Other leadership styles have different approaches to developing employees. Some additional advice can be found in our article on the Coaching Leadership Style. As romantic as this may sound, Greenleaf saw parallels to the corporate world. To do that, youre going to need to be able to communicate organizational objectives and missions clearly. Perhaps the biggest contributor is that servant leadership builds on good listening skills which combined with empathy means that the leader gets a lot of input from the organization in order to make informed decisions. You can find the above-mentioned democratic and affiliative leadership styles here: Leadership Styles. Servant leaders are deeply committed to the growth of their team members. This can't be done in a short amount of time. Jakob Schwankhaus, co-founder and managing director at product venture studioTrueNode, is eager to be an inclusive leader. Contact the Asana support team, Learn more about building apps on the Asana platform. For example, when assigning project duties to each team member, make sure you provide the resources or the ability to procure them. Perhaps we are having personal problems. (Both can be found here: leadership styles.). It allows you to see things from their perspective. But theres a place for persuasion as a servant leader. Any thoughts on how you fit into the concept of servant leadership? A servant leader should bear this in mind and learn how to strike the delicate balance between the two and not sacrifice the purpose of the organization in favor of people development. A servant leader is able to anticipate future events and the impact theyll have on their team. Theyre based on Greenleafs essays and writings and can help you better understand how to be a servant-first leader. Use left and right arrow keys to navigate between columns. Serving the patients is the first priority, of course. A servant leader will always walk alongside their team members and lead by example. Read about its benefits, key principles, and tips for implementing distributed leadership in a workplace. Remember to stand back with your own opinions to let others be heard: Why should leaders always speak last? Serving patients is our primary focus and the idea behind patient-centered care. Servant leaders persuade others instead of using their authority to make decisions. So when rolling out a new product venture, for example, he has an open discussion with each individual on the team so he can incorporate their preferences into how responsibilities are allocated. In this context, it seems especially important to favor empathy and understanding. In the early weeks of his new role as CTO atAroundhome, they were heading into an important negotiation with their data center provider to take over responsibility of a mission-critical database. (Check our servant leadership vs. transformational leadership for a deeper analysis.). Its not easy. Employees are there to support the leaders efforts to meet company goals. Its a completely selfless type of leadership that focuses on improving people at their core and organizations in their entirety. There are some disadvantages to democratic leadership in nursing, however. I also share some thoughts and stories on servant leadership based on my experience as a CEO. (Compare with Affiliative leadership which is also focused on caring.). But its just as crucial to coach each team member so they can develop better: Developing your direct reports more holistically will improve team capabilities. This will encourage teams to work hard and with integrity. If your team is divided on an issue, you may need to bring your skills of persuasion and influence into play to land on a unanimous decision. Those leaders who didnt fit in with the egoless environment left and collaboration increased. Example: To increase your self-awareness, implement an honest and frequent feedback loop where your team can let you know what works for them and what doesnt. It can also cause confusion when other leaders in the organization take a different approach. Example: As a servant leader you may offer to lend a hand with a task thats not necessarily part of your job description to support a teammate. This was far from the case. 2. That's because servant leadership is a difficult sell that often generates these misconceptions. to bottom, Please comment below. The leader-first and the servant-first are 2 extreme types. Servant leadership is based on a simple concept: that as an employee, a worker is present to serve the organization. A servant leaders awareness includes self-awareness and general awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as those of their team. Instead of having corporate decisions made in a way that benefits the leadership team, servant leadership includes the entire organization. However, the ability to look at a project, team, or organization from a conceptualization perspective allows servant leaders to keep dreaming of great things. Inspired by Blocks words, Spears included stewardship as one of the 10 characteristics of servant leadership. Its not necessary to have a highly influential role in your company to start practicing the servant leadership style. As a servant leader, youre the engine that generates a sense of community and teamwork. I constantly read books about body language and communication in general in order to sharpen my understanding and ability to read the emotional state of other individuals or groups. Definitely not. How can we best define servant leadership? Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. Awareness - the servant leader has a high degree of emotional intelligence and self . Connecting your team members with one another will create a level of trust and companionship that will not only help teammates grow on an individual level but also shine through in their performance. Sebastian Sujka is CEO at xbird, an AI healthcare startup with a team of 20. To put it simply, a servant leader is someone who operates with the passion to serve first and lead second. Furthermore, those on the front lines tend to understand more than upper-level management. However, in order to do so, high-quality . For an even more dedicated style on developing people, read about coaching leadership and how to create a leadership development plan. It takes time to translate a vision into clear objectives and priorities. Getting the best out of your team requires using a variety of management styles. You can show them the impact both inside the company and out. Besides supporting their team members professionally, servant leaders also take a genuine personal interest in them. (In fact, I suggest you take our democratic leadership course with lessons on inclusion, participation, and teamwork created by a CEO.). Disadvantages of Servant Leadership 1. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(9253440, '8381199b-4f67-4ce4-b96c-c66eb44bfc0c', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); BetterUp Care Coach, MSc Clinical Psychology and Researcher, 3100 E 5th Street, Suite 350 Austin, TX 78702, English | Similarly, the servant leader will cultivate a friendly environment. Whether its the personal or professional growth of their team members, servant leaders will do anything in their power to support them. I personally recommend the Goleman framework, it has helped me tremendously in my career as a senior leader, you can read our article here: Six leadership styles based on Emotional Intelligence. In this editorial well focus on a particular style of leadership that we feel is particularly worthwhile: servant leadership. Next, we will look at the advantages and disadvantages of servant leadership style: Some of the advantages of the servant leadership model include: As with all models of leadership, the servant leadership model also has a few drawbacks, such as: While there are many advantages to this style of leading, there are also some drawbacks to consider. Making sure this message reaches employees can increase their motivation. Reading and learning about servant leadership also humbles me since it reminds me of how much more I have to learn and how many more things I need to perfect. Example: As a servant leader you can help your team grow and develop by asking for their goals. It is about figuring out what is best for each member of the team and how to ensure that each person feels that her or his job is meaningful. Example: Use tools like a SWOT analysis to help you better understand past events, manage upcoming projects, and predict future outcomes. This can create positive results at any level. Finding the right leadership style is no easy feat. That said, the best style of leadership depends on what your goals are and your leadership style. 2. In servant leadership, employees are empowered. As we reflect more deeply about this approach to leadership, perhaps we realize that it is more than just a leadership style, but a philosophy of life. It helps servant leaders acknowledge the importance of their responsibilities. There is much to read about servant leadership, and so we have included additional references.613 With this editorial we hope to have stimulated some thought and encouraged further dialogue on the topic of servant leadership. 3. Humility can be defined as neither overestimating ones merits nor overvaluing oneself. To purchase electronic or print reprints, contact American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, 101 Columbia, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656. Use up and down arrow keys to move between submenu items. We come to work each day to be part of a team that provides the highest possible level of care to each and every patient we encounter. The term servant leader was first coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in 1970 in the essay The Servant as Leader. Basically, the servant leadership style was based on the idea that leaders prioritize serving the greater good. So how does servant leadership compare to more traditional leadership styles? On one occasion, he and his wife tended to thousands of patients in Africa, having to travel hundreds of miles occasionally just to get to one patient. In 1964, he founded the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership to advance the awareness, understanding, and practice of this leadership style by organizations and individuals. