The Power of Servant Leadership

Over the last 25 years, I have been privileged to have worked with and for some exceptional leaders, who taught me valuable leadership lessons and helped form a solid foundation of leadership philosophies and attributes that I incorporated into numerous leadership roles. Whilst there were many qualities that enabled the great leaders to stand out from the pack, there was one attribute that stood out above all others - Servant Leadership.?

Very early in my sales career, I witnessed 2 senior sales people be promoted from an individual contributor role, into a Sales Leadership role. Both sales people were very successful, high performing individuals with a strong track record of overachieving sales targets, as well as maintaining fabulous customer satisfaction ratings with their customers. As part of the succession planning culture at the company, the management hierarchy believed that through promoting these 2 individuals, they would be able to teach their respective teams on how to be as successful as them, and therefore develop a highly successful sales culture. What ended up happening has served as a valuable lesson and a wonderful testimony to the power of servant leadership.

Both sales people were highly ambitious, and very focused on developing and maintaining exceptional customer relationships, formulating and executing sales strategies, being at the cold face day in and day out, and both were 100% responsible for the results they delivered. When they found themselves in a sales leadership position, one of them continued to maintain the customer relationships, develop & execute on the sales strategy and remain directly involved in all sales activities, including customer contract negotiation, and when the sales ‘closed’, they would be at the front taking the accolades and standing in the limelight. What they did not realise was that their behaviour and approach completely de-positioned their sales people, to the point where the customers would come to the them as their first point of contact, and not their Account Executive. So what happened to the environment within the team? Over a very short period of time, the team went from being one of the most highly engaged and successful teams, to a team lacking in morale, and the sales results began to suffer. Within 8 months, the Sales Leader was forced out of the role, with the management team having to replace them with a new Leader to re-build the sales team.

By contrast, the other sales leader took a completely different approach, and within the same period of time, oversaw their team winning significant new business customers from the competition, customer satisfaction ratings within the customer base increased by 25%, sales revenue increased, team morale significantly increased, and 2 members of the team were promoted. So what did this leader do that was so different to their peer, that lead to such remarkably different results? They tapped into the power of Servant Leadership. So how did they do that, and what specifically did they do? Here are some of the attributes and qualities they demonstrated :

• They recognised that servant leadership is all about others - Where the other sales leader was focused on remaining in the spotlight, and taking the accolades for the wins, this leader recognised that leadership was not actually about them. They understood that, as Zig Ziglar said “If you help enough other people get what they want, you will always get taken care of”, and so they made it a priority to take their eyes off themselves and place them squarely on their people, searching for opportunities to help them, and to serve them. This is a critical attribute of servant leadership, particularly today, in the ‘instant gratification, celebrity look at me’ focus that is often portrayed through the media. And the result? Their people were empowered to achieve, and they responded to their leadership.
• They focused on the possibilities - As the other leader was focused on ‘controlling’ the environment, and therefore prevented the team from growing, this leader actively encouraged their team to explore new opportunities, to openly collaborate, be innovative, take calculated risks and fostered an environment of creativity. They understood that through focusing on the possibilities and encouraging the team, although they may make mistakes and sometimes ‘fail’, they would definitely grow, develop and expand their comfort zone, which ultimately would lead to better results.
• They understood that leadership is about influence and persuasion - As John C Maxwell says, ‘everything rises and falls on leadership, and leadership is influence’. Instead of dictating and instructing their team what to do, they actively influenced them through behaviour, through the empowering environment they created, and through the constructive and uplifting language they used. Through modelling excellence, they set the tone for the team and showed them the way, and as a result, built trust amongst his team.
• They were not position focused - Whereas the other leader was focused on their leadership position and often wielded positional power to get things done, this leader was not concerned with hierarchical leadership. They believed their effectiveness came through the ability to influence the team, encouraging them, assisting them, and putting others ahead of their own agenda, building a strong and empowering culture and earning the right to lead.
• They were humble, and left their ego at the door - They had the confidence to serve others, and would actively seek opportunities to do so, without any expectations of a return for that service. And when the team experienced success, they did not seek the limelight or the accolades - in fact, they much preferred to sit in the background and allow the team to take the credit.
• They were a great listener - They mastered the art of listening, and created an environment where the team trusted them to the point where they would feel comfortable sharing any issues or concerns with them, knowing that they would not be judged or criticised. And through this ability to listen, the team had a deep level of respect and trust for the leader.
• They developed other leaders - Not only did the team exceed all expectations in terms of their results, but the leader also developed leaders within the team, and encouraged the emerging leaders to take on leadership opportunities within the team. This resulted in 2 of the team members being promoted to formal leadership roles within 8 months.

Through this experience, it enabled me to understand the true power of Servant Leadership, and how, as leaders, we have a tremendous opportunity and responsibility to create an empowering and uplifting environment for our people to develop and succeed, and to influence others through serving.? Be a Servant Leader - tap into its power, and watch what happens. Your future self will be so grateful you did!

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

To your sales leadership success. ??

ARE YOU COMMITTED TO BECOMING AN EXCEPTIONAL SALES LEADER?

I'm looking for 4 Sales Leaders to work with 1:1 who are committed to achieving at least a 25% uplift in sales team engagement, sales & revenue over the next 3 months.

To be considered, you must be able to say YES to the following:

• You are currently leading a sales team of at least 5 people
• You are working in a business with at least $10m annualised revenue
• You are committed to excellence & becoming an exceptional sales leader
• You are committed to creating an exceptional sales culture for your team to excel
• You are open to new ideas & willing to invest in your growth and the growth of your team

If that's you (or someone you know) send me a DM with the comment 'EXCEPTIONAL' and I'll get you all the details.