What is Servant Leadership? The birth of Servant Leadership

In recent years, Servant Leadership has been widely applied, gradually becoming a new leadership trend, bringing many values to individuals and organizations. So what is Servant Leadership ? What benefits does Servant Leadership bring to businesses? In the article below, 1C Vietnam will provide detailed answers to the above concerns.

1. What is Servant Leadership? The birth of Servant Leadership

What is Servant Leadership ? How was Servant Leadership born? These are the questions that many people ask when hearing about this concept.

Specifically, Servant Leadership is a leadership philosophy that promotes serving the needs of others rather than power. In this philosophy, a leader is not only someone who gives orders but also someone who helps and supports subordinates to develop themselves and do their jobs well.

Servant Leadership, a leadership style that emphasizes service to others, was initiated in 1970 by Robert K Greenleaf, director of human resources development at AT&T. Greenleaf's concept of Servant Leadership originated in the years 1960, when he read the novel "Journey to the East" by Hermann Hesse.

The novel tells the story of the journey of a group of people towards the East in search of the ultimate truth. During the journey, Leo, the main character of the story, follows the group as a servant. However, Leo was also the one who brought joy and motivation to the whole group with his optimistic spirit and voice.

Before Leo disappeared, the group's journey went extremely smoothly. However, after Leo left, the group gradually dispersed, gave up, and the journey became unfinished. It was at this moment that they realized that Leo, whom they previously only saw as a servant, was actually a talented leader, leading the way for the whole team.

From this story, Greenleaf draws that a true leader is not only one who holds power, but also one who serves, interested in the development of others.

An example of servant leadership is a medical doctor who strives to work and support colleagues to provide the best medical services to patients. The doctor can do this by sharing his knowledge and experience with colleagues or by helping colleagues solve work problems.

2. The nature of Servant Leadership

At its core, Servant Leadership is a leadership philosophy focused on serving the needs of others, including subordinates and other stakeholders. This philosophy is based on four key principles:

• Help others develop their potential: Servant Leader believes that everyone has the potential to grow and succeed. They do not simply order their subordinates to work, but also support and help employees develop their full potential.
• Build and maintain trust: Servant Leader builds trust with subordinates through honesty, integrity and responsibility. These people will always be a shining example for subordinates to follow.
• Serving the needs of others above yourself: Putting the needs of others above your own is the characteristic of a Servant Leader. They are willing to sacrifice personal interests to help others.
• Listen effectively: Servant Leaders are good listeners. In particular, these leaders not only listen to their subordinates' problems but also acknowledge their contributions.

3. What benefits does Servant Leadership bring to businesses?

Servant Leadership is a people-centered leadership style that focuses on serving and developing employees. According to this style, the leader is not only a decision maker, but also a supporter, companion and helper to develop. So what benefits does Servant Leadership bring to businesses?

3.1. Determine project vision

This is one of the core values of Servant Leadership. Accordingly, the project vision needs to be clearly defined and shared with all stakeholders, including customers, partners and project members.

Defining a clear vision will help stakeholders understand the project's goals and direction. This will create greater motivation and commitment for members in implementation. At the same time, stakeholders can also provide necessary contributions and support for the project to achieve success.

3.2. Improve work productivity

Servant Leadership is a leadership philosophy that focuses on serving the needs of others. In particular, Servant Leadership leaders always try to create a favorable working environment, not interrupted by unnecessary problems.

To achieve this goal, Servant Leadership sets a number of specific criteria, such as:

• Meetings are only held when absolutely necessary and directly related to the project.
• Company and union activities are organized in a reasonable manner, without affecting employees' working time.
• All issues that can affect an employee's work progress need to be resolved quickly and effectively.

3.3. Increase employee loyalty

The Servant Leadership philosophy emphasizes serving the needs of employees. Therefore, administrators will create conditions for employees to maximize their abilities, including making decisions, building and contributing value to a common goal. This helps employees feel respected and trusted, thereby making them aware of their own importance in the organization, which in the long run will form a stronger sense of loyalty.

3.4. Building a working environment and corporate culture

Servant-style leaders focus on building a comfortable, civilized working environment where everyone is respected and listened to. Workplace interactions also tend to be more constructive when the leader has a servant leadership style. Such a working environment and corporate culture will promote cooperation and cohesion among team members, thereby creating better results.

