I recently attended an interesting talk with Rusty Gordon, CEO of Knowlagent, who spoke about servant leadership. It was titled “Leading from the Back!” and was organized by the Institute for Business and Innovation.
Wikipedia states that “servant leadership is an approach to leadership development, coined and defined by Robert Greenleaf and proposed by various authors such as Stephen Covey, Peter Block, Peter Senge, Max De Pree, Margaret Wheatley, and Ken Blanchard.
Servant leadership emphasizes the leader’s role as steward of the resources (human, financial, and others) provided by the organization. It encourages leaders to serve others while staying focused on achieving results in line with the values and integrity of the organization. “
Rusty Gordon, shares a compelling argument that current leadership models have failed and that “me” -based leadership methods don’t work! He believes that the “You” leadership style is the best and most successful for companies today. This style promotes the idea that, “You decide and I will help you!” It communicates to employees that “I know and trust you.” The success of one leader is defined by the success of others. A president or CEO who believes in servant leadership says, “My success is built on yours.” Quite simply, you can only be successful if your customers and employees are successful!
To understand the philosophy of servant leadership, just think of the popular Home Depot ad: “You can do it, we can help!”
How refreshing! It’s common sense! The owner or leader of the business acts as a coach and trainer. However, it also imposes extreme caution. Anyone who advocates for servant leadership must choose their employees and clients very carefully.
Would this leadership style work for you? You should ask yourself the following questions: Are these suitable candidates for your company? Do you believe in the vision, mission and principles of the company? Would these new hires feel comfortable with your corporate culture? As for your customers, do these potential customers really fit in with your company? How does this prospect compare to your target market or your best customers? Do they see and understand the value of your products or services? Would you enjoy working with these companies?
Servant leadership promotes the idea that you choose to work with employees and companies based not on who they are now, but who they might become in the future!
Rusty says servant leaders are not in the front, but behind. When you lead from behind, you don’t block their vision! Powerful! Perceptive. Knowlagent’s CEO stated, “You are pushing your employees and customers to become the best!”
Yes, it sounds fantastic! But does it really work? The success of Google and Microsoft is tied to the philosophy and practice of servant leadership. We have often heard the popular advice: “Surround yourself with good people.” Mr. Gordon commented that Bill Gates, co-founder and president of Microsoft, says, “It’s about surrounding yourself with smart people and getting out of the way!” Apparently, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have adopted this leadership strategy for their successful company. Google has launched many new products and services: Gmail, Google Earth, AdWords, Google Desktop, Google Video, Google Tool Bar, Google Web Accelerator, etc. Recently, Google shares jumped to $ 500 per share! That’s pretty impressive, considering the IPO price was around $ 85 in 2004! Microsoft isn’t doing too bad either. Perhaps, if servant leadership works for Google, Microsoft, and Knowlagent CEO Rusty Gordon, it could work for you too!