5 Ways You Can Powerfully Lead as a Servant Leader
It’s my intention to approach everything in my life as a servant. Whether I’m serving my clients, my team, community organizations, or friends and family, I put great stock in serving because I believe our ability and duty to serve others is one of the reasons we are here on earth.
So when it comes to leadership roles, I know the power of leading selflessly, tirelessly as a servant to the people who follow me. I’ve experienced it with leaders I’ve served and I’m better off because of them. And I’ve experienced it as a leader myself. I have no doubt that being a servant leader was to the benefit of my company, my team, myself, and my goals.
What is a servant leader?
Sometimes the best way to define something is to define what it is not. “Often times, we confuse leadership with dictatorship,” says Cheryl Polote Williamson. “A dictator barks out orders and does not take into account the wants and needs of others.”
While you might know you don’t want to be a dictator, it’s easy to fall into the gray area between dictator at one end of the spectrum and servant leader at the other end.
I want to share with you 5 important aspects of leading with a servant’s heart so you can make sure these are a part of who you are as a leader.
1. A servant leader cares genuinely.
A typical leader might value that your team member’s child care or elder care is stable and consistent because that means she’s available for work, but a servant leader values stable and consistent care because it’s important for the well-being of the team member.
Make sure you’re showing the people you lead how much you truly care about them on a regular basis, whether it’s with kind words, tokens of appreciation, or taking time to congratulate and thank them for a job well done.
This is why my blog is so important to me. I care that you succeed, whether or not you ever hire me for coaching. So I aim to give away valuable content here each and every week as an act of service to you.
2. A servant leader loves what she does.
While you might not love every moment of every day, as a servant leader, you approach your work with love. After all, that’s what got you into doing what you do in the first place, isn’t it? You felt a passion that led you to take action.
Many of my Celeste Giordano Coaching clients are hard at work making the world better in one way or another. But you don’t have to change the world to love what you do. Find the aspects of your job that you love and see if you can amplify them, by focusing your time on them, outsourcing other projects to your team, or tweaking the parts you don’t love to be more like the parts you do.
3. A servant leader is humble.
While your typical leader might feel that certain tasks are beneath them, a servant leader knows there is no such thing as too small a task. Although they might report to you, you are no better than anyone on your team, nor are you too good for any task. And if you expect them to do any kind of work, you had better be willing to do it yourself as well.
Now that’s not to say it makes sense to do all the work yourself. As you know, delegating is an important part of leadership. It’s about your attitude. You’re not above anyone or anything.
4. A servant leader listens to her team.
In order to serve, you have to understand. And in order to understand, you have to listen with empathy. That’s how you’ll build a solid relationship on which to lead. When you truly listen, you’ll learn from your team, your clients, your customers, and your followers, and you’ll know what they need from you.
That’s why servant leaders earn the support of their team, rather than demand it.
5. A servant leader leads in service.
As a servant leader, you not only want to be a servant yourself, but establish a culture of service. Encourage people on your team or in your community to join you in service.
I’ll give you an example. As you might remember, back in November I participated in a service project to fight human trafficking here in the Atlanta area as the chapter president of Women for Global Change. I invited practically everyone I know to participate in the event, either through volunteering or making a donation. When it was all said and done, we raised more than $10,000, which we used to renovate five apartments that are now housing victims.
That accomplishment was brought about because every person who got involved chose to act not only in service, but in leadership for others to act in service as well. Several people who came on board brought along corporate sponsors that made a huge difference. That’s servant leadership in action.
The Strength of the Servant Leader
Humility is the source of strength as a servant leader. As some wise person said, “It’s not that you need to think less of yourself, it’s that you need to think of yourself less.”
As a humble, selfless servant leader, your success will grow organically because you’ll attract excellent clients and an outstanding team who will be eager to serve you as you serve them. That’s a formula for building a Legacy Business.
If you want help developing your servant leadership skills, contact me today.
Unloc
k Your Full Potential!
Blueprint Magazine – February 2018
I’m thrilled to share with you our latest edition of The Blueprint Magazine. This issue’s theme is “Unlocking Your Full Potential!”
A few articles in this issue dive further into this topic:
- “New Year’s Resolutions: Make Them Simple and Easy to Accomplish” by Becca Tebon on page 7
- “Why Small Businesses Outsource IT Support and Services” by Jason Rush on page 8
- “Why 4D Communication is the Better Way of Selling” by Brigitta Hoeferle on page 15″
- Small Simple Changes Make All the Difference” by Joan Williams on page 19″
- Moving from Comfort with Courage” by Pauline Duncan-Thrasher on page 20
Click here to download your free copy.
Celeste Giordano’s mission is to help business owners develop the skills, knowledge and attitude necessary to “DoublePlusTM” their income and become effective and inspirational leaders in their fields. Whether it’s taking your successful business to the next level or starting a new venture, she will teach you the exact skills and strategies you need to enroll more quality prospects, build a rock-solid team, and break through obstacles to achieve real profit and lasting success. Celeste is a professional business growth specialist, a master sales strategist, and dynamic speaker with 40 years experience in direct sales and managing high-performing teams.
To learn more about Celeste, click here.
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