In
November, I had the opportunity to review comments from the ASQ Board of Directors, who advocated the positive concepts of
Sinek and the Servant Leadership approach as a suitable leadership model for
Quality. A significant portion of the content below on Servant Leadership is extracted from the November Quality Progress.
The purpose of this article is to summarize these ideas in
order to build awareness and interest, and subsequently have more quality professionals receptive to these very constructive and collaborative approaches.
Simon Sinek, the renowned business author and
communicator, has delivered a series of leadership books and presentations with
the theme “Start With Why”. Leadership arises when the focus is directed
to WHY a business or organization exists:
-
Start with WHY, then
use that to determine HOW and WHAT
-
Trust is based on
common values and beliefs, and is inspired by WHY
-
Our willingness to
follow a leader reflects and is an expression of ourselves
-
Leaders must have a
vision that inspires others
-
Leadership is a
responsibility of service to others for their benefit
According to Sinek, when leading by inspiration, not
manipulation, the emphasis is on the shared purposes, causes, and
beliefs. The salient below reflect Sinek’s overview of this approach and
its benefits:
-
Groups of people form
from having a common set of values and beliefs
-
Inspire from the
Inside-Out with Authenticity
o
Clarity of Why
o
Discipline of How
o
Consistency of What
-
Trust is a human
condition, essential for our survival
o
Judge the quality of
the crew in rough waters
o
Rational brain
focuses on What, and controls thoughts and analytical elements
o
Limbic brain focuses
on How and Why, and controls feelings, trust, loyalty, behavior, language, and
decisions
-
Reliance on symbols
to draw other with common values and beliefs
o
Feelings and
decisions are not rational but emotional
o
Feelings say
something about WHO WE ARE
-
Law of Diffusion
o
First 16% (2.5%
Innovators, 13.5% Early Adopters) trust their gut and are intuitive to adopt
new ideas and products
o
Last 16% are laggards
and the last to adopt
o
Middle 68% majority
wait for all early adopters to use the “trial version” and need 20% penetration
before becoming engaged
o
Shift from Early
Adopters to Majority is “Tipping Point”, and transcendence is “Crossing the
Chasm”
-
Leaders prove what they
believe – undying belief in a future vision
o
Strategy is adaptable
when you have a clear sense of where you are going
o
Outcomes (Money,
Quotas, Results) are not the target but arbitrary
-
Leadership is a
responsibility, not a rank or position
o
Serving those who
serve others provides very high satisfaction and fulfillment
o
Great leaders
sacrifice themselves for others
o
We follow those who
lead for ourselves (i.e. 250,000 people who came to hear Dr. Martin Luther King
came for themselves and their common values and beliefs)
This actually aligns very closely with the Servant
Leadership concept advocated by Greenleaf and his contemporaries.
According to Greenleaf et al, servant leadership is a philosophy that emphasizes
focusing first on others’ needs. Servant leaders are attentive to the growth
and development of their stakeholders, including employees, customers, partners
and the community. This approach enriches the lives of individuals, builds
organizations that are more customer-focused and that it ultimately creates a
more just and caring world:
- Servant
leadership is a timeless concept—especially relevant for quality
organizations because of its relationship with continuous improvement.
- Organizations
benefit from servant leadership because it creates more effective and
innovative teams and greater profitability.
- It
can be practiced by anyone, regardless of his or her location in the
organizational hierarchy.
Characteristics of Servant Leadership include:
- Service
first: Service to others is the prime
motivator of the servant leader, and leadership becomes the way of
providing that service.
- Community
building: Servant leaders define their
stakeholders broadly, focus on the common good and seek to build a
trusting community.
- Persuasion
not coercion: Servant leaders do not dictate
or autocratically exercise power. Rather, they persuade others to agree
and to act.
- Followers
willingly follow: Followers
of servant leaders choose to follow, voluntarily, because they trust the
servant leader and own a shared purpose.
- Journey:
Servant leadership is a
journey—a process of continuous improvement and growth.
- Asking
questions: A servant leader values the
wisdom of others and therefore addresses any issue by asking questions.
- Listening: Servant leaders are experts in listening. Iarocci and
Monroe said servant leaders automatically respond to any problem by
listening first.
