Written by If you believe leadership is about more than results, then you want to add these six servant leadership traits to your leadership style. Discover how to create a culture, team and mission that understands the value of self-sacrifice, passion, love and genuineness.
On the other-hand, a servant leader will create a culture that focuses on self-sacrifice, love, genuineness, and trustworthiness. When it comes to you creating the right culture, you want to focus on the below six servant leadership traits. As a sidenote, I pull these servant leadership traits from the Bible. Reason being, the Bible tends to expound on love, sacrifice, genuineness and trustworthiness in a way that is easy to understand.
1. We all bring something (1 Timothy 4:12)
There are going to be some things that other people have done longer than you. They may have been at the company longer than you. It is possible they could have been in the industry longer than you. They could have more education, certifications and trainings than you. Do not allow anything that someone perceives as a strength over you deter your ability to lead.
Servant leaders lead by example. They are not concerned about the experience of others. It is not a leader’s job to be the most experienced in every way. We don’t need to have the best certifications and be the most tenured person at the company. Servant leaders are creating a culture of success through example and accountability. You are not going to ask your team to limit the amount of time they waste in a day and then take two-hour lunches. Your actions will set the tone and encourage others to follow your example.
2. It’s about the team (Philippians 2:3)
Servant leaders understand the strength of the team is strength of the team. While this saying sounds silly, we are simply saying the success of the team is tied more to the individuals on the team than you. Therefore, as the leader, you want to make sure your team is compensated and acknowledged accordingly. Whether it is their compensation package or lining them up for a promotion – you want to make sure you are not competing with your team. You want to give them credit where credit is due. Don’t take all the credit if your team played a pivotal role.
The same holds true for business owners. You put your clients first and give them the answers to their questions. Don’t focus on yourself, but focus on your team and your clients. The law of reciprocity will ensure you are rewarded for your effort.
3. Place servant leaders in position to lead (Exodus 18:21)
If you want to build a servant leadership team, mindset and culture; you need to reward the people who are servant leaders. You cannot simply reward the people who have the most sales or whatever traditional metrics you use. Instead, you must include servant leadership metrics in your calculations. Your team will not focus on servant leadership if it is not a part of the promotion and compensation conversation.
4. Invest in your people (Matthew 20:25-28)
There are some leaders who believe micromanaging their team is necessary for the team to succeed. The goal is for you to build your team in a way they don’t need to be micromanaged. I have seen many teams where the bottleneck is at the top. No one can do anything without the leader’s approval. You can find an entire organization must get approval from one person. Wouldn’t it be better to build your team in a way where they approve some transactions themselves? Servant leaders understand their goal is to invest in their team. They give them the skills and space to grow into their position. By investing in your team and trusting them, you show them you are confident in them and they will show you they are confident in your vision.
5. Say what you mean and mean what you say (Romans 12:9-13)
Trustworthiness is important in any servant leadership culture. As a parent, I understand if I tell my kids something, they don’t care about extenuating circumstances. They believe your word should mean something. The world is very simple for them. As a result, parents need to be very particular with their words in order to manage expectations. The same holds true in your organization and company culture. You want to manage expectations in a way where you can keep your world. People need to be able to count on you and know when you say something it’s going to get done. Now, it doesn’t mean every so often things don’t genuinely fall apart. However, it does mean you know the gravity of your word and don’t take not keeping your word lightly. Servant leaders believe trustworthiness is paramount to organizational success.
6. Do not grow weary in doing good (Galatians 6:9)
Servant leaders are motivated by a genuine love. Whether that love is their passion for the work they do or their genuine commitment to the team. You don’t want people to feel like you are just going through the motions. No honeymoon relationships where you are on your best behavior the first few months and then you let your hair down after that. You are interested in the well-being of your team regardless of the time of year. If you find out someone went through a difficult time, you will check on them. The little things matter and people do pay attention to those little things.
Just know there will be times you do the right thing and it still doesn’t work out. You will find you are not getting the results you want in the timeframe you need. Where you feel like the servant leadership approach isn’t really working because of your lack of success. It could be friction among your team members. Whatever it is that has you worried, do not grow weary in doing good. It may mean you have to make some small tweaks in your overall approach. However, don’t give up on being a servant leader.
Fina thoughts
There are different factors when it comes to building and motivating a team. As people, we are all different and have differing goals and interests. Yet, most people will agree with the leadership style traits of a servant leader. Servant leadership is an approach that is built on the golden rule of doing for others before doing for yourself. It is about putting the interest of others above your own so you can build a culture of selflessness, trustworthiness and authenticity.
Sources:
Forbes: Traditional Leadership vs. Servant Leadership
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