servant leadership: the key to fostering community and teamwork
TRANSCRIPT
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Servant Leadership: The Key to Fostering Community and Teamwork
Tom Darrow • April 30, 2009
SHRM Staffing Management Conference & Exposition
©SHRM 2009
Tom Darrow
• Founder and Principal of Talent Connections, LLC and Career Spa, LLC> Talent Connections, Inc. 500 company in 2007 and 2008
• 20 years in HR/Recruiting• 10 years with Price Waterhouse and Andersen Consulting• BBA in Accounting, University of Notre Dame• Past President, SHRM-Atlanta (2006-2007)
> Grew by 1,000 (60%) members to 2,600 members> Won 2 Pinnacle Awards
• SHRM Georgia State Council President-Elect• Member, Advisory Council, SHRM Foundation Board• Former Member, SHRM Staffing Management Expert Panel• Resides in Roswell, GA with wife Anne
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Why?
Why do we have a topic on Servant Leadership
at a Staffing Conference?
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Leadership
• What is the root cause of most challenges in companies today?
A. Lack of technologyB. Lack of available cashC. Lack of leadershipD. Lack of efficient processes or strategies
• Are effective leaders born or made?
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Leadership Styles
• Heroic - unplanned crisis
• Courageous – bold
• Authentic - transparent
• Laissez Faire – hands off
• Autocratic – top down
• Participative – empowerment
• Situational – changes
• Emergent – new leader
• Transactional – by the rules
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Leadership Styles
• Transformational – change agent
• Strategic – competitive
• Team – collaboration
• Facilitative – consensus
• Cross cultural – diversity/inclusion
• Coaching – teach and train
• Level 5 – good to great
• Servant – others first
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Servant Leadership
• Robert K. Greenleaf is credited with introducing the concept in 1970
• Definition: “Servant Leadership begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve; to serve first.”
Robert K. Greenleaf
• Ultimate test: Do those served grow as persons; become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?
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The power of servant-leadership
• Lies in one’s ability to combine the best of being a leader with the best of being a servant
• Not something you do, but something you are
• About creating the right environment to get the best out of people and unleash their true potential
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Servant-leadership, paradox?
• “Servant” and “leader” usually thought of as opposites> Both logical and intuitive > The process of balancing the two concepts is not
either/or, but both/and
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Servant Leader
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What is servant leadership?
• The need for a better approach to leadership, that puts serving others first> Employees, customers, community
• True leadership, unlike management is not just a set of skills and learned behaviors. What you do as a leader depends on who you are. Through your behavior, people can determine who you are.
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Who do you most admire?
Who do you most admire?
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Who are servant leaders?
• The servant-leader is a servant first
• Servant leaders are hard working
• Servant leadership is a conscious choice
• Servant leaders aren’t just legally compliant, they are ethically sound and morally aware
• Servant leaders care for people; not control people
• Servant leaders build a community at work12
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The characteristics of servant leaders
• Authentic
• Vulnerable
• Accepting
• Present
• Useful
Let’s investigate each one…
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Authentic
• Be who you are
• Honor what is good in people
• Don’t tell people what they want to hear…tell them the truth
• Communicate bad news…not just good news
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Vulnerable
• Be honest with your feelings in the context of work
• Be open about your feelings and concerns > Employee performance reviews> Your performance> Admit mistakes
• Be courageous!> “Courage Goes to Work”, Bill Treasurer
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Accepting
• Abandon notion of winners and losers
• Don’t just say that mistakes are ok, celebrate them!
• Trust on good faith without requiring others earn it first
• Don’t micromanage subordinates
• Re-define success
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Be Present
• Notice what you are thinking and feeling
• Concentrate on the task at hand…even when chaos reigns
• Give others your full attention
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Be Useful
• Listen first
• Perform your core responsibilities to a high level; then you will have earned the right to be given more> The Theology of the Hammer, Millard Fuller
• Be a resource for others
• Don’t do for people what they are capable of doing themselves
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More characteristics of servant leaders
• Empathy
• Listening
• Healing
• Awareness
• Persuasion
• Commitment
• Conceptualization
• Foresight
• Stewardship
• Building Community
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SERVE
S…See the Future
E…Engage and Develop People
R…Reinvent Continuously
V…Value Results and Relationships
E…Embody the Values
Source: “Leading at a Higher Level”, Ken Blanchard
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The Impact of Servant Leadership
• Servant-leadership principles are being applied by a wide variety of people working for-profit, non-profit, churches, universities, health care organizations, and foundations
• Servant-leadership impacts the health and effectiveness of your organization and community
• It builds trust between you and the employees
• It results in loyalty to the leader and the organization
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In practice
• Starbucks> Workshops> Activities> Employees join the Starbucks team because of their core
purpose, great people and customers
• Chick-fil-A> Spiritually focused> Corporate Purpose: To glorify God by being a faithful
steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.
> Closed on Sundays> Truett Cathy’s acts of forgiveness
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Simple Advice
• Build relationships at every opportunity. The results could be endless.
• Allow time for good ideas to emerge.
• It is not change people fear; it is loss.
• Meaningful communication is critical. No amount of e-mail, faxes, text messages can equal the value of face-to-face meetings.
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Servant Leadership at Work
• Focus on you first, your team second and the company third
• Volunteer to help in other departments
• Be an innovative business partner; not just order taker
• Seek to train company leaders in the art and practice of servant leadership
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Servant Leadership in the Profession
• Give back to the HR/Recruiting Profession
• Mentor someone
• Help those who are in transition
• Become a leader in a professional organization> SHRM
• Staffing Management Affiliate• Staffing Management expert panel• Local Chapter
> Local recruiting organization
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Servant Leadership in the Profession
• Share what you have learned> Speak> Write> Webinars
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Servant Leadership in the Community
• Volunteer in a significant role with a significant organization
• Mentor
• Church/ministry
• Neighborhood
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How do you become a servant leader?
• By studying and practicing servant leadership skills
• Study> Reading, observations> Lessons, workshops, conferences> Discuss
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Concluding thoughts
• How will you use what you have learned today and become more proactive in your leadership development?
• Will you strive to be a servant leader?
• What will it take to cultivate a genuine desire to serve?
• Remember the first sentence in “A Purpose Driven Life”
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Homework
• Get to know yourselfAssessments
• Research servant leadership concepts
• Commit to be a servant leader
• Secure a mentor
• Seek feedback to assess your progress
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Thank you!
Tom DarrowFounder and Principal
Talent Connections, LLCand
Career Spa, LLC175 Inverness Approach
Roswell, GA 30075770-552-1550 ext. 111
www.careerspa.net
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