- Withdrawing
and reorienting: Servant leaders are
self-reflective and practice the art of withdrawing and reorienting to
improve their perspective on the self and the work at hand.
- Exercising
foresight: Servant leaders practice
foresight by keeping up with current events, scanning the horizon for
signals of change, listening actively and looking outside the boundaries
of their own organizations.
- Growing
others: Servant leaders relentlessly
pursue the growth and development of others and create more servant
leaders, not more followers.
Seven
key dimensions of servant leadership were defined:
·
behaving
ethically,
·
emotional
healing,
·
putting
subordinates first,
·
helping
subordinates grow and succeed,
·
empowering,
·
creating
value for the community, and
·
conceptual
skills.
These
researchers found servant leadership to significantly enhance commitment to the
organization, job performance, and community citizenship behavior. These
studies demonstrated that servant leadership led to team performance through
its positive influence on trust. When subordinates feel psychologically safe,
they are willing to take risks associated with being creative, are willing to
challenge the status quo (which leads to better decision making), and are
motivated to perform well as a way of reciprocating for fair treatment by the
leader.
Servant leadership was shown to positively influence the relationship between goal clarity and team potency. Servant leaders gain team member trust and build long term relationships by showing genuine concern for all team members. And because it is the leader’s team, follower trust in leadership acts to elevate team members’ trust in the capabilities of their team to be effective. Servant leaders, who are fair, and honest with team members, promote open and problem-driven communication within the team, resulting in enhanced team member confidence in their team’s capabilities to be effective even in the face of uncertainty and obstacles. Servant leaders cultivate personal integrity among team members to create a spiritual climate within the team, which elicits team members to cooperate with and care about each other and enables them to be optimistic about their team’s capabilities to be effective.
Servant leadership was shown to positively influence the relationship between goal clarity and team potency. Servant leaders gain team member trust and build long term relationships by showing genuine concern for all team members. And because it is the leader’s team, follower trust in leadership acts to elevate team members’ trust in the capabilities of their team to be effective. Servant leaders, who are fair, and honest with team members, promote open and problem-driven communication within the team, resulting in enhanced team member confidence in their team’s capabilities to be effective even in the face of uncertainty and obstacles. Servant leaders cultivate personal integrity among team members to create a spiritual climate within the team, which elicits team members to cooperate with and care about each other and enables them to be optimistic about their team’s capabilities to be effective.
Servant leadership was researched by
academics (Piccolo & Colquitt, 2006), (Liden et al., 2008) , (Neubert,
Kacmar, Carlson, Chonko, & Roberts, 2008) and ((Mayer, Bardes, &
Piccolo, 2008) to demonstrate its impact on organizations and
satisfaction. The full reference list is below.
References
Simon
Sinek – YouTube presentations (multiple)
Ehrhart,
M. G. (2004). Leadership and procedural justice climate as antecedents of
unit-level organizational citizenship behavior. Personnel Psychology, 57, 61-94.
Graham, J. W. (1991). Servant leadership in organizations: Inspirational and moral. Leadership Quarterly, 2, 105-119.
Greenleaf, R. K. (1970). The servant as leader. Newton Centre, MA: The Robert K. Greenleaf Center.
Hale, J. R.,& Fields, D. L. (2007). Exploring servant leadership across cultures: A study of followers in Ghana and the USA. Leadership, 3(4), 397-417.
Han, Y., Kakabadse, N. K., & Kakabadse, A. (2010). Servant leadership in the People's Republic of China: A case study of the public sector. Journal of Management
Development, 29(3), 265-281.
Hu, J., & Liden, R.C. (2011). Antecedents of team potency and team effectiveness: An examination of goal and process clarity and servant leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96, 851-862.
Liden, R.C. (2012). Leadership research in Asia: A brief assessment and suggestions for the future. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 29, 205-212.
Liden, R.C., Panaccio, A., Meuser, J.D., Hu, J., & Wayne, S.J. (in press). Servant leadership: Antecedents, processes, and outcomes. In Day, D.V. (Ed.) The Oxford handbook of leadership and organizations. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Liden, R.C., Wayne, S. J., Zhao, H. & Henderson, D. (2008). Servant leadership: Development of a multidimensional measures and multilevel assessment, Leadership Quarterly, 19, 161-177.
