Servant leadership is a matter of character

• June 12, 2017
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There is a crisis of character today in America’s business and political leadership.

Our national media too frequently reports on examples of bad or corrupt leaders and their failures. This includes trusted companies in banking, healthcare, food and others. companies that almost daily interact with America’s citizens.

This must change. Good leaders are fundamental to our national success and our quality of life. They make things happen. When leaders are good, their results are a win for all; if bad or weak, they can be crippling to an organization or nation.

Donovan Campbell, in his book, “The Leader’s Code,” writes that an underlying loss of individual character is the essential failing in many of today’s leaders. He suggests that our leadership crisis flows from pursuit of personal gain, material success and/or power at the cost of individual character.

But it’s unfair to imply that today’s leaders are all generally bad. Rarely newsworthy are stories about purpose-driven leaders whose good character earned them respect and loyalty by the people they lead. They are servant leaders who don’t get enough media attention to affect our national consciousness or generally influence other leaders’ patterns of behavior.

Our crisis is, in part, connected to how emerging leaders are inadequately educated, trained and mentored about effective leadership through good individual character. After all, leadership is about people, and more specifically, about how leaders treat people. In my 40-plus years in healthcare leadership, I have come to believe that servant leaders who focus their role and power on serving organizational and employee needs are the most effective leaders.

Power is implicit in leadership, but how that power is used determines the success of the leader. The power choice is binary. One can use power to control or one can use power to serve. That choice usually arises from individual character and values.

When control is used, the position not the leader is emphasized. Position or authoritative power dominates and a leader’s character shortcomings are emphasized. Such leaders usually act as micro-managers or lead from ivory towers. When service is practiced, support is emphasized and the leader’s good character sets the organizational tone.

Over time, I have observed the following:

Control-defined organizations generally have:

• A primary focus on the leader’s authority and own needs.
• Limited creativity, often with workplace fear, and superficial, if any, connection between employees and their leader
• Productivity and adaptability at minimum expectations, and usually a less than healthy working environment and culture

Servant-led organizations usually have:

• A primary focus on employee and organizational needs.
• Strong creativity and teamwork with meaningful connection between employees and their leader.
• High productivity, strong adaptability and a healthy culture and working environment.

To become a servant leader, a person’s fundamental choice is profound, yet simple. Flip the switch, mentally and emotionally. Choose to serve those you lead.

This post was written by William Hyslop for The Business Journal, and you can find the original article here.