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that researchers have linked servant leader behaviors to a growing list of positive outcomes for individuals, teams, and organizations. The role of the leader is lessened. There were more and more nights where hefound himself sitting alone in the office at 10 pm. It may require retraining. As the world become increasingly complex and volatile, the leaders with the most influence understand something important. You might also consider creating leadership development plans for yourself and managers that report to you. Learn if distributed leadership is right for you. Do this, and youll be well on your way to becoming a capable and effective servant leader. Transform your enterprise with the scalable mindsets, skills, & behavior change that drive performance. This is the framework of servant leadership one of the most humbling of all leadership styles. Servant Leadership Explained by a CEO: Pros/Cons, Examples. Servant leadership can sadly lead to much focus on the individuals with less focus on the actual goals of the organization as a consequence. For example, ask them what theyd like to do on that new project or how they think they can add value to their work. Are there any things that I can improve on? The issue here is to reconcile a leadership position with the concept of not necessarily knowing, understanding, or having all the answers. Perhaps one of the biggest cons of servant nurse leadership is that it can result in decreased employee motivation. Individuals that dont have the courage or confidence for data-driven decision making on their own yet may feel discouraged and lost in a work environment that provides them with this much executive power. Many of these leadership styles have overlapping characteristics. There are some leaders who transform the positive qualities of servitude into strong leadership qualities. Doing so will improve employee engagement, which is a factor known to increase employee performance by as much as 73%. Empathy - the servant leader seeks first to understand the needs of others and empathize with them. You can show genuine empathy and care for your team while helping the organization succeed. Decisions take longer to be made. She is the epitome of the self-sacrificing qualities a servant leader needs. Focused on the team, more than the customer: Servant leadership has ethical implications that arent as prominent in traditional leadership. Working together, we all win. (Check out my master course on democratic leadership.) Never stop learning how to help, lead and work with people. Still, the development of leadership skills is an ongoing journey that begins with knowing and understanding oneself. Learn the characteristics of a good leader and how to embody the traits yourself. Rather than managing for results, a servant leader focuses on creating an environment in which their team can thrive and get their highest-impact work done. This article presents servant leadership as the best model for health care organizations because it focuses on the strength of the team, developing trust and serving the needs of patients. The primary difference between a servant leader and a transformational leader is that servant leaders develop the people within the organization and community while transformational leaders inspire people within the organization to work towards a common goal. This is because leaders give ownership and some control to employees. Learn how to influence culture as a leader, this is crucial for wider and deeper culture changes. Communication isnt all about what you say, though. 3. Here are some tips for effective deployment and usage of servant leadership. Relationship building forms an important part of servant leadership. I pride myself on being a good and active listener. A servant leader will bring their team together and foster an environment that feels like a community. For servant leaders, the focus would be that we must serve the patient, and that as members of the team we are here to serve one another. He is a revered spiritual leader who has helped his followers solve several hard problems. Healing - the servant leader helps staff to resolve their problems, negotiate their conflicts and encourage the formation of a healing environment. This has helped to build close relationships where the individuals have performed and developed more than they thought they could. Over the decades, Lewin's original leadership styles have evolved into many styles of leadership in health care, such as passive-avoidant, transactional, transformational, servant, resonant, and authentic (Northhouse, 2004; Specchia et al., 2021). Example: Next time your team is making a decision, try using the word we instead of you when presenting your strategy to make everyone feel more like its a team decision and not just you calling the shots. A servant-first leader surrenders most of their authority and puts their team first. Here are the pros and cons to consider when implementing an environment which includes servant leadership. This has not been close at hand in any of my roles and the organizations have often involved so many communities that it has been difficult to really work with this aspect of servant leadership. It's not about the leader as the hero(ine) at the center of it all. Hearing thoughts and perspectives like this has given me very valuable information over the years and it has also built a connection with the person in front of me. By prioritizing a healthy work environment and guiding teammates through their healing process, you can create a culture that strives toward this wholeness. Equipped with this knowledge, the servant leader can work with the team to improve the organization. Do you have something to share concerning your own servant leadership? Weaknesses: Servant leaders put the team's well-being over their individual needs or goals but should be sure they keep sight of the facility or organizations' strategic objectives. By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our, About the American Journal of Critical Care, Copyright 2023 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. However, that can eventually take a turn for the worse