Being a Servant-Leader, What does that really look like? - Corey Westra, GPAC

For my Masters class this week I was asked to research servant-leadership styles and how those styles impact the decision making process.  Servant-Leadership is a focus of the NAIA through the Champions of Character Program and much of our focus is on what that means for our student-athletes.  However, what does it look like to be a Servant-Leader as a Coach or Administrator?  I felt the discussion board I did for our class had some points I could share in this blog. 

What characteristics can shape and guide a servant-leaders behaviors and decision making  processes?  It is easy to simply say that being a servant-leader is focusing on others, but what does that mean and what characteristics does this entail?

In researching this topic I found an article that focuses on ten key skills that define servant leadership.  Larry Spears from the Spears Center in the Journal of Virtues & Leadership identifies the following these items as key servant leadership traits when it comes to the decision-making process: 1.) Listening, 2.) Empathy, 3.) Healing, 4.) Awareness, 5.) Persuasion, 6.) Conceptualization, 7.) Foresight, 8.) Stewardship, 9.) Commitment to Growth of People, and 10.) Building Community (2010). 

As you consider how these characteristics apply to a servant-leader’s decision making process it is clear that there is a true focus on outward skills and actions of the leader in all ten of these traits.  None of these skills are inwardly focused and I feel that is a key to being an effective servant-leader.  Being a servant-leader is about those you serve and how you serve them.  Servant-leadership requires action. 

These ten items focus on varying areas of serving not only others but serving the whole as well.  I will break down my thoughts on three of the traits that Spears lists and why I feel they define servant-leadership.

First and foremost is listening.  Spears puts listening as the top characteristic of being a servant-

leader. I agree that it has to be first on the list because it drives all the other traits and in some ways is the stake that holds everything in place.  So much is put on what leaders say and do, but how do leaders hear and listen to what their followers are saying?  Spears states, “listening coupled with periods of reflection is essential to the growth and well-being of a servant-leader” (2010).  I would argue that this means active listening and not passive listening.  For example, many leaders tend to pass off listening as simply gathering feedback with no interaction (i.e. e-mail feedback or comment cards).  I feel that being there in person and listening with your ears (and eyes) is critical to a servant-leader.  I see this on our college campuses when a President can leave his/her office and go sit in the cafeteria and have conversations with the students.  First it proves that the President will eat cafeteria food, but being in and among those students daily life and listening is a very important to being an effective leader of their particular school.

The next trait I found as a key one for servant-leadership is foresight.  Everyone has heard the phrase that hindsight is 20/20, but what if foresight could be 20/20?  Obviously that can’t happen 100% of the time but looking ahead on outcomes is critical to the decision-making process of a servant-leader.  Much of this comes with experience and what I call the “being in tune” factor.  If you don’t know your workplace, company, or school, and the varying personalities within, then your foresight for them is probably not going to be very good.  I know I have worked with leaders with very poor foresight ability and it, to me, was a direct reflection on not being in touch.  Spiers states in his article, “foresight is a largely unexplored area in leadership study but one that is deserving of careful attention” (2010).  He goes on to say that foresight is, “…learning from the lessons of the past, the realities of the present, and make the likely consequence of the decision for the future…” (Spiers, 2010).  Reflecting on past experiences can be a key factor in future decisions for a servant-leader.  A servant-leader has to be able to tie things together and be able to review and reflect on all if his/her decisions of the past to have the ability to have foresight in the decision making process.

The final characteristic I want to touch on is building community.  Leaders, to me, can easily get
caught up in the inward part of their job.  As humans we want to build ourselves up in what we do.  How does this decision make ME look?   However, how a leader builds his/her community around them is a key trait to being an effective servant-leader.  This is done, according to Spiers, by simply “identifying ways that people can be a part of their particular community with the organization” (2010).  I agree that how a leader encourages and fosters this among their organization is paramount to creating a place that community is strong.  If the parts of the system are engaged in the group, with purpose, then the whole community is strong.  This all starts with an outward focus as a servant-leader. 

Being a servant-leader is not easy and it cannot be done passively.  I felt the ten traits presented in this article covered a wide range of areas that can shape the behaviors and decision making abilities for a servant-leader. 

Works Cited

Spiers, L. (2010). Character and Servant Leadership: Ten Characteristics of Effective, Caring Leaders. Journal of Virtues & Leadership. Retrieved February 13, 2015, from http://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/jvl/vol1_iss1/Spears_Final.pdf

-Corey Westra

Learn more about Corey Westra HERE

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