What are the benefits and challenges of adopting a servant leadership style as a technical leader?

Remember that a servant leader is a leader. Servant leaders uplift and enable their team, and a key part of that uplift is holding the team and its individuals to a high standard of performance and execution. There is no dichotomy between being a servant leader and driving the team forward with deadlines and aggressive targets. Where a servant leader differs from an authoritarian leader is in how they bring the team to success. An authoritarian leader holds their team's feet to the fire, demands compliance and blames the team if obstacles slow them down. They also often take credit when the team is successful. A servant leader demands much from their team, but actively works to remove obstacles and credits the team for its success.

The role of a good leader is of utmost importance. A leader has the power to foster professional growth or hinder development. From my experience, working under both servant leadership and authoritarian leadership, the contrast is stark in terms of team morale, confidence, and overall work environment. An effective leader is one who supports and uplifts the team, providing them with a platform to excel and removing any obstacles in their path. The emphasis is on having the team's back and avoiding the blame game with individual team members. This approach cultivates a healthy work environment and motivates team members to contribute more efficiently. Trust me, based on my experience, this strategy works 100%.

As a technical leader, embracing servant leadership can be a game-changer. It's not just about being in charge, but about uplifting your team to new heights. By focusing on their growth and well-being, you create an environment where innovation thrives. Remember, it's not about wielding power, but empowering others to solve problems collaboratively. Let's lead by serving! ?? #LeadershipGoals #TeamGrowth #InnovationThroughEmpathy

?? What does it take to be a great leader? (buzzwords aside) … You need to …. Lead by example. Roll up all your sleeves. Enable with the best tools. Empower with authority to act. Step out of the way for others. Own it when thing’s don’t work. Act in the best interest of others. Highlight the achievements of others. And KICK ??excuses to the curb! The only person getting in the way of your personal development is you. It’s easier than you might think. The hard part for many is committing to keep moving forward and reminding yourself that perfect isn’t the goal … Continuous incremental improvement is your goal! It’s time to be better than the you of yesterday and challenge your own status quo. ?? Like to support this

Benefits of servant leadership for technical leaders -Increased team motivation and satisfaction: -Enhanced creativity and quality of work -Improved collaboration and communication -Higher retention rates Challenges of servant leadership for technical leaders -It can be difficult to relinquish control -It can be time-consuming -It can be difficult to change the culture: Here are some tips for technical leaders who are interested in adopting a servant leadership style: -Start by empowering your team members -Be a coach and mentor, not a micromanager -Encourage collaboration and communication -Be open to feedback yourself By following these tips, technical leaders can reap the many benefits of servant leadership.

It is also important to foster a collaborative approach to goal-setting thereby creating a shared responsibility and commitment to goals. Encourage team members to take ownership of defining and sharing their individual goals while ensuring alignment with overall product objectives and personal growth aspirations. Review these goals and ensure you both are tightly aligned on the definition of success. Building a sense of collective ownership in goal-setting is critical in servant leadership to create the right focus on outcomes will still proving the insights and support are core tenants of this leadership style.

Servant leadership is completely different to manufacturing, Taylorism-based management. As technical leaders, we are responsible for the well-being of our staff, and the productivity of our team(s) - but, the productivity is a side effect not objective of servant leadership. Technical roles are knowledge-based, and individuals in these roles need to understand the impact and value of their work. Our job is to nurture an environment to support them with simple guard rails to keep them on the right path - and then to step back and trust them to get the job done.

The biggest benefit of servant leadership is employee engagement. We all want teammates who will take ownership. We want teammates who will bust through walls to get things done. You'll rarely find these types of teammates with command-and-control leadership instead of servant leadership. A leader's job is to be the Hero Maker, not the Hero. Step back, be less opinionated, be forward-looking, gather the resources your team needs, and remove obstacles before they get in the way. If you want teammates to bring their hearts and minds to work, let your team be the heroes of the story.

- Servant leaders empower their team members by providing them with autonomy, trust, and support. This empowerment fosters a sense of ownership and accountability among team members - Servant leaders prioritize the well-being and development of their team members, leading to higher levels of job satisfaction and overall low attrition rates. - Servant leaders actively listen to their team members, seek their input, and provide regular feedback and coaching. - Servant leaders encourage creativity, innovation, and experimentation among their team members. By providing a safe space for taking risks and trying new ideas, servant leaders inspire a culture of innovation that drives continuous improvement and fosters breakthrough solutions.

It's vital to define and assert clear boundaries to avoid being exploited for your kindness. Restated as a playground metaphor: Be the guy with the bandages if someone gets a scraped knee but don't be the person out front getting their knee scraped up. Remember that you're there to support their work by ensuring that your employees have access to the resources they need to be successful, not to do the work for them. Another aspect that can be awkward is the handing down of work assignments. To adopt a servant leadership style, there must exist a product management or comparable functional role held by another person to do that task. Lastly, don't go too far trying to get people to like you. They are still your employees, not your buddies.

This is exactly what the plan should look like. From my experience, no one that I've worked for comes remotely close to understanding this.

Adopting a servant leadership style as a technical leader is very difficult because you have to know the tech inside and out to such a degree that you don't require any outside validation and can also win the respect of highly-skilled engineers while making it look effortless. This requires mastery of the ego to such a degree that most people in such roles would find extremely difficult if not impossible. Why? Because it's impossible for anyone to know even a fraction of the technical domain of most large-scale products or systems. So most architects skate by on what they know and use bravado to fill in the cracks. However, admitting you don't know some things will actually endear you to your team by showing them that you're human.

Adopting a servant leadership style as a technical leader fosters collaboration, empowers team members, and enhances problem-solving skills. It cultivates a culture of trust, promotes innovation, and boosts employee morale and retention. However, challenges include balancing servant leadership with task completion, managing diverse team dynamics, and navigating hierarchical structures. To adopt this style, technical leaders should prioritize listening, empathy, and mentorship, delegate effectively, and lead by example through servant leadership principles, encouraging autonomy and continuous growth.

Effective Servant Leadership includes promoting maximum observability of processes and work, crucial for remote teams. Transparency fosters accountability, identifies challenges, and allows timely support. I use a Slack channel to log activities from various systems (Jira, GitLab) and encourage open dialogue to prevent information gaps.