if the leader has to step in to solve specific problems or challenges. Steffen had confidence in the abilities of his Head of Ops to take full ownership of the process so he said something to the effect of You handle it.". It can be so tempting in todays busy world to just get through the day without caring for your employees and their needs but servant leaders are different. You have to develop a mindset of service you are there to serve. You still need to look after your own well-being. Short-term goals are important, but with one eye on the horizon, you can continue to inspire your team members even on difficult days. They use everybodys skills, they dont try to do everything. Please tell us more in the comment section below. According to the contingency theory of leadership, a leaders success depends upon circumstances. Lets use the example of a lead intensivist or medical director of an ICU. The issue here is to reconcile a leadership position with the concept of not necessarily knowing, understanding, or having all the answers. Forty-five years of her life were dedicated to taking care of the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying in Calcutta. Transformational leadership is an approach that focuses on the attributes and behaviours of the leader required to empower and motivate team members. It creates diversity within the workplace that helps everyone through the lens of different perspectives. If you have a desire to work toward the greater good or inspire your employees to make an impact, servant leadership might be right for you. This skill might be seen as a slightly different leadership style from servant leadership. Time intensive leadership style: Servant leadership requires a lot of time, energy, and experience. Humility can be defined as neither overestimating one's merits nor overvaluing oneself. Servant leadership is not how many supervisors, managers, and executives learned how to think. Can stifle creativity, collaboration, and innovation. Team members need to be engaged and the leader has to take the time to understand who they are and what motivates them. As such, its important to keep these goals in mind. Receiving criticism from their team and others in the organization allows servant leaders to constantly improve their leadership skills. 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. Perhaps the unit is understaffed. List of the Cons of Servant Leadership 1. Communication and decision-making skills are important aspects for all good leaders to practice, but a key characteristic of servant leadership is to listen to their team and gain a deep understanding of what theyre saying. This approach is often called "servant leadership" because the leader sees themself as serving, rather than commanding, the people around them. Theyre receptive to feedback they dont just give it. Regardless of what communication style you use, your team can benefit from clear communication and dedicated 1:1 time. It requires situational awareness and the ability to adapt quickly it's not a one-size-fits-all approach. They build trust and develop teams. This makes them 4.6 times more likely to work to the best of their abilities. Transformational leadership has got wide implications in nursing leadership and is a powerful management . Servant leadership often leads to high employee engagement, highly motivated employees, and a strong sense of ethics. Attempts to define servant leadership based on its outcomes (e.g. Innovative research featured in peer-reviewed journals, press, and more. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(9253440, '18bbac98-d8f0-4f4f-a151-74e23b6c5002', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); Servant leadership is about empowering your team and helping create a positive work environment. This helps them encourage the team to do the day-to-day tasks necessary to achieve the ultimate goal. Talk less about numbers and metrics and more about the person or people wholl use and build on what theyve done. Nurses are well-placed to help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals which aim to improve health globally. Heres where you can focus your efforts to embody servant leadership characteristics. And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? On the other hand, a servant-first leader puts people first. Because a decision must benefit all instead of some, a corporation can get bogged down in research or different perspectives. We have all been through these kinds of situations. When you prioritize serving others, your team receives the support and resources they need to succeed. What is exciting about servant leadership is that it allows people who may not have a classic leadership personality (eg, outgoing, take-charge, seeking the spotlight) to step forward and say, I would like to help here. It allows all of us to see that there is a style of leadership whereby leaders are there to support the organization and support us. Establishing a charity arm of the organization also helps the team understand the importance of their social responsibility. But the leader doesnt just disappear. Of course, the classic style of leadership is that someone high up in a business structure makes the decisions and the people below simply follow them. There are some industries where servant leadership is a misfit. As it turns out, the team had been feeling left out, and they starteda save Sebastian initiativeto take on more responsibility. This would have been impossible without a good deal of empathy and