Leading Change through Servant Leadership

Companies must lead, not manage.
They must know the language.
Low level employees are looking for communication on their level (X-Gen/Millennials) – are they value add? How? What can they contribute? Is there balance for them? Are they appreciated? What are true opportunities?
Meanwhile, your middle management is interested in what they know (Financial models, projections, security, proof of success) How does this help the bottom line? What do we need to do to get there? How does it increase productivity? Profit?

Change must occur from the top for all corporate changes.
The CEO / president must buy in, their mindset is the start
But the president, although should be visionary, must use other tools as well to manage the change. They must be able to show small successes and must be able to include as many as possible.

The high level management focuses on the why, the middle focuses on the what/how, the low level always focuses on the how.

This can happen if a consulting firm lived to the values it is developing, and then it provides consultants for leadership, not just management.

So what is needed for a servant leader? Servant leader means that you do not just dictate or lead without thought of your constituents, but instead lead with a role as a steward of the resources provided by the organization. In turn it should empower and encourage the leaders to serve others while still achieving results. This sets a better foundation on an organization’s values and integrity.

These changes of course must take place at the top level and trickle down; there will not be room for grassroots change to an age old structure that does not currently view itself as a steward for its people.

Do not lead your life or others by demands in which you do not partake, instead, use your resources and be a steward of them, it is this concept that allows one to overlook the fine china and see the food on the plate. Which one nourishes you more?

Servant leadership embodies values and virtues, not just principles defined by a group. The values and virtues are embodied by the soul.

It is through this type of leadership that change can occur with realism to the visionary. Because your team will be built around trust, ethical conduct, empathy, humility and service. This slowly destroys the lust for power, and instead is replaced by a love to serve others in order to succeed. You choose to lead because it will be good, not because you will get power and recognition. This should trickle down as growth to individuals and increase teamwork, which will in turn increase productivity.



One should think of executive corporate leadership as a vocation, and not just another job. We should be encouraging as Greenleaf puts it “a leap of imagination”

The change and the leadership must be based on humility, a humility that is God fearing. We all have talents and are all worth something. The times of managing with carrots and sticks dangling in front of the employees has come to an end. Instead management needs to start looking at positive reinforcement and creating an environment in which the entire organization is able to nurture a culture for leadership, particularly, servant leadership.

What is required for this to happen? First off, people have to be more important than the profit; second, you cannot use the profit as an excuse for a lack of respect for the employees. Next you have to be truly humble, and put people first, always.

What barriers then must take place, and why always start from the top? Well think of it this way. The only true servant leader who have ever lived was Jesus Christ. Most CEOs and COOs do not want employees that are more loyal to God than themselves, because in this world of the “individual with the most toys wins” the CEO/COO are the gods.

Also, at no time should think that a “Servant” is that of secular and modern times, it is not one who is strictly obedient and lacking free thinking, but just the opposite. Because the servant knows what is right in the heart and follows these notions, they are more free thinking than ever. They have the ability to go forth with courage and conviction about a task knowing that the result is worth more than the money that is exchanged. Do not therefore think of servant as a connotative term, but instead as a leader with integrity and commitment to both the work and their people.

In a world that is shocked by Enron and 9/11, it is no wonder that the new companies and new CEOs are seeking such leaders, one that can accept change and lead the people out of harm while staying on a moral track. These new generations of leaders are the forefront role models of the X-gens and Millennials.

In this sense, the law of the farm holds true, in managing change thru servant leadership you must sow first, reap later.