In the volunteer work I do in Voices Of Asia, I have had the chance to work with many leaders, and interestingly, what I studied in school about leadership becomes more evident as different leaders share their personal stories about the way the lead corporations or even their families. Servant leadership stood out this time round. Let me share what I have learnt from some of our servant leaders:

Servant Leadership is a very different from the leadership we usually practice.

The majority of us are used to practicing Transformational Leadership, which is comprised of a leader who has the ability to be a role model to the followers. The leader’s goal is to connect with the followers through training, education and inspiration, giving them the opportunity to be a part of the big picture of the organisation. The followers are taught that they play an important role in their organisation’s success or failure. It is the leader’s responsibility to provide the followers with the ability to grow and improve on their performance and skill set.

The major difference is that the Servant Leadership doesn’t place authority and power in any leader like Transformational Leadership does. The authority and power are shared by everyone. One might consider the servant leader as more of a silent leader with one of their goals to make sure everyone else’s needs are met and are a priority over their own. They teach individuals to take on more responsibility and authority. Everyone is treated the same and one of their main objectives is to provide training and instruction to individuals so they can be the best that they can be. This not only helps the individual improve, but assists the organisation, as well.

The individual who assumes the role of the servant leader does not function as a leader, but the same as everyone else. In fact, no one knows they are a leader. Engagement plays a big role in the practicing of Servant Leadership. Everything done for the individuals is sincere and to empower them. Everyone strives to be the best they can be. There isn’t all of the drama of competing against one another for a promotion or who does a better job. You don’t have these types of problems when individuals are treated as equals.

As a sales coach once of an amazing company, I saw how different sales leaders tried to gain the buy-in and commitment of their team members. What I observed was that, when a sales manager work in an environment where his/her employees are the top priority and are provided with whatever they need to be the best that they can be, they will deliver (at least try their best to do so). The dedication these employees have for the organisation is 120%, so to speak. They are willing to give whatever it takes because of how they are treated by their manager (and the organisation).

Organisation’s, who utilize Servant Leadership methods, have their employees backing the organisation. The employees want to see the organisation be successful – their dedication to their employer is tenfold. The employees are made to feel as if they are equals and there is no “them and us mentality” – they are the organisation.

Servant Leadership drives business performance by the loyalty and dedication of the employees to the organisation and the organisation’s loyalty and dedication to the employees. By working together as one, they are able to move forward and accomplish goals that other organisations have not. Some good examples of organisation that have utilized Servant Leadership are Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, and UPS, just to name a few. These are established organisations that are doing well, have happy employees and customers, too.

I am not saying that Servant Leadership is the only way to go, but from the way it sounds, it couldn’t hurt organisations that operate with Transformational Leadership to take a look at Servant Leadership. I am curious, since Servant Leadership is one of the factors that drives engagement, what benefits does it have for Human Resource to have such a culture within? Anyone cares to share?