A Case for Servant Leadership

Servant leadership is a transformative approach to leadership that focuses on serving and empowering others to bring out their best. This leadership style has gained popularity in recent years for its effectiveness in cultivating a positive work culture, increasing employee engagement, and driving overall corporate success. At Gaston Leadership Coaching, we align ourselves with this approach.

My view of the best approach to leadership has always been a combination of what I learned at West Point and my purpose in life - helping others. I've shared how I brought all of those things together in my "Command Philosophy ", but I recently started researching Servant Leadership. You'll find work by Greenleaf, Blanchard and others, but I wanted to share my take on it and why I am such an advocate.

I believe the challenges of today's workforce require people-centered leaders who can develop and inspire others to execute and rebuild trust with Customers…beyond management - servant leaders.

A Servant-Leader is a person of character who puts people first. He or she is a skilled communicator, a compassionate collaborator who has foresight, is a system thinker, and leads with moral authority.

Characteristics of a Servant-Leader

• Person of Character  

• Puts People First  

• Skilled Communicator  

• Compassionate Collaborator  

• Foresight  

• Systems Thinker  

•Moral  Authority

• Person of Character – A leader is honest, trustworthy, authentic, humble, leads through their conscience (not their ego), and is committed to the desire to serve something beyond themselves.

• Puts People First – A leader serves first, connects their own self-interest to the needs and interests of others, and leads in a manner which ensures that others grow as individuals.

• Skilled Communicator – A leader seeks to understands first and then to be understood, listens receptively with warmth and interest, invites feedback from others, and seeks to influence with persuasion rather than power or position.

• Compassionate Collaborator – A leader invites and rewards the contributions of others, pays attention to the quality of work life, relates well to diverse individuals, and manages disagreements respectfully, fairly, and constructively.

• Foresight – A leader views foresight as a central, moral principle of leadership, can access their intuition, articulate and inspire a shared vision, and is a courageous decision maker.

• Systems Thinker – A leader demonstrates an awareness of how to lead and manage change, integrates input from all parties in order to develop a holistic solution, and connects systems thinking with ethical issues.

• Moral Authority – A leader values moral authority over positional authority, empowers others with responsibility and authority, sets firm yet flexible boundaries, and establishes quality standards for conduct and performance.

I know this leadership approach works because it mirrors the Army leadership model “Be, Know Do”.

The Army definition of leadership - influencing people – by providing purpose, direction, and motivation – while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization.

Be – leadership starts with character; shaped by values: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, personal courage

• Know – know the technical side of your job and have the people skills: interpersonal, conceptual, technical and tactical

• Do – apply what you Know

• Influencing – communicating, decision making and motivating

• Operating – plan/prep, execute, assess

• Improving – developing, building, learning

Following this leadership model provided the foundation for a successful career, where I:

• Commanded two companies as a captain in Germany. The culminating event was Desert Shield/Desert Storm as a staff officer – supporting 4 divisions and being awarded a Bronze Star.

• Commanded a battalion in Iraq – during Iraqi Freedom in support of 4th Infantry Division (they captured Saddam Hussein). We had had 1,100 team members at one point; with daily missions from Kuwait to Mosul and brought all Soldiers back safely to the U.S. The deployment resulted in earning the 2nd Bronze Star. Most of the company commanders retired as majors, lieutenant colonels and colonels.

The following examples show how each of the traits were effective in peace and war.

Characteristics of a Servant-Leader

• Person of Character  

My maintenance warrant officer of my first company in Germany – “Sir, the outgoing company commander is reporting a vehicle maintenance status – 88% …it is really 65%, what do you want me to do when you take command?” We reported 65% and received a lot of attention, but received the support and assistance needed.

• Puts People First  

Field Artillery Battery commander at my first assignment in Fort Hood, Texas - “I’m going to ensure you know your job and then teach you mine.” He did that, and I credit that approach with accelerating my development as an Army officer. He devoted time 1:1 and observing my team. I’ve approached every supervisory job the same way throughout my career. 

• Skilled Communicator  

That battalion in Iraq had Active Duty, National Guard and Reserve Units from different stateside posts. Communicating as a battalion and in separate visits was essential to create bonds and maintain a common vision and sense of unity – critical because the National Guard and Reserve Unit soldiers perceived being excluded by the Active-Duty team members.

• Compassionate Collaborator  

During Desert Shield/Desert Storm, I was asked to go forward to support the divisions entering Iraq with food, fuel, and other supplies. It meant collaborating with 4 different divisions and ensuring our calculations and projections matched and have resupply for all four happen …on the move…over great distances in hostile territory.

• Foresight  

My battalion commander in Germany loved to have late afternoon logistics sessions in his office…not formal…staff and company commanders would sit and hear his stories of previous deployments/logistics operations…they became the basis of Log supply bases we set-up in Saudi Arabia for Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

• Systems Thinker  

At the end of Iraqi Freedom deployment, my unit had three simultaneous missions to plan and execute: continue to support 4ID units, transition our operations and prepare, and convoy from northern Iraq to Kuwait. While arriving in Kuwait clean and ship equipment and fly out the unit in available wash rack locations and aircraft to multiple locations – maintaining safety, accountability, control, and morale.

• Moral Authority

My officers during a readiness evaluation (extended to 7 days because 3 would not stretch the company) after the lead evaluator “killed” me on Day 1. The officers asked, “sir what do we do?”…my response, “what you’ve been trained to do…what you do daily.” They completed the exercise with excellent ratings. This was the result of daily stand-ups; sharing short, mid term and long term plans; visits to their platoons; quarterly feedback on performance - unit and platoon objectives and command philosophy.

The servant leadership model connects the dots on various leadership models and is key for today's companies and their leaders - it provides the framework to grow and develop future leaders; attract, develop, and retain top talent.

About the book that inspired this blog post.

Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership: Practicing the Wisdom of Leading by Serving; Revised & Expanded Edition Paperback – July 7, 2015 

by James W. Sipe (Author), Don M. Frick (Author)

Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership trains readers in how to evolve and implement the competencies and behaviors of servant leadership using pointed questions, stories, exercises, case studies, and research-based activities that the authors have field-tested with numerous leaders in the public and private sectors.

• Seven Pillars goes beyond developing individual skills, however. Each chapter includes stories of how servant-led companies have integrated specific servant leadership principles and skills into corporate cultures and policies.

• The final chapter offers updated strategies and examples so that readers can begin implementing servant leadership in their own organizations.

• The book includes questions that are ideal for small groups, that reflect the findings of twenty years of research on the changes of human behavior that take place in individuals and organizations.