As a team leader, your ultimate goal is to inspire and motivate your team to work together toward achieving a common goal. Traditional leadership styles may rely on incentives and rewards as motivators. Still, as a servant leader, you prioritize the needs of your team members and work to support them in achieving their goals.
What is Servant Leadership?
Servant leadership is a leadership philosophy that puts the needs of others first. The servant leader serves their team members, supporting and encouraging them so they can achieve their personal and professional goals. This leadership approach requires active listening, empathy, and a focus on developing the potential of each team member.
Discover Your Team Members’ Strengths and Weaknesses
To inspire your team, knowing your team member’s strengths and weaknesses, and aspirations is essential. Start by conducting one-on-one meetings with each team member to discuss their goals, strengths, and areas for development. You can also use assessments to gain insights into their working styles.
Develop Team Members’ Potential to the Fullest
Use the information you’ve gathered about your team members to develop their potential fully. This may involve coaching, mentoring, and providing feedback that helps them grow and acquire new skills. Encourage your team to take on new challenges and take risks while also being available to provide support and guidance.
Listen More and Talk Less
Active listening is crucial to servant leadership. When communicating with your team members, actively listen and acknowledge their input, feedback, and concerns. This will foster trust and build better relationships between you and your team members. In turn, team members will feel that their contributions and ideas are valued and that their leader cares about their well-being.
Provide Constructive Feedback
Feedback is essential in helping team members grow and develop. However, providing constructive feedback in a positive and supportive manner is vital. When providing feedback, focus on specific actions or behaviors and suggest improvements. This will help your team members become more self-aware and enable them to grow and develop professionally.
Implementing Servant Leadership
To implement servant leadership in your team, start by leading by example. Model the behaviors and characteristics of a servant leader in your actions and decision-making. Then focus on providing support and guidance to your team members, listening actively to their input, and helping them grow and develop personally and professionally.
Questions to ask
1. What are your personal and professional goals, and how can I help you achieve them?
2. What are your strengths and weaknesses, and how can I support your development?
3. How can we improve collaboration and communication within the team?
When you adopt a servant leadership approach, you’ll inspire and motivate your team members to work together towards the common goal, resulting in better relationships, improved morale, and ultimately tremendous success for the organization.