Building A Servant Leadership Culture

HOW CAN ONE BE A LEADER AND A SERVANT AT THE SAME TIME ?

Dear HR Managers, L&D Managers and Training Managers.

Examplary leaders like Mother Teressa, Mahathma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela have all demonstrated to us that impactful leadership, which makes a lasting difference, lies in servanthood.

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." - Mahathma Gandhi

"What matter is how leaders serve and not about leaders being servant. Servant leaders are those who embrace the spirit of a servant in their leadership expression." - Robert K. Greenleaf.

An Example at Zappos

At Zappos, they place a lot of emphasis on they culture because they both a team and family. They want to create an environment that is friendly, warm and exciting. They encourage diversity in ideas, opinions and points of view. The best leader are those who lead by example and are both team followers as well as team leaders. They believe that in general, the best ideas and decisions are made from the bottom up; they're influenced by those on the front lines who are closest to the issue and/or of the customers. The role of  a manager is to remove obstacles and enable his/her direct reports to succeed. This means the best leaders are servant-leaders; they serve those they lead.

"The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant" - Max De Pree, Businessman and Writer

Thank You. Happy Learning

article written by Eric Lau

@leaderonomics.com