Servant leadership is a leadership style in which serving people is the core purpose. A servant leader works towards ensuring the satisfaction, well-being, and growth of others first instead of focusing on their personal growth. Key characteristics of this leadership style include empathy, self-awareness, conceptualization, foresight, and commitment to growth
The servant leadership theory was first introduced in a 1970 essay called The Servant As Leader by Robert K. Greenleaf. Greenleaf developed the concept from an idea in Hermann Hesse’s The Journey to the East, in which a seemingly minor servant turns out to be the driving force and the true leader of a group of travelers. The novel’s plot sparked something in Greenleaf’s mind. He realized the need for a similar “serve-first” mindset in modern corporate leaders.
Put simply, a servant leader is driven by the urge to serve others (employees, team members, customers, and so on). They strive to empower and enhance the experiences of the people they lead. In turn, it can lead everyone to perform better and contribute to overall organizational growth. Learn more about this leadership style, its advantages, and how you can start to become a servant leader in the sections below.
How Does Servant Leadership Differ from Traditional Leadership?
A traditional leader rests at the top of an authority ladder with their followers below them. However, a servant leader does away with this hierarchy by distributing power among the team. Therefore, it’s not just the power distribution that differs, but also the way the two types of leaders perceive themselves and the people they lead.
This fundamental difference leads to many other differences between servant leadership and traditional leadership. This is especially apparent in the following aspects:
1. Area of Focus
A servant leader’s primary focus is on the growth of the team members—for example, the people who make up the organization. A traditional leader, in contrast, tends to focus mainly on organizational and personal growth.
2. The Definition of Success
For a servant leader, overall growth or success happens when relationships within the team thrive and every team member grows personally and professionally. However, a traditional leader often measures success with end results like sales and profits.
3. Collaboration vs. Instruction
A servant leader typically leads by collaborating with their team. They tend to discuss challenges, brainstorm ideas, and give others autonomy in operations and decisions. A traditional leader, though, might rely more on giving instructions and less on teamwork.
4. Service vs. Self
Serving others lies at the core of the servant leadership style. A servant leader puts others’ needs first. A traditional leader may be driven by personal ambitions and material desires, so they might focus on their own growth first.
5. Decision Making
Making important decisions also tends to be an exercise in teamwork for a servant leader, as they include and consider feedback from their team before making big decisions. A traditional leader usually doesn’t involve their team in most decisions.
Theoretical Styles vs. Real-Life Application
While these differences distinguish the servant leadership style from a traditional leadership style, remember that these are basic concepts. There are also other specific leadership styles. People may lean toward or strive for a specific type over others, but they may not exhibit only one specific style. They may also blend characteristics of the different types to find a leadership style that works best for them and their team.
Servant Leadership Characteristics and Traits
The main idea behind servant leadership is to improve others’ lives in such a way that they naturally do their best work and help bring the entire team forward. Here are some must-have soft skills a servant leader tends to possess:
1. Empathy
The ability to empathize with others is central to any act of true service. After all, it’s only when you understand and relate to others’ feelings, needs and problems that you can address them properly. This is why a servant leader—or anyone who aspires to be one—must be empathetic so they can truly care enough to help others grow. Empathy is also a core component of high emotional intelligence, which can be crucial to good leadership.
2. Self-Awareness
Being aware of your values, ethics, and vision is important for every leader. However, it’s especially important in servant leadership, since the core purpose here (serving others) is deeply rooted in ethics. Servant leaders are aware of their purpose and principles, which help them lead with integrity and clarity.
3. Conceptualization
Traditional leaders might fall prey to a myopic view of growth by focusing on short-term goals. But a serve-first mentality helps you zoom out and think long-term. Servant leaders thus have a broad vision about the future. They work towards building an overall culture that supports long-term goals for the organization.
