My favorite example of servant leadership stems from this personal experience. I once turned in a project that my boss rejected. She said that it missed the mark.
I remember her saying this because it stung to hear those words: “it missed the mark.”
I’ve always taken pride in my work, not suggesting that it’s perfect. I’ve always given my genuine effort. I’ve never had a “just enough” mindset towards my work.
So, when she said that it missed the mark, I immediately thought, “How is that possible?”
We met to discuss my deliverable and the first thing I noticed was her demeanor. She wasn’t angry or mean or nasty. She explained why it missed the mark. She gave me specific feedback and guidance to revise it. She gave me clarity on how it missed the mark. This is exactly what I needed from this leader.
After our meeting, I revised my deliverable using the specific guidance she gave me. When I resubmitted the deliverable, it hit the mark, and all was good.
After some reflection, I understood that she had given me a gift. In this scenario, she demonstrated both servant and authentic leadership.
A servant leader exudes “I care about you as a person.” This demonstrates empathy and compassion for individuals as people. I already knew that she cared about me.
An authentic leader says, “I respect you enough to tell you the truth so that you can do your best work, learn and grow from this truth.”
That’s exactly what this leader did in this scenario.
Sometimes a servant leader will accept work that “misses the mark” and then “fix it” themselves. This robs the employee of the opportunity to learn and grow. In this scenario, the servant leader thinks they’re doing an act of kindness. But, they’re stealing an opportunity for their employee to be better, to grow in skills and confidence.
I already had a lot of respect for this leader. After this experience, my respect grew significantly, along with my desire to “hit the mark” in all of my work deliverables.
Additionally, my loyalty to this leader grew. Why wouldn’t it? She demonstrated not just care, but respect for me. Who doesn’t want a leader that cares enough about your well-being AND your career success?
In this video, I go deep into the two aspects of leadership: servant and authentic leadership. I offer four types of leaders encountered in the workplace.
In my Fulfillment Centric Leadership™ training and coaching work, I help leaders experience fulfilled leadership. The journey to fulfilled leadership goes through servant and authentic leadership.
Catch the video here. 👇🏼
Which type of leader are you?
