By far, my greatest result as a leader started to emerge when I embraced the Servant Leadership philosophy. When I want to feel good about myself, I like to think that this transformation occurred because I contain a higher dose of altruism than many others, but the truth is that Servant Leadership is so powerful that one can reap its benefits even through pure logic. Indeed, for those Marvel Universe evil characters out there, Servant Leadership does not require lots of goodness, even though that would definitely help.

For a simple explanation of this last statement, one only needs to realize that the vast majority of the results of a leader are nothing more than the sum of the achievements of the people working under that leader’s wing. Sure, at times I have had great ideas which were 100% mine, and those moved the organization forward. At other times, I was the hero who saved the day through some glorious solution, but 99% of the time, when one of my managers said that “George did amazing work,” the correct statement should have been “George’s team did great work.” In all those instances, my only contribution was that I led the team to do that great work.

As such, this can actually be expressed as a mathematical formula, hence my statement about logic as an objective reason for adopting Servant Leadership.

Leader’s Results = ∑ Individual Results ± δ

In this equation, delta (δ) represents the direct contribution of the leader, and indeed, there is a plus or minus sign before that because we know a leader’s contribution can many times be detrimental. The immediate conclusion is that leaders can maximize their results by tending to the work-related needs of the people below. Of course, there are always outliers, and I have seen CEOs personally bring in over half of the sales of a company through their direct connections, but for the sake of this article, I will focus on the other 99% of us mortals.

Why Servant Leadership?

1. Servant Leadership produces sustainable results.

   Over the short term, all leadership styles can produce good results. In fact, among all of them, the Authoritarian style is probably the most effective because fear is the most powerful short-term motivator. People will go above and beyond just to avoid suffering the wrath of the authoritarian leader, but many will jump ship at the first opportunity. Servant Leadership, on the other hand, builds long-term loyalty. As soon as the bond is created between the leader and followers, the results are much easier to sustain at a high level.

2. Servant Leadership minimizes employee turnover.

   One great saying states that people should choose their bosses, not their jobs. Nowadays many spend more time at work – even if only remotely – than with their family, therefore the relationship with the direct manager is critical. A good leader can and should mentor, provide directions, should be supportive, and should be protective.According to Statista, a 2021- 2022 survey of 13,382 employees from Australia, Canada, Singapore, India, United Kingdom and United States shows that uncaring/ uninspiring leaders is the third most common reason for an employee quitting a job, with a weight of no less than 34%. That means that 1 in 3 people who resign quote an uncaring and/or uninspiring leader as one of their reasons for leaving the organization. Because of this, Servant Leadership can have a huge positive impact on cost, since the bond created between the leader and the followers makes a lot less people to abandon the organization. That means lower costs for recruiting and training, less know how falling in the hands of the competition, a much higher productivity (a new employee always produces less than an experienced one for at least 3 to 12 months, depending on its level in the organization), and better response in times of crises, as people are much more willing to go above and beyond when the need arises.

   As a personal example, in 2015, the year before I joined Davenport University, the departments that I took over a year later had a 45% voluntary employee turnover. Furthermore, in 2016 this percentage went up to 55% – as change takes time, but dropped to 30% in 2017 and then only 10% in 2018! In fact, by the end of 2018 we were having another “problem”. Since we had both part-time and full-time employees, we were always promoting people from part time to full time, but since nobody was quitting, we had less and less opportunities for promotions. That is a great “problem” to have though, I dare to say.

3. Servant Leadership gives great control to the leader.

   In The Essence of Self-Management: A Neuronal Network vs The Commander in Chief, I mentioned that the classic, Commander in Chief type of management gives the “boss” the illusion of control, and now it is time to clarify that. Autocratic leaders stand out because most of the time, when they order something, things are done with the speed of light. Indeed, when the leader says “jump,” the team asks “how high”, but this happens only in front of the leader. Behind the leader’s back, things are completely different. When the leader is not looking or is not giving orders and directives left and right, people are significantly more likely to act completely selfish and/or disingenuous, which is a completely natural behavior.Was I forced to put in four hours of overtime when I should have had dinner with my family? No worries, I will compensate by stalling my work about an hour a day for the next two weeks. That is definitely more than four hours. Was I shown no empathy when I struggled with a task? No worries, maybe I will take two sick days (if they are paid) just because I don’t feel like spending my time in a toxic environment. Disclaimer: of course, I would never do such things, but I have heard that people in Wakanda do them.

