Servant leadership

I’m not sure if this concept is new or old - something that was always there, some bandwagon that people are now getting on, or if I’m just becoming aware of it more with all that time I now have from taking a voluntary redundancy to browse social media. Regardless, it rings true. In this concept, the leaders serve the employees, who in turn serve the customers. When the employee feels heard, respected, and valued by their leader, it is the customer who reaps the reward. It’s a slower cycle to get warmed up, but the profits do eventually come to the leader. They come by setting strategic goals like ‘let’s aim to ensure that people feel safe to speak and that the failure that goes with creativity is celebrated’. Goals like ‘let’s try and make the top 100 Shanghai Higher Education ratings this year’ are ditched.

I have a leader in my daily sphere who fully embodies ‘servant leadership’. She is the best listener! I never felt unsafe to speak what I was really thinking or feeling, and I never felt unsafe to take responsibility for the mistakes I knew I had made. Everything mattered - the good, the bad, the ugly. To her, they were all serving some purpose that mattered, so space was given for them all. Some people need massive kudos given to them. They are rare. It might be the latest craze and another buzzword that gathers carriage for the moment, but it takes utmost time, commitment, and care to do properly. Those who do it are in it for the long haul. They are quiet. And very busy. Hats off to her and everyone like her. A deep heartfelt thank you.