4. Foresight
Foresight isn’t some uncanny power to see the future. It’s the ability to predict a feasible future outcome by analyzing the past and understanding the present condition. Because servant leaders are also open to your team members’ foresight, this process can be easier. It’s rooted in the intuitive mind and desires a positive future not only for business success, but the well-being of the team.
5. Commitment to Growth
You might be thinking: Isn’t this a generic leadership quality? Well, yes and no. A servant leader is committed to the growth of the people as much as the organization. The commitment goes beyond professional growth. They understand the interplay between work and personal lives and, thus, do their best to enrich both aspects.
Servant Leadership Principles to Follow
Besides having the characteristic traits of being a people-first leader, it’s also important for those who aspire to be a servant leader to exhibit these traits via some defining actions. Here are some key servant leadership principles to strive for:
1. Actively Listen to Your People
Much of servant leadership is about nurturing an inclusive environment where everyone feels seen and heard. Everyone freely shares their ideas and opinions not only because they want to but also because their leader listens to and values them. This is why you, as a servant leader, must be an active listener who cares.
2. Give Your Team Members Space to Heal
This comes straight from empathy. Everyone is struggling with some things—from old wounds to current sufferings to future fears. A servant leader understands that this common thread of pain and the urge to heal binds us all together. They see their leadership as an opportunity to heal themselves and others, be it by the way they treat and support their team or any support programs they offer in the organization.
3. Work Towards a Shared Vision
We’ve already talked about conceptualization, but it’s of little use until the big picture you see for the organization aligns with what your team members see. Unfortunately, that doesn’t tend to happen naturally. That’s why servant leaders must effectively persuade teams to work towards a shared vision.
Note that in this leadership style working towards a shared vision is not instructing, dictating, or ordering. Instead, it involves explaining your plans, taking in your team’s feedback, addressing their concerns and discussing your ideas (including suggestions from the team).
4. Be a Steward (Not a Boss)
Since a serve-first approach does away with hierarchy, your role as a servant leader is to handle responsibilities like a steward, not a boss. So while you do your best to serve your team for the greater good of everyone, don’t try to exercise power or control over them. Don’t be the boss others “have to” follow. Try to come off as a fellow team member first, cultivating mutual trust with your members so they support you in your endeavors.
While community-building is another key leadership quality, it takes a more central role in servant leadership. Everything you do and practice as a servant leader, including all the qualities and principles we just discussed, is fueled by an underlying purpose of giving back to the people. This purpose naturally instills a strong sense of community that drives everyone forward, and your central role is to hold everyone together.
Learn How to be a Servant Leader: Top Servant Leadership Examples
While Greenleaf published his essay in 1970, the values of servant leadership existed long before that. Several world leaders, such as Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela, have successfully—and popularly—embodied the “serve-first” mentality for uplifting people.
The business world hasn’t been bereft of examples, either. Let’s look at some of the most successful servant leaders in business who have used this leadership style successfully:
1. Susan Wojcicki: Former CEO of YouTube
Susan Wojcicki joined Google as its 16th employee in 1999. She played a huge role in building AdSense, Google Analytics, Google Books and even Google Video. She influenced some of Google’s most pivotal decisions, including its 2006 acquisition of YouTube, before serving as YouTube’s CEO from 2014 to 2023.
Wojcicki’s leadership style revolved around inclusion, diversity, and empathy—some of the key principles of servant leadership. Under her leadership, YouTube launched the Partner Program to monetize creators. She also influenced Google’s decision to increase maternity leave from 12 to 18 weeks.
2. Howard Schultz: Former CEO of Starbucks
When Schultz became the CEO of Starbucks for the second time in 2008, the company was struggling due to a global financial crisis. He brought back focus to quality and purpose while also deepening his relationship with employees.
Schultz took a lot of unique steps during his leadership, such as the New Orleans conference of store managers that involved 50,000 hours of community service. Starbucks also introduced health benefits and training to its employees, aiming to empower them to become responsible towards the company’s values.