Mayer, D. M., Bardes, M., & Piccolo, R. F. (2008). Do servant-leaders help satisfy follower needs? An organizational justice perspective. European Journal of Work
and Organizational Psychology, 17, 180-197.
Neubert, M. J., Kacmar, K. M., Carlson, D. S., Chonko, L. B., & Roberts, J. A. (2008). Regulatory focus as a mediator of the influence of initiating structure and servant leadership on employee behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology,93(6), 1220-1233.
Peterson, S., Galvin, B. M., & Lange, D. 2012. CEO servant leadership: Exploring executive characteristics and firm performance. Personnel Psychology, 65: 565-596.
Piccolo, R. F.,& Colquitt, J.A. (2006). Transformational leadership and job behaviors: The mediating role of core job characteristics. Academy of Management Journal, 49, 327-340.
Schaubroeck, J., Lam, S. S. K., & Peng, A. C. 2011. Cognition-based and affect-based trust as mediators of leader behavior influences on team performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96: 863-871.
Van Dierendonck, D. 2011. Servant leadership: A review and synthesis. Journal of Management, 37: 1228-1261.
Walumbwa, F. O., Hartnell, C. A., & Oke, A. (2010). Servant leadership, procedural justice climate, service climate, employee attitudes, and organizational citizenship behavior: A cross-level investigation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95, 517-529.
Yukl, G. (2010). Leadership in organizations (seventh edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Graham, J. W. (1991). Servant leadership in organizations: Inspirational and moral. Leadership Quarterly, 2, 105-119.
Greenleaf, R. K. (1970). The servant as leader. Newton Centre, MA: The Robert K. Greenleaf Center.
Hale, J. R.,& Fields, D. L. (2007). Exploring servant leadership across cultures: A study of followers in Ghana and the USA. Leadership, 3(4), 397-417.
Han, Y., Kakabadse, N. K., & Kakabadse, A. (2010). Servant leadership in the People's Republic of China: A case study of the public sector. Journal of Management
Development, 29(3), 265-281.
Hu, J., & Liden, R.C. (2011). Antecedents of team potency and team effectiveness: An examination of goal and process clarity and servant leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96, 851-862.
Liden, R.C. (2012). Leadership research in Asia: A brief assessment and suggestions for the future. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 29, 205-212.
Liden, R.C., Panaccio, A., Meuser, J.D., Hu, J., & Wayne, S.J. (in press). Servant leadership: Antecedents, processes, and outcomes. In Day, D.V. (Ed.) The Oxford handbook of leadership and organizations. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Liden, R.C., Wayne, S. J., Zhao, H. & Henderson, D. (2008). Servant leadership: Development of a multidimensional measures and multilevel assessment, Leadership Quarterly, 19, 161-177.
Mayer, D. M., Bardes, M., & Piccolo, R. F. (2008). Do servant-leaders help satisfy follower needs? An organizational justice perspective. European Journal of Work
and Organizational Psychology, 17, 180-197.
Neubert, M. J., Kacmar, K. M., Carlson, D. S., Chonko, L. B., & Roberts, J. A. (2008). Regulatory focus as a mediator of the influence of initiating structure and servant leadership on employee behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology,93(6), 1220-1233.
Peterson, S., Galvin, B. M., & Lange, D. 2012. CEO servant leadership: Exploring executive characteristics and firm performance. Personnel Psychology, 65: 565-596.
Piccolo, R. F.,& Colquitt, J.A. (2006). Transformational leadership and job behaviors: The mediating role of core job characteristics. Academy of Management Journal, 49, 327-340.
Schaubroeck, J., Lam, S. S. K., & Peng, A. C. 2011. Cognition-based and affect-based trust as mediators of leader behavior influences on team performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96: 863-871.
Van Dierendonck, D. 2011. Servant leadership: A review and synthesis. Journal of Management, 37: 1228-1261.
Walumbwa, F. O., Hartnell, C. A., & Oke, A. (2010). Servant leadership, procedural justice climate, service climate, employee attitudes, and organizational citizenship behavior: A cross-level investigation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95, 517-529.
Yukl, G. (2010). Leadership in organizations (seventh edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
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