A New Style of Leadership According to the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, “It is a philosophy and set of practices that enriches the lives of individuals, builds better organizations, and ultimately creates a more just and caring world.”
The founding principles include nine behaviors:
- serve first,
- add value to others,
- build trust,
- listen to understand,
- think about your thinking,
- increase your influence,
- demonstrate courage,
- live your values, and
- live your transformation.
4. Listen to Understand
It’s not about listening to decide when to chime in with your own opinion, it’s about listening to ACTUALLY understand. Leaders should practice active listening, and make sure they’re not interrupting people during meetings or 1:1s. Try these two questions to listen to understand: “Tell me more” and “Help me understand.” These questions open the door for others to share their perspective, without feeling like they’re being undermined or doubted.
5. Think About Your Thinking
Servant leaders evaluate how they think about messages, situations, behaviors that they experience. Is input or feedback received in a negative way or as a positive opportunity for improvement? The trick is to differentiate between useful thoughts and non-useful thoughts, and re-frame negative beliefs. For example, don’t use absolutes like “always” and “never” when describing situations or behaviors.
Source: The 9 Traits of Highly-Effective Leaders – DZone Agile