Transformational Servant Leadership

Equip and empower, don’t control! Transformational servant leadership cultivates the “bamboo fields” in order to ultimately see thriving self-reliant people who become servant leaders in their own right. Remember this: a transition to a servant leadership culture is not an episode, an event, or a program; it is a never-ending PROCESS of which you are the most important element. You have to walk the walk and talk the talk. Your behavior and the example you set are primary; in addition, you must never let the subject drop. 

Here are some practical behaviors and actions:

1.      Inspire others to peak performance. A transformational servant leader is one who inspires people to perform far beyond their own expectations of themselves. Transformational leaders practice certain behaviors that cause their people to feel stronger, happier, more confident, and more committed. Coach people through Caring, Complimenting, and Connecting. Cultivate trust and raise the bar through relationships.

2.      Delegate Responsibility.  One of the first of these behaviors is the delegation of high levels of responsibility for results. Transformational leaders pick the right people, match them to the right jobs, achieve mutual clarity on the desired results and then they get out of the way and leave the individual with maximum freedom to perform.

3.      Let People Do Their Work.  Lao-Tse, the great Chinese philosopher, had this idea when he wrote, “A leader is best when people barely know he exists…when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say, ‘We did this ourselves.” In a recent study, thousands of people were asked to describe their best bosses. Over and over, the respondents said things like, “I hardly saw him” or “He left me alone” or “He gave me complete freedom to do the job.”                            

4.  Give Them Freedom. There is something liberating and empowering to know that you’ve been entrusted with a major responsibility and that you’ve been given the freedom to fulfill it. When the right person has been matched with the right job, the conditions for exceptional performance have been created.

5.      Confidently Expect Success. Another behavior of transformational leaders is their confident attitude of positive expectations. They radiate a belief in themselves and in the ability of their subordinates to succeed.They know that the leader sets the psychological tone for the whole organization, so they consciously project a positive attitude no matter how distressing the external situation may appear. They are in complete control of themselves and their emotions.