRUE or FALSE to assess:

1. I know my important client’s family and personal interests.

2. I usually find ways to get co-workers involved in workplace activities.

3. I work on improving co-worker relationships every day.

4. My business intuition helps me successfully deal with workplace problems.

5. My natural response to a workplace problem is to listen.

6. I am able to summarize messy client issues in simple conceptual terms.

7. My client service is usually based on improving my client’s business.

8. I am sought out regularly as a coach or mentor for co-workers.

9. I regularly send business news clippings to my clients.

10. I never use my official title to execute business decisions.

If you answered TRUE to all of these questions, you are demonstrating Servant Leadership. Anything less means there is room for improvement.

Brad Preber is a national partner at Grant Thornton, LLP, which is the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International, one of six global accounting, tax and business advisory organizations.
 

Brad Preber, CPA, CFF, CFE is the managing partner of the Phoenix and Albuquerque office's of Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International. Preber manages the overall operations, client relations and growth of both offices, in addition to maintaining his roles as the national partner-in-charge of Litigation Consulting Services and the West Region partner-in-charge of the Forensic Accounting and Investigative Services practices for Grant Thornton. Preber is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified in Financial Forensics and a Certified Fraud Examiner with over 25 years experience serving as a litigation consultant, expert witness, forensic accountant and fraud investigator. He specializes in complex claims and events, with a particular emphasis on class actions, commercial disputes and fraud claims. He frequently speaks, writes and teaches on leadership, accounting and fraud matters.

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Find out more about Brad at http://www.gt.com

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