Serve to Lead
Influence is measured by the degree we are willing to our team.
If you want to influence your team begin to ask yourself how can I serve them well? Some of the greatest leaders ever known have been those who dedicate their lives to serving others.
This is a hierarchical role reversal. It does not feel natural. Everything in you prefers the opposite. We love it when others serve us.
Contrary to mainstream leadership style which promotes top to bottom methods, I am proposing an absolute reversal from bottom up.
The art of serving my team is reflected in my actions to put their needs and wants above my own. When we provide space where our team is seen and heard there are no limits to what we can achieve.
The outcome of leading your business this way is a culture indestructible by outside variables.
Picture a business where your team is graphed to your mission and vision so much their passion, dedication, and loyalty are tangible through the results you see. The results of your team are a reflection in the behaviors they find valuable. These behaviors reflect a value system. It will either be a reflection of the values you hold to be true for your company, or the values they hold to be true.
By laying down your motives, agendas, and intentions to serve your team the business will not only meet but exceed your goals.
There is something in your leadership style that can be addressed to better serve your team when you are experiencing ongoing challenges.
When I consult businesses on problematic issues within their team, there is always a thread that leads to the top of leadership in some way or another.
If you are not satisfied with your team’s measured results, look at the behavior attached to the outcome you desire. It is very clear to identify what needs to start happening for your team member to get different results. Then the art is leading and coaching your team members into success by example. When you serve your team by providing a space for them to be seen and heard you will watch transformation.
Innately we all want to be led.
You and I will find someone to follow if we are not being led.
This is how sub cultures within our businesses are created. When I attach my value system to another team member that is contrary to what your business’s mission is a subculture is formed.
Subculture is defined as: a cultural group within a larger culture, often having beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger culture.
When the your team has a subculture that opposes your overarching mission it always stems from a lack of clarity.
Whether we like it or not, our team is watching every step of the way.
Their trust in your business’s mission is bound to what your actions are, not so much the lip service we so often participate in.
For those of you daring enough to take the leap of a servant’s heart there are no limits to what your company can achieve.
I leave you with these questions to ponder:
- What is one thing I can do to serve my employees every day?
- How would I want my team to serve our clients every day? What ways can I tangibly show this to them in my own service?
- Am I empowering others to step into their full potential? What are ways I can help develop my teams’ strengths so much that their weaknesses become irrelevant?