LeoChat Series – Part 14: Instructor JeanAnn Nichols

Jenny Guan: "Welcome Instructor Nichols, would you please share how you understand Servant Leadership?"

Instructor Nichols: “Servant leaders demonstrate humility, empathy, and accountability to lift their teams and organizations up. As Brad Johnson and David Smith say in "Good Guys," they decenter themselves. “Decentering is the intentional act of stepping out of the central role or the primary focus of attention so that other people and their perspectives can be fully seen and heard.” Servant leaders combine several power skills from the HEARTI leadership model to drive team success, using both backbone and heart. It's important to note that Servant leadership is not about doing the work for others, or being subservient.”

Jenny Guan: "Would you please share a brief anecdote illustrating these traits?"

Instructor Nichols: “A leader I'd been coaching fell into behaviors he felt were serving his team, but in actuality they were decreasing morale. When a direct report asked a question, he'd jump in with the answer. When an individual felt overloaded, he'd do parts of that direct report's job himself. The team felt like they were on a constant-speed treadmill, and there was no end to the workout. You might say the leader's behavior was humble and empathetic, but he was missing holding others accountable. He was doing a dis-service to his team, stealing opportunities for them to grow."

Jenny Guan: “It seems that having humility and empathy doesn't necessarily equate to having Servant Leadership. What is going on with him later?”

Instructor Nichols: "When he shifted his mindset to be in service to the greater organization's goals, it became clear to him where to more effectively spend his time. He might know the answer, but he and the team would be better served by them learning how to get the answer. He practiced saying, "I've got an idea on that, but first tell me what you think." He might get some satisfaction proving to himself that he still knew how to do the work by pitching in with the overloaded worker, but that was actually serving his ego, not his team. He started to ask, "I hear that you feel overloaded, what part of this process could we automate, outsource or stop?"

Instructor Nichols: "His real value "in service" to the team, organization and broader community was stepping up his strategic planning skills, which gave his team the opportunity to increase their own skills and impact. By giving others ownership for results (and holding them accountable), he invested in their success.”

Jenny Guan: "Thanks to Instructor Nichols for sharing about Servant Leadership."

JeanAnn Nichols helps senior leaders grow their skills and thrive in the rapidly changing global ecosystem. She is a consulting partner at PrismWork, focused on leadership development. Nichols received a BSc. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, an MBA from Santa Clara University, and a coaching certification from the International Coaching Federation. She is the co-author of Intentional Power: The 6 Essential Leadership Skills for Triple Bottom Line Impact in collaboration with Lisen Stromberg and Corey Jones.

The global leaders who join from around the world are taking her and Lisen Stromberg's class on modern leadership at Stanford this winter.

https://continuingstudies.stanford.edu/courses/detail/20232_BUS-262

Here is the link below if you don't have the book yet:

https://www.amazon.com/Intentional-Power-Essential-Leadership-Skills/dp/B0CHKQG6MZ

The article is written by JeanAnn Nichols, edited by Jenny Guan. Copyrights reserved by JeanAnn Nichols. If quoted, please indicate the source. Thank you.

#ServantLeadershipChat14.