Servant leadership in its basic form is the principle of how can I serve you? The components of servant leadership have always aligned with the type of leader I strive to be. Listening, empathy and healing are three characteristics of servant leadership which I find challenging to consistently realize in my own practice.
Listening takes practice. I always thought I was a good listener. But listening takes more than just listening to the words that are coming out of someone’s mouth. To actively listen calls us to be engaged in what the other person is saying, be open to what they are saying and pay attention to non-verbal clues. I try my best to listen to my staff, but I work in a very busy industry where things are constantly shaking. I feel that my work brain moves a million miles per minute and it does interfere with my listening. I know listening is a learned skill and one I hope to be better at in future. I believe we can miss out on a wealth of information by being closed minded and not actively listening to what someone is telling us.
Empathy and putting myself in someone else’s shoes comes naturally to me. Although sometimes it can be dangerous as I am quite sensitive and can take on others feelings as my own without realizing it. When leading my team I know that I compartmentalize my empathetic tendencies when not warranted by the situation. The problem with this is I can’t always switch hats when the moment calls for empathy. I do this without realizing it until much later.
Healing focuses on the well being of the followers, often helping them solve a personal problem. It is the belief of some (Greenleaf, Northouse, 2018.p.229) that helping the followers heal in turn heals the leader. Healing is to make the person well again, taking a holistic approach. I know this is not one of my strengths. It is difficult for me to recognize when one of my team is struggling with their personal life. Other than seeing their performance suffer and demeanor change I don’t know what other signs I would notice. In practice, I think this would be one of my most challenging characteristics to realize.
The thing I love about leadership is that it is humanizing. It goes back to the principle that people will always be people and when we recognize them for a human being with gifts and talents they feel valued. When someone feels valued it unlocks their potential and great things happen.
How can we recognize unlocked potential? What do you love most about leadership?
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and practice.
Jessica,
You have identified three interconnected aspects of leadership that build on each other. When we listen authentically (not just to what is being said, but also what is unsaid), we can become more empathetic and subsequently, have more opportunity to engage in healing.
I wonder, however, whether this just applies to concerns team members have about their personal lives, or if it is inclusive of their concerns related to their job performance or relationships with coworkers.
Balancing empathy for those you lead, with the need to move forward with achieving goals can be somewhat of an art, I think.
Perhaps you might think about how creating a community within the work place might open up opportunities for team members to support each other through their own use of listening, empathy, and healing. Perhaps you could focus your efforts as a leader on creating that type of community, so your team members are able to provide much of that type of support to each other.
In fact, in a study conducted by Gallup, one of the compelling aspects for workplace success was having a close friend at work. Creating a sense of community to support friendship development may be one other strategy for ensuring those you lead are supported emotionally — without you having to be all things to all people.
Do you think a strategy like this aligns with (or fits into) this theory of servant leadership?
— Leadership Prof
Mann, A. (2018). Why we need best friends at work. Retrieved from: https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236213/why-need-best-friends-work.aspx