   As an axiom, when people behave completely differently when the leader is present and watching versus when they are unsupervised, that is nothing more than an “illusion of control”. In contrast, in Servant Leadership, truth and trust are two of the most precious values, and the likelihood of followers to adopt destructive behavior is significantly lower. Additionally, Servant Leadership nurtures personal responsibility, which is why work is being done without the leader even asking for it, and that is real control.

4. Servant Leadership enhanced innovation and creativity

   Servant Leaders create a culture of trust and openness, which can encourage team members to share ideas and collaborate more effectively, leading to increased innovation and creativity. People are significantly more likely to care about the greater good of their team and of the entire organization, which is why they will often put intellectual effort into thoughts beyond their job description.

5. Servant Leadership improves customer satisfaction

   Even when two tasks are executed exactly the same way, customer satisfaction is more likely to be higher under Servant Leadership because the well-being of the employees can be felt in their actions. An extra smile, over the phone or in person, an extra minute caring for a customer, all these add up.All of these are objective reasons for embracing Servant Leadership, and all of them translate to dollars. This should convince those pragmatic leaders out there that it is worth embracing this philosophy. However, there is another way of answering the question of “why Servant Leadership”:

Because caring for those under a leader’s wing is the ethical thing to do.
Because with great power comes great responsibility.
Because every leader has the moral duty to care for the weaker ones.
That is actually the intrinsic definition of a leader and what separates a leader from a boss.

Servant Leadership: the “how”

From a humane perspective, Servant Leadership is implemented through empathy and genuine care. From a tactical aspect, a Servant Leader needs to invest in:

1. Communication – especially active listening

   Servant Leaders need to listen actively in order to identify ways in which they can support their protégés. Some employees lack confidence, and it is the leader’s role to identify the cause and work on the problem. Some employees want to grow professionally, and it is the leader’s role to help them identify their path and help them follow that path. Some employees do not know what they want at all – which can be the case for very junior associates – and it is the leader’s role to give them wings.

   Servant Leaders need to always be looking for ways to help the employees succeed, and constant feedback is required. Servant Leadership is not a hands-off approach like the laissez-faire style of leadership, but it still is a philosophy in which employees have a higher degree of autonomy (especially when combined with self-management). As a result, constant and frequent feedback is needed to help followers succeed.

2. Training

   A person’s professional skills are directly correlated with their well-being, regardless of whether we are talking about a less stressful job as a result of a lower risk of mistakes or the opportunities that lay ahead in their career. As a result, Servant Leaders need to invest seriously in training, and the good news is that this is a win-win deal. Employees grow, and the organization gains value.

3. Fostering vital values: truth, trust and communication

   First and foremost, Servant Leaders must be committed to truth and honesty in their interactions with others. They must be transparent in their actions and decisions, and always strive to communicate openly and honestly with their followers. This helps to build trust and credibility, and fosters a culture of integrity and accountability within the organization.

   Trust is another essential value that Servant Leader must prioritize. By being consistent in their actions and following through on their commitments, Servant Leaders can build trust and confidence among their followers. This creates a sense of safety and security within the organization, and allows for open and honest communication and collaboration.

Before ending this article with a quote pertaining to Servant Leadership, there is on final and critical item to address. It is vital to understand that Servant Leadership does not mean weakness just like parents caring for the well being of their children has nothing to do with weakness. Servant Leadership does not mean servitude! Instead, true Servant Leaders are usually very strong individuals, because it takes a strong, confident and balanced individual to understand that power should be used for the well-being of the weak.

“Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. It’s not that Level 5 leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious–but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves.”

Jim Collins, Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t