Organization development

Ten characteristics of a servant leader

1. Listening. Communication between leaders and followers is an interactive process that includes sending and receiving messages. Servant leaders communicate by listening first. They recognize that listening is a learned discipline that involves hearing and being receptive to what others have to say. Through listening, servant leaders acknowledge the viewpoint of followers and validate these perspectives.

2. Empathy. Attempting to see the world from that person’s point of view. Empathetic servant leaders demonstrate that they truly understand what followers are thinking and feeling. When a servant leader shows empathy, it is confirming and validating for the follower. It makes the follower feel unique.

3. Healing. Servant leaders care about the personal well-being of their followers. They support followers by helping them overcome personal problems.

4. Awareness. It includes understanding oneself and the impact one has on others. With awareness, servant leaders are able to step aside and view themselves and their own perspectives in the greater context of the situation.

5. Persuasion. Persuasion is clear and persistent communication that convinces others to change.

6. Conceptualization. Refers to an individual’s ability to be a visionary for an organization, providing a clear sense if its goals and direction. Goes beyond day-to day operational thinking to focus on the “big picture.” Conceptualization also equips servant leaders to respond to complex organizational problems in creative ways, enabling them to deal with the intricacies of the organization in relationship to its long-term goals.

7. Foresight. Foresight encompasses a servant leader’s ability to know the future. It is an ability to predict what is coming based on what is occurring in the present and what has happened in the past.

8. Stewardship. Is about taking responsibility for the leadership role entrusted to the leader. Servant leaders accept the responsibility to carefully manage the people and organization they have been given to lead.

9. Commitment to the growth of people. Servant leaders are committed to helping each person in the organization grow personally and professionally. Commitment can take many forms, including providing followers with opportunities for career development, helping them develop new work skills, taking a personal interest in their ideas, and involving them in decision making.

10. Building community. A community is a collection of individuals who have shared interests and pursuits and feel a sense of unity and relatedness. Community allows followers to identify with something greater than themselves that they value. Servant leaders build community to provide a place where people can feel safe and connected with others, but are still allowed to express their won individuality.

These behaviors are influenced by context and culture, the leader’s attributes, and the followers’ receptivity to this kind of leadership. When individuals engage in servant leadership, it is likely to improve outcomes at the individual, organization, and societal levels.

Three antecedent, have an impact on servant leadership. Context and culture, leader attributes, and follower receptivity.

Context and Culture. Servant leadership does not occur in a vacuum but occurs within a given organization context and a particular culture. The nature of each of these affects the way servant leadership is carried out. For example, in health care and nonprofit setting, the norm of caring is more prevalent, while for Wall Street corporation it is more common to have competition as an operative norm. because the norms differ, the ways servant leadership is performed may vary.

Dimensions of culture will also influence servant leadership. For example, in culture where power distance is low and power is shared equally among people at all levels of society, servant leadership may be more common. In culture with low humane orientation, servant leadership may present more of a challenge.

Leader Attributes. Individuals bring their own traits and ideas about leading to leadership situations. Some may feel a deep desire to serve or are strong motivated to lead. In addition, people differ in areas such as moral development, emotional intelligence, and self-determinedness, and these traits interact with their ability to engage in servant leadership.

Follower Receptivity. The receptivity of followers is a factor that appears to influence the impact of servant leadership on outcomes such as personal and organizational job performance. Follower receptivity concerns the question “Do all followers show a desire for servant leadership?” Research suggests the answer may be no. some followers do not want to work with servant leaders.

Emotional Healing. Emotional healing involves being sensitive to the personal concerns and well-being of others. It includes recognizing other’s problems and being willing to take the time address them. Servant leaders who exhibit emotional healing make themselves available to others, stand by them, and provide them with support.

Putting Followers First. It means using actions and words that clearly demonstrate to followers that their concerns are priority, including placing followers’ interests and success ahead of those of the leader. It may mean a leader breaks from his or her tasks to assist followers with theirs.

Helping Followers Grow and Succeed. Servant leaders make followers’ career development a priority, including mentoring followers and providing them with support.

Behaving Ethically. Doing the right thing in the right way. It is holding to strong ethical standards, including being open, honest, and fair with followers.

Empowering. Empowering refers to allowing followers the freedom to be independent, make decisions on their own, and be self-sufficient.