Servant Leadership – growing, seeing & listening
Written by Stuart Haden on December 5, 2018
I read Robert K Greenleaf’s book Servant Leadership years ago, and it’s now in its 25th edition. I totally bought into the concept of making sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. Perhaps more of a mindset (than a practical leadership tool) it encourages us to think whether we are being of service.
In his book he poses 3 questions…
- Do those served grow as persons?
- Why would anybody accept the leadership of another except that the other sees more clearly?
- Are we really listening?
A great way to work with these questions is to simply consider what individuals, teams and organisations can do to grow others, provide clarity/vision and listen deeply. For an extra dimension think about how these 3 areas align to the 3 elements of optimal performance – psychology, environment and social.