This is a subject that is very important to me and has become a significant part of my Leadership Style over the last 10 Years. Why is a fairly complicated response and I will try to summarize in future blogs. Servant Leadership is not the norm in today’s typical business environment. I would suggest that how we treat our teams, how we lead our teams, how we run our businesses and how we support our communities will be critical as the economy starts to reopen. When I talk about Servant Leadership it is rarely understood as to what that really means. I would also suggest that Large/Medium publicly held businesses do not understand the true sustainable value associated with Servant Leadership. There are exceptions and Toyota (TPS) would be an example of the exceptions. The notion of treating teams with respect, allowing the team to own the process, value their input and put the team first is not the norm. My experience is that Servant Leadership can be very successful in small closely held businesses. This is a very powerful point of differentiation for small businesses that seek to be different and create value. In the end the value is delivered from the employees. it takes a Servant Leader to move the team to that point.
