As an executive, I am often asked about the best approaches for developing strong, values-based leaders in organizations. One model that I frequently recommend is servant leadership.
Servant leadership prioritizes the needs of colleagues, stewardship of resources, and service over personal power and control. The concept was first developed in the 1970s by Robert Greenleaf who believed leaders should focus first on serving others to bring out the best in their people and organizations.
In my work, I have seen servant leadership create engaged, fulfilled employees who feel valued by their leaders. This motivates them to also serve their colleagues and the organization’s mission. Servant leaders achieve this by listening intently, showing empathy, and prioritizing the growth of others. They see their role as supporting their team so they can accomplish shared goals.
My own experience in the intensive Emerging Leaders Program at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business underscored the power of servant leadership. In this 1-year program, I learned and shared with other leaders from Sub-Saharan Africa and the United States. We worked through challenging case studies and presentations that centered on the anti-Apartheid and post-Apartheid eras in South Africa, as well as the U. S. Civil Rights movement. This was done to help us understand the power of servant leadership in nation building and system reform.
The Executive Director, Ambassador James Joseph, who passed away in February of this year, exemplified servant leadership. As a former foundation president, two-time presidential appointee, and former Chief Executive Officer of the Council of Foundations, Ambassador Joseph often spoke of leadership as a way of being. He encouraged us to:
- Wait until you are moved to speak, rather than rush to fill silence
- Resist judgment, listen deeply to understand others first
- Respond thoughtfully, do not react impulsively
He stressed that leadership requires you to be in front, in the middle, and in the rear of your organization. Providing guidance and direction often requires the leader to be in front, especially when there is uncertainty. If your team requires more support internally, the leader needs to position themselves in the middle to provide mentoring. In the event the leader wants their team to garner praise for hard work or special recognition, he/she should be in the rear to let others shine.
Ambassador Joseph also facilitated intensive self-reflection to help us understand our own values, motivations, and areas for growth. This included identifying times when we led through service versus seeking personal advancement. We discovered that collective wisdom and diverse skills shine when leaders uplift others.
I completed the program feeling empowered by Ambassador Joseph’s application of servant leadership principles. I also realized that to lead others effectively, I must first look to their needs and potential. Serving others’ growth unlocks their full capabilities and brings people together around inspiring goals.
This collaborative approach allows the collective wisdom and diverse skills of all team members to contribute meaningfully. It builds strong organizations that reflect shared values, spur innovation through inclusion, and foster a sense of collective purpose. This drives better solutions and outcomes.
The greatest leaders uplift others and bring out their best. When leaders empower, develop, and elevate their teams, they uplift their organizations and communities. This is the profound and enduring value of servant leadership, a lesson that drove home the importance of inclusive, collaborative leadership for me. It showed me the tremendous value created when leaders embrace service over hierarchy or personal advancement.
Servant leadership principles of humility, stewardship and growth mindset are needed now more than ever. With growing polarization and uncertainty globally, the world needs more leaders who listen deeply, build trust, and stay focused on shared goals versus self-interest. This gives me hope that more collective progress is possible if we develop more servant leaders committed to the growth of others.
Photo by Nastuh Abootalebi on Unsplash
Steedley led Motus Consulting USA, LLC, a management consultancy providing services to groups engaged in transformation, including nonprofits, corporations, and government entities.
A former International Fellow of the Emerging Leaders Program in the Graduate School of Business at the U. of Cape Town, S. Africa, he's also a former Research Fellow at M.I.T.'s Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Steedley received a B.A. from the U. of South Carolina, a M.S. in Human Services from the U. of Massachusetts-Boston and a M.A. in Sociology from Boston College.
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Servant leadership is not the “latest trend in business”.
It is not just a “timely” idea or a “positive” attitude or the good old “paradigm shift” mentality. It’s not just a godly or Christian way, or a biblical concept. There are other ways.
However, if you want to motivate people, make them feel they are part of the solution, important to the plan, important to others, build them up, show them they are seen as well as heard, and giving you their best, servant leadership principles is not the only way; it’s merely the best way!
Hi Jill, Thanks for responding. Just to clarify, where did you read latest trend in business in the servant leadership article? It appears in your comments about the article you are suggesting I made that statement. Thanks Jill!
Nice read in these troubled times of : shutdown of governmental political realities; indifferent political parties Dems and Repubs, a total way out former POTUS, the one-sided issue of generational wealth white people vis a vis black people, mental health and homelessness in the richest nation on the planet, whew the list goes on and on. Nevertheless, ‘we still Rises’!