COMMON PROBLEMS FACING TODAY'S LEADER
In today's fast-paced and
turbulent environment, as a leader you struggle with the demands and
burdens of assuming the mantle of leadership. You truly want to be a
dedicated and effective leader, but you feel on the verge of burn-out as
you face ongoing challenges which never seem to end. Your employees
don't seem as motivated, they've lost their commitment to the larger
vision, and they're not as productive as you'd like them to be. You're
also tired of putting out fires and wish people would stop complaining,
and just do their work.
And to make matters worse, you often feel
isolated and believe that nobody really appreciates what you're going
through. You ask yourself - who can I trust to share my burdens with?
Where can I go for help to turn things around?
If you can relate
to these issues, then I have a provocative question for you: Have you
ever considered that your basic assumptions about leadership may be
contributing to your struggles?
Let's examine some current
leadership models and their limitations, and then propose a model that
more effectively addresses the common problems confronting today's
leader.
CURRENT LEADERSHIP MODELS
Our culture has no
shortage of leadership theories and models. There is charismatic
leadership, situational leadership, and transformational leadership to
name only a few. Each theory has its own focus as to what makes for an
effective leader, whether it be the sheer appeal of one's personality,
the context in which leadership occurs, or the needs of the
organization. In effect, they all attempt to answer the question: What
leadership style must a leader adopt in order to maximize his or her
effectiveness with followers? However, leadership style is really not
the most fundamental issue to consider. Effective leadership has more to
do with one's intentions or motives for leading. Put succinctly, the
question is: Whose interests are you ultimately serving as a leader? How
you answer this question determines not only your effectiveness as a
leader but also the success of your organization.
THREE TYPES OF LEADERSHIP:
Autocratic
If
your honest answer to the above question is: "I'm really serving my own
interests," then you've likely adopted our culture's prevalent value
system in which power, status, and/or wealth are the primary motivators
driving one's leadership.
A leader who embraces this model of
leadership is known as the autocratic leader. This type
of leader uses power to coerce followers into complying with his or her
own needs. In effect, the autocratic leader is a dictator who treats
followers as servants. Autocratic leaders de-value and even abuse their
followers which results in devastating consequences for the organization
such as loss of trust, low morale, decreased productivity,
suspiciousness, and fear.
We've all heard stories of leaders who
abuse their power and whose organizations suffer tremendous hardship as a
result. Enron, WorldCom, and Arthur Anderson are just three examples of
blatant abuses of power. Autocratic-led organizations usually
experience high turnover rates because workers do not feel valued or
appreciated for their efforts, and they eventually burn out and leave.
Paternalistic
There
is another type of leadership which is less toxic but more common in
today's organizations. According to extensive research conducted by Dr.
Jim Laub, Professor of Leadership Studies at Palm Beach Atlantic
University, paternalistic leaders are those who view themselves as
parents and their followers as children. They tend to place the needs of
the organization above the needs of their employees.
Paternalistic
leaders can be either nurturing or critical but what they share in
common is their belief that followers are not truly adult partners in
the leader-follower relationship. This type of relationship results in
mere compliance rather than true internal motivation. Although willing
to delegate responsibility for some tasks, paternalistic leaders retain
the right to make the most important decisions for the organization.
Laub's research has revealed that most of today's
organizations are paternalistic in their leadership practices.
Servant
The
third type of leadership is known as servant leadership. The term,
initially coined by Robert Greenleaf, refers to placing the legitimate
needs of followers above one's own self-interest. Servant leaders treat
their followers as adults and are willing to collaborate, share their
power, and commit themselves to others' growth and development. They are
also willing to grant decision-making authority to followers in order
to foster a deep sense of commitment and investment in the organization.
Furthermore, servant leaders value and seek to foster a strong sense of
community among all stakeholders within the organization.
Character
development is also a priority for servant leaders as they seek to
display honesty, integrity, humility, authenticity, and accountability
in their personal and work relationships. They are willing to take risks
to stand by their convictions and muster the needed courage to "do the
right thing."
