Embracing an Attitude of Service

In my study time last week, I came across a topic that piqued my interest and I thought it would yours too. It was about moral leadership and how much it is needed in the world today.

You may be familiar with a company by the name of Edelman. For the past 23 years, they’ve produced a report called the Trust Barometer based on trust and credibility surveys it conducts with the goal of better understanding why people hold the views they do and what it means to our broader society. Edelman’s 2023 report, like previous years’ reports, shows trust in society’s institutions continuing to erode … trust in government, trust in companies, trust in media, etc.

But behind every institution are people. They are the ones that give it its personality and its character. In fact, you can tell a lot about an institution’s internal health by observing it from the outside … the quality of its products or services, how those who are entrusted to its care are treated, its track record in doing what it says it’s going to do, etc. ?

Even though it takes everyone on the team to make an institution strong, it starts at the top. Leading people is an incredible privilege, one that shouldn’t be taken lightly but sometimes is. Being a leader isn’t about telling others what to do, it’s about serving others and creating a culture of trust and belonging where the team is eager to work together to achieve its shared goals. It requires moral and emotional intelligence to be the kind of leader who can help the team achieve its goals through influence and teamwork, not orders.

While unfortunate but true, there are people in leadership roles today who don’t understand this crucial concept. But it’s getting much harder for them to succeed long-term because institutions today are looking for leaders who have a passion for serving others. These kinds of leaders have a positive impact on company culture, including attracting top talent to an organization and being the reason people stay. Moral and emotional intelligence are just as important as work skills, technical understanding, prior work experiences, and education. Most importantly, successful leaders are balanced in the way they impact an organization from helping strengthen company culture and team engagement to achieving core business goals for their area and for the enterprise overall, including financial, quality, and productivity.

Throughout my career, I’ve worked for just about every kind of leader. But it’s those who were in it to serve others that I’ve spent my career trying to emulate. I’m still learning and have my share of weaknesses, but I am committed to serving because I know firsthand its impact on teammates, from enabling them to do their best work, to making them feel they belong, to encouraging them to try new things. I’ve benefited greatly from mentors and leaders whose approach helped me advance in my career and who played a big role in influencing the person and leader I am today. As one mentor once said, “In serving others, you help yourself.” Meaning, having a purpose outside ourselves comes back in the form of bettering ourselves.

Here are a few signs I’ve come to recognize in service-minded leaders. My hope is you’ve encountered them in your life.

• Voracious listeners … they don’t just hear, they really listen.
• Curious … they ask questions to understand, without judgment.
• Comfortable not being the smartest person in room … instead they surround themselves with others who have expertise in areas outside their own.
• Leave the ego behind … they recognize it’s not about “me,” but “we.”
• Transparent, consistent, and dependable … in the best and the worst of times. ?
• Honest … even when they get something wrong.

Like I said at the beginning, while a culture of trust starts at the top, everyone on the team has a role in it. Everyone must contribute because culture isn’t something that is given, it’s something that is built together.

Today’s note is a reminder to take time to check ourselves … am I making a process, a conversation, or a situation easier for my teammates and customers? Am I doing what I said I’d do? Am I really listening and not just hearing? Am I doing my part to make my company’s culture all it can be, a warm and welcoming place where everyone’s eager to see each other succeed and to make others feel included?

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Together is better. ?