some visionary thinking. Dont let the interests of any individual move the needle to a point where you are no longer following these objectives. Decisions take longer to be made. In this environment, employees should feel comfortable. Learn from him and his leadership experience as a CEO through the Democratic Leadership Course, Pacesetting Blueprint or his books: Leadership Styles Classics, and Intrapersonal Communication. Furthermore, I always feel it is important to be aware of the emotions and thoughts of others. Servant leadership seeks to achieve a vision by providing strong support to employees. By giving their team members plenty of opportunities to take on leadership roles during group projects, participate in education or development programs, and expand their skills, servant leaders actively contribute to their teams professional growth. You should become an active listener and learn how to pick up on non-verbal cues.I recommend readingour article 17 tips to improve communication. Their main focus will be to grow their own career through their teams performance and output. Foster a culture of inclusion and belonging. Keep an open mind to foster creativity and courage in the workplace. They shouldnt feel threatened by expressing specific complaints or asking questions. No, it isnt. See how innovative companies use BetterUp to build a thriving workforce. You may opt-out by. Hence, servant leadership can be difficult to scale in larger organizations. 7 Leadership Styles in Nursing. Your team cant read your mindand most people are conditioned to assume the worst. She inspired others to contribute their lives to charity. to bottom, Ego has no place in servant leadership. Regardless, we feel that servant leadership specifically and explicitly fits well with the overall goals of critical care nursing and medicine: never take your eye off the ball; that is, the patient comes first. People grow in a servant leadership environment. Greenleaf further explains; The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other peoples highest priority needs are being served. Furthermore, servant leadership is known to take a long time to establish and that is doesnt work in all organizations. When Jakob cant follow their preferences, involvingthemin that thought process has a positive effect on their motivation as they understand a) the rationale of the decision and b) the path for how to get where they want. Employees in a servant leadership environment are more likely to feel that their voices are heard. organizational citizenship behavior), examples (e.g. A leader using servant leadership genuinely cares about the team. Leaders with this style serve their team and organization first. This is a major deviation from the basis of Servant Leadership which should revolve around a greater good. Most importantly, recognize the good work they are doing. Foresight is the ability to determine what might happen in the future by learning from the past, examining the present, and determining potential outcome of decisions. A servant leader is only able to meet the needs of those being served if those needs are understood. Servant leadership stresses the importance of aspirations for the organization rather than ambitions for a particular person: humility, collaboration, and a meaningful work experience lead to positive results. This means you look out for the goals and well-being of others before you think about your own goals. Doesn't lead to diversity in thought. Transform your business, starting with your sales leaders. This is very powerful when it comes to motivation, inspiration, and willingness to execute all of this improves the outcome if you ask me. Servant leaders are emotionally intelligent. All this empathy, holistic development, and concern help the servant leader achieve the primary objective of leadership the development of an organization. Servant leadership: How to lead by serv Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, Read: How to lead by example, according to one Asana leader. The heavy emphasis on holistically developing each team member can result in the team losing sight of the organizations goals. Servant leadership vs. traditional leadership. This is where a servant leadership approach might be valuable. Nelson Mandela When making a speech to his people, Mandela said that he was a humble servant with a desire for his people to experience equality. To build the teams that can solve big, thorny problems, leaders will have to empower their peopleto learn, grow and innovate. However, I have also experienced the disadvantages of servant leadership. With respect to servant leadership, Greenleaf wrote: The servant-leader is servant first. This fosters a deeper connection to the companys mission. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.. While traditional leaders care mostly about their own advancement, servant leaders want to see their whole team grow and succeed. He writes: The servant-leader strives to understand and empathize with others. Well also dive into some examples of how this type of leadership can be used to effectively motivate and inspire your team and fits into overall leadership training. Taking to heart the tenets of servant leadership, his initial mantra was: Its my job to give people what they need, and heconsistently put everyone elses needs before his own. Convincing their teammates of something rather than coercing compliance is one of the clearest distinctions between the servant leadership style and the authoritarian approach.