WHY SERVANT LEADERSHIP?
You may be wondering
at this point how the servant leadership model is relevant to your
struggles and challenges as a leader. You may be asking such questions
as:
• "If I become a servant leader, how will that reduce my burden?"
• "How will servant leadership increase the morale, productivity, and commitment of my employees?"
•
"How can servant leadership really work in an extremely competitive and
demanding business environment which focuses on short-term results?"
These
are valid questions and concerns which need to be addressed if you are
to move forward in your decision to become a servant leader.
We
have already discussed some of the issues which contribute to a leader's
burden at the outset of this paper, but there is another one that is
especially burdensome - making decisions. Although they may be
accountable to a board of directors, organizational leaders are the ones
who typically make the major decisions which impact the well-being and
performance of their employees and staff. Even if the leader truly
believes that his or her decisions are what's best for the organization,
there often arises the challenge of achieving buy-in from the
employees. Most leaders would agree that buy-in is critical if the
organization is to achieve results and successfully implement its
vision. This begs the question: "What is the best way to enlist others'
buy-in and foster a strong commitment to the vision?
There is a
common principle that operates in those organizations who are effective
in achieving outstanding performance over the long-term. Simply stated,
people are more committed to that which they've had a voice in creating.
To test this principle, reflect on those experiences in your own life
when you've demonstrated the most commitment. It is very likely they
were ones which flowed from your own passion and initiative rather than
simply because someone told you to comply with their requests or
demands. When leaders value and elicit their employees' input, and then
partner with them to create a shared purpose and vision, they harness
the vast potential which exists among their people and unleash
incredible amounts of motivation, passion, and commitment which cannot
be generated merely by providing external incentives or simply telling
them to "just do it."
Servant leaders recognize the value of
sharing decision-making authority with front-line employees if their
organizations are to truly excel. However, you may ask: "How can I be
sure that the employee will make the best decision for the organization
and not just pursue his or her own agenda?" Very good question! By
virtue of being human, we all have a tendency to promote our own
self-serving interests. However, most people also yearn to be part of
something that transcends their individual efforts and will gladly
commit themselves to a vision that is aligned with their own values,
passions, and interests. In effect, being committed to a shared vision
can greatly override this self-serving tendency and thus lead to
decisions that serve the organization rather than one's own agenda. On
the other hand, lack of a shared vision often leads to competing
interests, political maneuverings, and lower performance among
employees.
A final objection to servant leadership involves its
practicality. In a business climate where beating the competition and
short-term results are the primary focus, how can servant leadership
really be effective? In order to answer this question, there is an
underlying assumption about servant leadership which needs to be
addressed. There is often the misconception that servant leaders are too
soft, too lenient, and just want to make their employees feel good
about themselves. This could not be further from the truth! In fact,
servant leaders set the performance bar high, expecting and requiring
their employees to excel in their achievement of organizational goals.
The difference is in the methods servant leaders employ to attain
organizational success. Rather than adopting a "push or pull" attitude
in an effort to motivate employees, servant leaders seek to encourage,
inspire, and develop their employees in the service of a shared vision
thus creating a win-win outcome for everyone. While the carrot-and-stick
approach used by autocratic and paternalistic leaders may be effective
in the short-term, it requires constant monitoring and oversight to
produce results. However, even then the results are not as effective due
to the lack of internal motivation and commitment by employees.
Lest
there be any doubt that servant leaders can be effective in a heavily
competitive business climate, those organizations who embrace and
implement servant leadership are some of the most successful. To cite
just some examples, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks, Toro, The Container
Store, Men's Wearhouse, Nordstroms, the Ritz Carlton, and TD Industries
continually rank toward the top in their respective industries.
Servant
leadership is not a passing fad, a "touchy-feely" approach to
leadership, or merely another leadership style to be used among several
options, but is a dynamic, powerful, and effective leadership model that
is fast becoming the preferred choice for those leaders who truly seek
to propel their organizations to world-class levels of success in the
21st. century.
We now turn to the challenges involved in becoming a servant leader.