3.5. Limit abuse of power

Servant Leadership style leadership always puts the interests of the group above personal interests. They are willing to give up power and do not abuse power or autocracy. This is an important factor that contributes to creating a professional working space, avoiding creating discomfort and pressure for workers.

3.6. Team development

In the Servant Leadership philosophy, the leader not only gives orders but also trains, coaches and empowers subordinates. This helps subordinates develop capacity, use power properly and take responsibility for their own decisions.

3.7. Encourage personnel to participate in business activities

Servant Leadership administrators always put employees first. They create all conditions for employees to work freely and develop their full potential. Thanks to that, employees will feel comfortable and positive when entrusted with tasks outside the scope of work.

4. 10 essential qualities of a leader according to Servant Leadership

Robert K. Greenleaf, the founder of servant leadership, identified 10 essential qualities of a leader in this style. Former president of the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, Larry C. Spears, summarized these 10 qualities as follows:

• Listen: Leaders must put their employees above themselves and listen actively and understandingly. This helps them understand their employees' needs and aspirations, thereby making appropriate decisions and actions.
• Empathy: Servant leaders are people who care about team members, thereby being able to sympathize with subordinates and understand the difficulties and challenges they are facing. This is an important basis for providing appropriate support and assistance.
• Appease: Leaders must know how to create a healthy balance between work and life for employees. This quality will allow the staff to recover from psychological trauma, thereby being motivated to develop further.
• Self-Awareness: A Servant Leader needs to be aware of his or her own strengths and weaknesses. This helps them understand themselves and maximize their abilities.
• Persuasion: Servant leaders use persuasion and influence instead of power to lead employees. From here, they easily build trust and respect from workers.
• Conceptualization: Servant Leaders have the ability to think big picture, thereby being able to come up with appropriate plans and strategies for the group and organization.
• Foresight: Leaders need to have foresight and know how to use the knowledge and experience of employees to improve and develop in the future.
• Manager: A person is considered a Servant Leader when they themselves are an example for employees to follow.
• Committed to people's growth: Servant leaders have the ability to allocate time and resources appropriately, allowing people and teams to grow. They have the belief that every employee has potential and should be promoted.
• Building community: Servant Leader does a good job of building relationships among group members. This is a favorable basis for them to trust each other and work more effectively.

5. Distinguish between Servant Leadership and traditional leadership

Servant Leadership and traditional leadership are two completely different leadership styles. Servant Leadership focuses on serving the needs of subordinates and creating a positive work environment, while traditional leadership focuses on achieving organizational goals and exercising authority.

Here are some key differences between Servant Leadership and traditional leadership:

6. Businesses succeed with Servant Leadership

Based on a clear understanding of what Servant Leadership is , in recent years, many large corporations around the world have successfully applied this philosophy and achieved significant achievements. Below are the top 3 outstanding units:

6.1. FedEx

FedEx is one of the world's largest transportation corporations. Mr. Fred Smith, founder, Chairman and CEO of FedEx, is a follower of the Servant Leadership philosophy.

He believes that when employees are developed and satisfied, they will provide the best service to customers. That's why FedEx always focuses on investing in employees, including training programs, skill development, work-life balance,...

6.2. Google

Google is also a successful business in applying Servant Leadership. At Google, employees are encouraged to freely innovate and develop. They are fully provided with modern equipment and facilities, as well as enjoy many attractive benefits, such as free meals, transportation services, haircuts, etc. Thanks to that, Google has become one of the world's leading technology companies.

6.3. Starbucks

Starbucks is another example of effective Servant Leadership. CEO Howard Schultz believes that by aligning shareholder and employee values, the company will become greater and more prosperous. Starbucks has applied many preferential human resource policies, such as health care, university fee refunds, stock purchases, participation in opinion forums, etc. Through these policies, Starbucks has created Build a team of committed and enthusiastic employees.

Thus, the above article has explained what Servant Leadership is . To support the effective implementation of Servant Leadership, businesses can apply advanced software such as 1C:Company Management. This is a solution that supports business management in an automated way, connecting departments together, empowering and controlling, and evaluating personnel continuously and regularly. If you need further advice about this software, please contact hotline (+84)247 108 8887 for advice.