How to Incorporate Service Into Your Leadership Style
So you’re a leader. Maybe you’re newly promoted, or maybe you’re an old hand at managing and inspiring teams. However seasoned you are, perhaps more important than actually being a leader is what you DO with it. At PeopleForward Network, one of our core values is to “serve the greater good,” and it’s certainly something exemplified by great leaders. In the immortal words of Uncle Ben as he bestows wisdom on a young Spider-Man, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
We’re here to share some of the benefits of serving the greater good and how you can take the reins on the responsibility you have as a leader to give back to the world in ways big and small.
What is servant leadership?
According to the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, “A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. While traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid,” servant leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.”
If you aspire to be or consider yourself a people-first leader, your habits and actions should be rooted in this foundational belief. Putting these beliefs into action will inherently strengthen your leadership traits, in everything from humility and empathy to collaboration and connection. By sharpening your skills, you’ll continue to improve your methods of serving the greater good, and this chain reaction of positive impact will continue on in everything you do.
How do I increase my focus on service?
As with any new professional (or personal!) development journey, there is a vast sea of resources in any medium that connects with how you prefer to learn and grow. We find that new habits and skills are more easily adopted when you incorporate them into your existing habits and routines. So if you listen to podcasts during your morning commute, start with a podcast. If live interaction resonates best with you, find an in-person workshop or meet a servant leader you admire for coffee.
Podcasts to Serve the Greater Good
The Strengths Whisperer: The Journey from Selfish Leader to Servant Leader with Mark Whitacre
Learn how the same strengths that helped Mark succeed when he only cared about material things are now helping him excel at living for significance.
Gut+Science: Revolutionizing Leadership Development, Stop Training and Grow Them with Andrea Butcher
Learn how Andrea found the courage to dare to dream, take risks, and lean into creating personal connections with her people. Listen in to hear what you can do to start trusting in people’s potential and lift them up to make a greater impact in the workplace and the world at large.
Events to Grow as a Servant Leader
We are honored to feature conferences, virtual events, and workshops of partners in our network, many of which hone in on the importance of service for leaders. These are excellent opportunities to sharpen your leadership skills and people skills, and of course to meet and network with others you can learn from.
Books to Broaden Your Service Skills
- Permission to Screw Up: How I Learned to Lead by Doing (Almost) Everything Wrong – Kristen Hadeed
- Spark: How to Lead Yourself and Others to Greater Success – Angie Morgan, Courtney Lynch, Sean Lynch
- Leaders Eat Last – Simon Sinek
- Strengths-Based Leadership – Don Clifton
Start today…and never stop!
Leadership is a privilege, and its mastery and execution is ever-evolving. Explore different ways you can use this privilege to serve the greater good, whether that is empowering the employees at your company, focusing your organization on giving back to your community, or using your voice to motivate and inspire others.
With serving the greater good as one of our core values at PeopleForward Network, we intentionally produce podcasts and related content central to this theme. Plus, we’re here for you if you want to partner on podcasts or other B2B leadership content initiatives. Be sure to check out our podcasts here, and subscribe to our newletter for goodies beyond the audio
