What is servant leadership?

What is leadership?

Leadership is the skill of influencing and inspiring others toward a shared goal. Within organizations, strong leadership is an essential tool for driving growth and navigating the team toward long-term success. The effectiveness of a team hinges largely on the leadership approach because good leadership is the link between uplifting a team and fostering its commitment. Therefore, the leadership model adopted for an organization plays a crucial role in determining the quality of projects and the overall morale of the team. 

What is servant leadership?

Among the multiple leadership models such as traditional and transformational leadership, servant leadership distinctly stands out. With its emphasis on serving and empowering teams, servant leadership prioritizes the well-being of team members. The leader is the supporter who prioritizes the needs and growth of team members. This leadership style aims to cultivate a work environment where individuals feel valued and appreciated.    

Core principles of servant leadership

Servant leadership is a people-centric leadership model. The core principles of the model are: 

• Active listening: Servant leaders make an effort to genuinely listen to understand their team’s needs and concerns. In this manner, leaders are able to address issues timely.   

• Prioritizing team growth: Because the goal is to empower their team, these leaders provide resources, training, and mentorship. In this manner, leaders cater to the unique growth trajectory of each team member and elevate the potential of the entire team.  

• Fostering a community: Servant leaders actively work toward creating a sense of community within the organization. For team members to feel connected and supported, leaders promote team-building activities and open communication channels.  

• Practicing empathy: Servant leaders strive to make every team member feel that their feelings are acknowledged and that their efforts are being recognized. This aids in building trust and creating an environment where team members are able to express themselves. 

Servant leadership benefits

Some of the benefits of servant leadership are as follows:

• Improved team collaboration

• Enhanced creativity 

• Higher job satisfaction

• Improved project outcomes

Improved team collaboration

Servant leadership focuses on clear communication and mutual respect. By listening to team members and recognizing their contributions, this leadership approach creates an environment members are encouraged to share their ideas and collaborate with one another. This results in stronger teamwork, better utilization of individual strengths, and a team where transparency persists. 

Enhanced creativity 

The well-being of the team members fosters a conducive environment that promotes creativity and innovation. When teams are empowered to explore new ideas and take calculated risks, they’re inclined to devise innovative solutions to complicated challenges in the tech world.  

Higher job satisfaction

In this leadership, the leader is in service to the employees. They invest in the personal and professional development of their team members. By addressing individual needs and promoting growth opportunities, team members feel recognized for their contributions and efforts. As team members know their well-being is being valued just as much as their work, it leads to increased job satisfaction. 

Improved project outcomes

With a focus on serving and empowering teams, servant leaders ensure that team members have all the resources and support they need to succeed. By equipping them with essential resources and a nurturing environment, servant leaders set the stage for streamlined projects, resulting in better quality outcomes. Servant leadership offers numerous benefits that can enhance team dynamics, boost creativity, and improve job satisfaction. These advantages lead to improved overall results. By putting the needs of the teams first, organizations achieve both technical excellence and positive work experience. 

Implementing servant leadership

To effectively adopt servant leadership, there are certain steps that we can follow. These include the following:

• Start by evaluating the leadership goals

• Emphasize clear communication and regular feedback 

• Arrange team-building activities

• Engage in active listening

• Entrust teams with decision-making

Traditional vs. servant leadership

Traditional and servant leadership present contrasting approaches to guiding teams. While one is based on a leader’s authority and power, the latter centers around the idea of the leader serving the team and prioritizing their teams. 

The distinctions between the two types of leadership are presented below: 

Final word

Servant leadership is centered on individuals. It emphasizes the emotional support of team members, establishing an atmosphere where teams can navigate through challenges with ease and come through with innovative solutions. At its core, servant leadership values individual growth while simultaneously improving the collective quality of projects. By involving dev teams in the decision-making process, servant leaders can build high-performing dev teams.