3. Herb Kelleher: Former CEO of Southwest Airlines
Herb Kelleher was the co-founder of Southwest Airlines, later becoming the CEO and even the chairman emeritus of the company. He put his employees first and believed, “If you treat them well, then they treat the customers well, and that means your customers come back and your shareholders are happy.”
Southwest is known for having a productive workforce and top customer service ratings. The company has also been profitable for 46 consecutive years, and much of the credit goes to Kelleher.
Benefits of Servant Leadership
Servant leadership benefits employees, but also, organizations. It has multiple benefits, including the following:
1. Builds a Strong and Supportive Culture
Leadership style significantly affects organizational culture, and a serve-first leadership approach helps build a positive culture that is centered around mutual support and trust.
2. Improves Employee Engagement
According to a study on servant leadership, this leadership style improves employee engagement via some key factors. These include things such as employee empowerment, teamwork, and a positive workplace climate.
3. Boosts Employee Performance
Servant leaders play a crucial role in promoting a healthy work environment where employees feel valued and satisfied. Research suggests that such a positive work environment can make a real impact—improving employees’ performance and commitment levels.
4. Strengthens Collaboration
As mentioned earlier, servant leadership is not the traditional top-down leadership style; it thrives on teamwork and support. The result tends to be an organization where processes are smoother and faster since collaborations come more naturally to everyone.
5. Improves Employee Retention
Turnovers can represent a significant cost to companies, but servant leaders can help mitigate this. Findings from a study on turnover rates suggest that employees working with a servant leader are less likely to leave the organization.
Challenges and Disadvantages of Servant Leadership
While servant leadership can bring great positivity and growth to a team or organization, being a servant leader isn’t always as easy as it might appear in theory. Here are a few reasons why:
1. Lack of Authority Can Backfire
Most people enjoy having a leader who acts like a peer or friend rather than a traditional boss. But not everyone may respect that person. Some may misuse their servant leader’s support and care simply because they aren’t serious or committed to their work.
What you can do:
- Be supportive but clearly communicate your expectations.
- Be empathetic but also hold others accountable.
- Be a steward, but an assertive one.
2. Roadblocks in Decision Making
While involving your team in decision-making processes can have positive outcomes, it may come at the cost of speed. Having more people involved means more diversity in ideas. This could potentially lead to more conflicts and hence more time to finalize a well-rounded decision.
What you can do:
- Leave teamwork for high-stakes decisions.
- Create fixed systems and timelines for the decision-making process.
- Delegate conflict resolution to others.
3. Empowering Employees Might Lead to Overwhelm
You might have the best of intentions to give your team members new responsibilities and experiences. However, employees may get overwhelmed with or feel afraid of taking on important roles. Such resistance can leave your members uncomfortable and pressured, which is the opposite of what you might want.
What you can do:
- Clearly communicate your intentions.
- Don’t just delegate; guide them along the way.
4. Serving Can Take a Toll on the Leader
Since servant leadership is rooted in service, servant leaders may fail to focus on their own well-being and growth. You might have everyone’s back, but not your own. You might encourage work-life balance while you stay up late. You might feel drained listening to everyone, yet take their problems too personally.
What you can do:
- Establish clear boundaries, roles and schedules for yourself and others.
- Lead by example; strive for the same balance you promote for others.
- Support yourself the same way you support your team.
- Practice good self-care consistently.
Incorporating a Servant Leadership Style
It’s obvious by now that leading with a “serve-first” mindset isn’t easy. Even the term “servant leader” sounds a bit contradictory. Yet, the logic behind being a servant leader and the benefits that follow are real. We can see this from leaders like Schultz, who have used this approach successfully.
If this is an approach you’d like to utilize, start by understanding this leadership style and its key characteristics. Develop these traits, look at leadership examples, and follow the tips above to implement a serve-first leadership model. As you continue to grow and learn, you may find that being a servant-minded leader provides greater benefits than you imagined.
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