Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger Juliann Jankowski, Executive Director of Leadership South Bend/Mishawaka and Incoming Board President for National Association of Leadership Programs. We hope you enjoy Juliann’s wisdom and perspective!
As leaders, whether it be of a business, a community organization, or a family, it is imperative we realize the importance of truly putting the needs of others first. How can I help my employees do their jobs to the best of their ability? Am I listening to their needs and concerns? Am I adequately praising as well as providing coaching and feedback? Am I encouraging and supporting others to reach their full potential? Am I giving them opportunities to grow and develop? Am I making the difficult decisions I need to make for the good of the individual and of the organization?
If your answer to these questions is “yes,” you are probably practicing servant leadership. When most people think of servant leadership, they think of the good feelings they receive when they serve others by volunteering in the community but it is so much more than that. Truly, a culture based on servant leadership can transform an organization, a community, and the nation.
As part of the Leadership South Bend/Mishawaka program, we have a sharing circle at the beginning and closing retreats. I will never forget one of our participants, a 52-year-old CEO of a local media organization. When the year started he stated he wanted to learn more about the community. He felt he had spent enough time acquiring leadership skills and wasn’t much interested in that part of the program. At the closing retreat, this CEO had tears in his eyes as he shared how, after all this time leading organizations, it finally hit him that “it’s not all about me!”
It seems so simple but yet too often we put the focus on the bottom line not on the people who help us achieve the results we need. We put the focus on ourselves as leaders and our next advancement and forget about why we are leaders and who we are serving.
Two important concepts of servant leadership are to listen and to know thyself. One of the problems with listening is it takes time and we are all so busy. There are more distractions today than ever before but you must take the time to build trust with those you serve so they know they can count on you to listen and be fair and just. Listening shows you care and it is one of the most underrated and underutilized leadership skills.
Knowing thyself is equally important because if we are going to truly serve others we need to know what motivates us, what we are passionate about, and what experiences have brought us to where we are today. All of the above help us to become authentic servant leaders. Leaders are not cookie cutter images of one other. Each of us is different and as such, we need to find our true leadership style and how we can best serve others so that they grow, prosper and develop and as Robert Greenleaf aptly stated, “are more likely to become servant leaders themselves.”
Leaders also need to practice empathy. One of the things I try to do with each decision is to put myself in the other person’s shoes and ask myself the following questions: “what would I feel in this situation, what would be my concerns and as an ethical leader…what would I do if the situation were reversed?”
Servant leaders need to focus on helping others truly grow and develop. Zig Ziglar, salesman, author, and motivational speaker, was famous for saying “you can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” Helping others to learn and grow is the essence of servant leadership, but you can only do this if you hold yourself and others accountable and are not afraid to make difficult decisions.
I will never forget the first time I had to fire someone. I had not hired this individual for the position he held but it was obvious when I became his supervisor that his skills were not a match. He knew it and everyone in the organization knew it as well. Like many of us would be, he was afraid to lose his job – he had a wife and children to support – but after a long period of coaching and support it became clear this individual was not going to work out in the position. He was holding the rest of the department back and was causing resentment among other staff members. Fast forward to a year later and the person I fired came back to thank me for firing him! He had secured a job that matched his skill set and was not only happy in his position but greatly succeeding in it.
Leaders have to make difficult decisions - that is the price of leadership. As Jim Collins stated so well in his book, Good to Great, you have to “have the right people in the right seats on the bus.” You also have to hold yourself and others accountable. By doing so, those you serve will trust you, respect you, and realize you are leading with their best interests at heart.
What’s The Risk?
If you are not practicing servant leadership, you run the risk of making your leadership about you and not those you serve. This will create cultural problems in your organization due to a lack of trust and an individual versus a team achievement mentality. It is only through the above tactics that others will develop trust in you as a leader. Without trust, people will not go the extra mile and the organization, nor the people in it, will reach their full potential.
"The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership." --Harvey S.Firestone
This content was written and shared by guest blogger Juliann Jankowski.
Juliann Jankowski has served as the executive director of Leadership South Bend/Mishawaka program for nearly 12 years. She has a Master’s degree in Administration from the University of Notre Dame and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Telecommunications from Michigan State University. Prior to joining Leadership, Juliann was campus dean at Davenport University and also worked in television both locally and in New York City.
She is a firm believer in applying the servant leadership concepts taught in community leadership programs. Some of the organizations she serves are: The Goodwill Excel Center, Rotary, the Indiana Leadership Association, and the National Association of Leadership Programs where she will serve as board chair next year.
