Beyond Servant Leadership. Unlocking Team Potential Through Noble Purpose and Lessons from the Golden State Warriors

I recently wrote about how my new company, Acceldata , and one of its core values of "Staying Humble". I noted how it was very much in line with my philosophy as a leader and individual contributor throughout my career. I received many comments and questions about that statement, and I was asked to share what my wider leadership style was.

The short answer is that I aspire to be the best "Noble Purpose Leader" I can be. I also happened to be a devout Golden State Warriors fan, and have written several articles about how much I learn from their behaviors, team play, leadership and strategy.

The Servant Leadership Revolution

The concept of "servant leadership" revolutionized management when it was introduced 50 years ago. It rightly challenged the traditional command-and-control model and focused leaders on empowering their teams. Robert Greenleaf's seminal 1970 essay spoke of leaders as servants first, driven by the desire to lift up others. This ushered in a more compassionate, human-centered approach to leading teams, as outlined in various articles on the topic, such as those found on SHRM and Forbes.

The Limitations of Servant Leadership Today

However, today's hectic work environment calls for an evolution in leadership styles. While servant leadership brought many benefits, its limitations have become clearer, including leader burnout from constantly trying to serve others, difficulty prioritizing with increased responsibilities, more blurred lines of authority in matrixed organizations, and a tendency to avoid difficult decisions or overextend in trying to please everyone.

The Next Evolution: Noble Purpose Leadership

Elevating leadership to focus on driving impact through a shared mission provides a logical next step. This "noble purpose leadership" maintains the care for people at the core of servant leadership, while adding a sense of empowerment and agency. As discussed in articles on Harvard Business Review and Forbes, noble purpose leadership is about making an impact and building resilience.

Rather than asking "How can I serve you?" noble purpose leaders ask "How can we best achieve our shared goal?" This shift enables leaders and teams to unlock their full potential in service of making a positive human impact.

Channeling Confidence and Vision

Legendary basketball player Steph Curry provides an excellent model for leading with purpose. His unwavering confidence and calm demeanor anchor the Warriors' success. Curry keeps his focus on the basket ahead, never getting distracted by defenders or previous mistakes.

Like Curry, noble purpose leaders must maintain crystal clear vision. By taking care of themselves and cultivating emotional resilience, they can model confidence and tenacity through challenges. Confidence balanced with humility allows leaders to boldly share their vision while inviting others to improve on it.

Humbitious - Staying Humble and Ambitious

Renowned author April Dunford recently posted about being "Humbitious". Curry is the role model in this regard. He exemplifies confidence, ambition and desirer balanced with humility. He dances and shimmies in celebration but is quick to pass credit to teammates. I aim to model that secure mindset by boldly sharing my vision while inviting others to improve on it.

Like Curry enthusing crowds with his joy for the game, I want to inspire my team with an infectious passion for our shared mission.

But ultimately we all have to have ambition, to continue to improve, just like Curry has a singular focus to be the best he can be and win more championships.

I can do all things - Stephen Curry (Often written on his shoes)

Team Communication and Collaboration

I develop team unity through constant team communication, collaboration and pitching in selflessly when needed. This emulates the Warriors' principles of defense: quick hands to force turnovers and fast breaks after rebounds. If one of us gets beaten off the dribble, we trust our help defense to rotate and fill the gaps just like Draymond Green always protects the rim. Our communication allows seamless switching on picks much like their ability to defend multiple positions.

Empowerment and Fun

Like the Golden State Warriors, I realize the importance of each player on the team.

Steph Curry may be the superstar, but he needs the support of Draymond Green setting screens, Klay Thompson spacing the floor, and Andre Iguodala making the extra pass.

Similarly, I know that for my team to thrive, I must empower each individual based on their strengths.

Just as Warriors coach Steve Kerr trusts in his players' abilities, I avoid micromanaging and give my team the autonomy to maximize their talents. But also like Kerr, I work to build a culture of joy where we support each other. The Warriors often celebrate each other's successes more than their own. I aim to create that atmosphere of camaraderie, knowing that collective success depends on lifting each other up.

Most importantly, I love to have fun, and believe that we all need to have constant joy in our life. Both at work and at home, I like to celebrate successes, milestones.

As the unofficial historian for companies I've worked at, I try to maintain that level of reflection, purpose and organize events to help everyone come together. When I watch the Warriors (Draymond's punch of Poole not withstanding) I see family, unity and joy, making it a great day to come to work every day.

Overcoming Burnout

There are always times when we facing inevitable burnout, but fortunately to date this has only occurred a few times for me in my career. Much like Curry's ability to keep things in perspective. Even after winning two MVPs and championships, he stayed hungry through injuries and critics doubting his ability.

Like Curry, remember that setbacks are temporary, we must take care of ourselves first before leading others.

His commitment to proper rest, diet and training gives him longevity to stay effective over years of competing at the highest level. I similarly prioritize self-care because pouring from an empty cup helps no one.

My Strength in Numbers Mentality

Most importantly, I encourage my teams to work together with the "strength in numbers" mentality that defines the Warriors dynasty. Relying on each other as both players and coaches, we exhibit the selflessness that led them to four championships in eight seasons. I enable my teammates to play with confidence by encouraging them through mistakes. Our perseverance allows us to overcome any challenge, just like the Warriors rallying from 3-1 deficits in the playoffs.

I can't help but emphasize this enough. As I previously mentioned, I keep my confidence high and avoid burnout by taking care of myself first.

Still, I balance self-care with a vision to positively impact others. I know that just like Curry keeps his eyes on the basket while defenders try to throw him off course, I must stay locked into my north star: empowering my team and customers.

I avoid the temptation to be solely focused on pleasing people, which is an endless and fruitless endeavor. Like Curry, even when I miss a shot, I shake it off and line up the next attempt with full faith in my abilities, avoiding any imposter syndrome. When coaching my team, I focus my energy where it will have the biggest impact, on our most critical projects and coachable employees. Just as Curry trusts his teammates, I create an environment of shared accountability where we all pull together to achieve our goals.

I make decisions and frame questions around our shared mission, never losing sight of the positive impact we strive to have. I inspire my team by being fiercely committed to our purpose, while also being humble enough to admit when I need rest. Balancing confidence with self-care allows me to model resilience. Just as the great John Wooden said, "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." I continue growing so I can lift up others.

When we fix our eyes on making lives better, we become empowered leaders together.

Please comment and let me know WDYT. With apologies, or not :-) to non fans of the Golden State Warriors. I hope you got some value from this article and the concept of Noble Purpose Leadership and beyond.