In Search of the the Servant Leader

??????????

?

Ever wonder why things are going so well at your company? You likely have a servant leader at the CEO position. Let’s recap the traits most common to a servant leader for the foundation of this article:

ü? Integrity – Always do the right thing.

ü? Delegation – Always ask and gain commitment.

ü? Communication – Collaborate and are authentic.

ü? Self-awareness – Cultivate a sense of purpose.

ü? Gratitude – Trust those they have hired to do their part and recognize them for it.

ü? Learning Activity – Internal and external business factors require constant study.

ü? Influence – Encourage a sense of ownership in everyone.

ü? Empathy – Everyone has a lot going on besides work, so are always kind.

ü? Courage – Conviction of purpose, takes the blame yet gives credit.

ü? Respect – People first, everyone brings value.

To contrast and compare I offer you Indeed’s Servant Leadership Style:

1.???? Coach – motivational.

2.???? Visionary – progress-focused and inspirational.

3.???? Servant – humble and protective.

4.???? Autocratic – authoritarian and result-focused.

5.???? Laissez-faire – hands off and delegatory.

6.???? Democratic – supportive and innovative.

7.???? Pacesetter – helpful and motivational.

8.???? Transformational – challenging and communicative.

9.???? Transactional – performance based.

10.? Bureaucratic – hierarchal and duty-focused.

If we agree in principle that these traits exemplify a servant leader’s behavior, then is there a way to determine if you are getting the romance or truth when you seek to hire a CEO or senior leader? Yes, so let’s explore some of the ways to focus the leader search:

1.???? Ask for references. Senior leaders have worked for the highest levels including the Board of Directors so be sure the prospective hire can provide contact with those they have worked for.

2.???? Ask for three people who worked for the potential hire from at least 2 different companies in their past.

3.???? Ask for their leader profile or administer a syndicated behavior assessment.

4.???? Ask for their non-profit experience.

5.???? Invite them to meet other company leaders in a group setting.

6.???? Invite them to dinner to discuss their background with their significant other.

Let’s explore these alternative job seeker behaviors. First, listening to references speak highly should be both expected and insightful or else the candidate chose the wrong references.

Secondly, a really deep understanding comes from speaking to employees who worked for the candidate. This is an extremely useful tool to determine if the candidate exhibited the kind of traits discussed above and proves to a degree what you are seeking in your potential hire.

Thirdly, I recommend behavior profiles such as Meyers & Briggs Inventory? or DISC? Profile. Others that I have encountered are Taylor Core Value Assessment?, Talent Card? Leader Profile, and Squarepeg Dimensions. These time tested tools can profile your candidate in ways that they cannot shade the truth from you.

Fourthly, I recommend you point-blank ask them about their participation, and giving experience such as, “Tell us about your non-profit experience”. This tell-tale personality element uncovers how the candidate feels about others – truly. The degree to which they have contributed outside work is their testament to their level of commitment to others when they typically don’t get paid to do so. While I have served 11 board of directors and won President’s Award for Lions, American Heart and other accolades a more reasoned level of candidate contribution would be a consistent participation across their work life.

Fifthly, set up a small meeting of senior executives over lunch to meet and greet and then sit down to break bread together. Watch the candidate for signs of stress or how comfortable they are in meeting new team members. If they can’t perform basic greetings or make small talk, they may not be the best candidate for your role.

Finally, I highly recommend as the last interview step the candidate is offered a company paid dinner with possibly the CEO or Chairman and their significant other, and the candidate and their significant other. Protocol would be that dinner drinks are offered and a meal of everyone’s choice would be further proof that in the most intimate of settings this candidate is the best person to represent the company. Further, test this behavior – order dessert and ask the candidate if they would like a dessert. I am not saying you make the decision over dessert, however, if the candidate orders dessert, then they are most definitely confident and have demonstrated a behavior that is needed in business today.

The worst possible interview situation was one I experienced as a 40-year-old immediately after retiring from the military. I was invited to Sacramento to interview for a business manager role for a mega church. I sat at the head of the Deacon’s table staring at 12 old, white men who proceeded to pry into every aspect of my life, violating every hiring law imaginable. After I arrived back home in San Antonio, they told me they chose a current member over me, because he needed a job. I wondered to myself after the phone call why I interviewed if I didn’t need a job?

To sum up my thoughts here, I am simply recommending practical interview steps for senior leader roles for you to consider, so that the candidate’s true behaviors become apparent.

To contrast this with “silo” hiring, you’d be interviewing candidates from within your company, and this presents a special challenge. Many siloed leaders were never schooled in leadership and management because most companies don’t employ this education as leaders progress through their company. While I was at KB Home I developed a Leadership 101 and 201 course, as well as senior leadership management training. In addition, we employed professional development through an offsite entitled the Round Table. The Round Table was a day of freewheeling, and raw dogging honesty elicited from our team by a team consisting of a psychiatrist, psychologist and MD. What we got in return was a deep, emotional responses from executives who worked better together from that day forward.

So, the challenge is hiring true servant leaders for the most senior positions in your company, and we’ve discussed ways to facilitate this process to get insights and honesty about people before you hire them.

I look forward to hearing your stories and feedback.

?

Author: Dave Howell, Consultant for Hi Merit. [email protected] (210) 618-6566