Servant Leadership – My Four Principles

Servant leadership is a term that gets thrown around every once in a while. Unfortunately, depending on who you talk to, there can be a wide variety of definitions for this style of leadership. As someone who strives to incorporate this leadership style in my everyday interactions as a leader, let me define some principles that I use to guide me as leader. I want to state upfront that these principles are not entirely mine but are actually somewhat paraphrased from the Bible (with help from my pastor who helped crystalize for me what I was practicing). I use this as a guide for many things in my life and leadership is a very important one. As this is a leadership blog and not a theological one, I won’t go too far into the background on this (that being said, if you want more details, feel free to reach out to me), but I feel that some is necessary for context. These principles come from the book of Acts where Paul describes what a church leader should like. Since a church is not unlike any other organization, the factors that delineate a successful leader in the church should also be applicable to any other organization.

So, without further ado, let’s take a look at these leadership principles:

Principle One:

Equip your team to endure without you.

You read that right. Your team should be able to make it without you. The mark of a great leader is preparing your team, or at least some of those within your team, for leadership. While you are leading, you should be growing new leaders and should something happen to you or for you and you leave the organization, your team should be able to carry on. Likewise, you should be able to take vacations without your team needing to call you with questions constantly. This can also be summed up with one word – empowerment. Equip and empower your team to make decisions and lead without the need for your constant supervision.

Principle Two:

The leader must be an example to their team.

Everything you do should be considered a teaching or watching moment for your team. Your team looks to you for instruction and leadership, only part of which is verbal. A lot of what you teach your team is through your actions and interactions.

Principle Three:

The leader must be humble and love his people.

Okay, some people may gag on the word love, but as a leader you need to genuinely care about those you lead. You are responsible for their performance and growth. If you don’t care about those you lead, how can you effectively look out for their professional development? It is up to you to make decisions that impact the well-being of your team. Those decisions need to be made deliberately with care and yes, love for your team.

Showing genuine care for those in your stead can improve performance, morale and the overall growth of the team. If the leader shows the team that they care, this can then also allow the team to feel comfortable caring about each other and create a more cohesive team structure where everyone knows that everyone else on the team has their back and that they are supported.

Principle Four:

The leader must proclaim the truth even when that is unpopular or dangerous.

This principle kind of goes hand in hand with Principle Two. Part of the example you set should include you always standing for what is right and the truth. Once you allow dishonesty into your organization, corruption and decay follow. If your team can’t trust you or each other, what kind of team are they going to be and how are they ever going to accomplish anything worthwhile? This requires us to be intelligent and tactful about how we conduct ourselves.

So, there you have it. My four principles for servant leadership. I hope enjoyed reading this post and that it maybe sparked something in you.