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I recently gave a talk on leadership at a leadership conference for professionals in the Canadian nuclear industry. At the end of the talk, someone asked a simple, but interesting question: who is my favourite leader?
After a few moments of thought, I told the crowd that my favourite leader today was (get ready for it…) Pope Francis.
Uh oh. Bringing up a religious topic at a leadership conference? Yeah, I went there, but not without some hesitation. Okay… lots of hesitation.
You see, as a practicing Catholic, my choosing Francis as an excellent example of a leader isn’t all that surprising. That being said, I was nervous about bringing him up for fear that it would be a major turn-off for some people who didn’t share my worldview. Would people think I was some kind of religious nut? Would anyone even listen to what I had to say after I uttered the word “pope”?
Despite these fears, I went ahead and brought him up anyway. I decided that, just like the Dalai Lama or Abraham Lincoln or any other great leader, you don’t necessarily need to agree with their philosophies, religion, or political persuasions to see their abilities as a leader.
In the case of Pope Francis, I think there’s a ton to be learned from his particular style of leadership, called servant leadership, which is very different from what we traditionally think of when we think of leadership.
Today, I’ll explain what servant leadership is, and why engineers and technical professionals should consider adopting it in their daily work.
What is servant leadership?
In most people’s minds, leaders are seen as being on top of an organization. They rule the roost. Leaders command, and followers obey. Life is orderly and things get done, because the leader calls the shots. This is called an autocratic style of leadership.
What people don’t see is that this is just one of many models of leadership. There is an alternative view that I think is a lot more relevant to engineers and technical professionals. This alternative leadership model is called servant leadership.
In this alternative model of leadership, the leader focuses more on others than themselves, and more on the success of the team than their own advancement.
Robert K. Greenleaf first coined the term servant leadership in an essay he published in 1970, though the concept of servant leadership can be traced back several millennia. Greenleaf, a management expert who worked with AT&T from 1926 onwards, believed that organizations thrived when their leaders served both the needs of their organizations, and their employees. These leaders were servants first, and leaders second.
From the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership…
A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. While traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid,” servant leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.
According to a white paper published by the School of Leadership Studies at Regent University, servant leadership is characterized by ten important elements:
- Listening
- Empathy
- Healing
- Awareness
- Persuasion
- Conceptualization
- Foresight
- Stewardship
- Commitment to growth of other people
- Building community
What does servant leadership have to do with engineering?
I’ve argued in the past that you don’t need to have any particular title in order to be a leader in your organization. You can be leader from the the front lines just as much as from the corner office. I believe that adopting servant leadership as a model makes that easier for people who aren’t in management to become leaders. Absolutely anyone, engineers and technical professionals included, can adopt the 10 critical elements listed above.
As an engineer, you have an enormous opportunity here to make your work place a better place to be, and to improve the lives of those around you. Beyond that, you can bet your lucky socks that you will be recognized for your efforts.
Moving forward
I’d like to issue a challenge to you today. Chose one of the ten items listed above and make it your mission to adopt it into your day to day life. Before you leave the blog, use the comments section below to let me know which of the 10 you’ve chosen, and how you’re going to put it to work in your daily life.
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Thanks for sharing this! I’ve always identified strongly with servant leadership and use this style a lot in my day-to-day life. Additionally, as a young engineer, the leaders that have appealed to me the most have been the leaders who practice servant leadership and who challenge me to be the best I can be in whatever work I am doing.
Hey Cath,
You’re most welcome! I’m very glad to hear I’m in good company on this one. So, in your experience, is there any one thing that clearly marks someone as a servant leader? Anything we might be able to take away from the things they do?
Thanks again for your comment. Nice to see you here on the blog :-)
Pat
Hey Pat,
Valuable post. Thank you.
To answer your question to Cath, I would suggest that a servant leader is constantly building relationships via conversations (both verbally and in writing).
Take Pope Francis as an example, in the clips I see on the news, he is always reaching out to others, conversing with them, and in this way building relationships day in and day out.
In my mind, these are critical skills to know and to practice as a servant leader.
Regards, Don
Pat, in a business world where our culture teaches us to look out just for just ourselves, it is the minority who is the servant leader. But it is the servant leaders who is going to change the world in a positive way. Thanks for this refreshing post. I am going to focus on the element of building community in my business.