Servant-Leadership in the Digital Age

We recently spent an amazing 4 days working with over 60 + MTN leaders and facilitators from all the regions the company operates in and what became clear to me is that Servant- Leadership is very powerful, once you can make one simple distinction…its not “Who” you are serving, but “What” you are serving. ?

George E.P. Box once said, “All models are wrong, but some are useful”. To fully understand this concept, you have to realise that many models or frameworks are developed within a specific cultural context, which can shape the assumptions and perspectives that underpin them.

This means that at some point all models or frameworks will fall short of the complexities of reality because they are binary, culturally biased and situational. Some argue that the situational approach is best, however, if it’s binary with limited “If -then”?choices, then that too is potentially flawed.?

So how does this affect you as a leader??

Dealing with ambiguous or complex situations can be mentally taxing or frustrating and it’s no wonder that many leadership programs fall short of the mark. We learn the models and frameworks, do the role plays and recite the catchy one-liners but in the moment, we revert to what we have always done which is experienced by others as a character (who we are) more than competence (what we know)

The other challenge is what Jim Collins called the “tyranny of the or” …should I use this model or that model, this style or that style? Often organisations are caught up with the “flavour of the month training program”, rolling out several models that are viewed as independent of each other, and once again falling for a binary approach.

This is a challenge on two levels, firstly if you haven’t mastered the leadership approach you are using then you aren’t doing it justice, and secondly, if your model isn’t a fit for your situation you will try to bend it into a solution for your challenge anyway.?

Is there a “one size fits all” leadership model?

This answer from most leadership experts (who have their own model) is normally, NO! However, I believe the answer is in fact Yes and it’s called Servant-Leadership which in essence is the reconciliation of Serving and Leading.

To understand my position, we need to look at leadership in the context of where it is being used. I.e. your organisation and its dominant corporate culture. Fons Trompenaars tells us there are four distinct corporate cultures each representing different approaches to structure, hierarchy, and employee relations. While Servant-Leadership can be effective in any culture, let’s look at it in a family culture where there is a clear hierarchical structure, with a strong leader at the top who might find it difficult to entertain “giving power away” and using the position to serve others.?

The meta dilemma of serving and leading is potentially restrictive when the leader’s mindset is that they are only serving their team members, but it’s liberated when the leaders realise that they are actually serving a purpose or a cause and then leading their team members to achieve that purpose.?

When asked about the images that come to mind with the term Servant-Leaders, we often hear about people like Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Lady Diana and Nelson Mandela. And they all have one thing in common, they served a cause greater than themselves and were even prepared to endure immense hardship in doing so.?

"Serve the cause, lead the people, because what you are part of is bigger than the part that you play"

To “serve the cause” organisations need to:

1. Set a clear direction through their Vision, Mission and Values. However, the caveat is that the organisation’s purpose needs to be a cause that is good for humanity and can inspire people to bring their best to work every day because they really are making a difference. This will instil a sense of pride and belonging that cannot be trained.?
2. Align everyone’s activity by building a culture guided by values that are brought to life through clearly articulated behaviours at a macro level (sandbox) and more importantly at a micro level (how each intact team will play in the sandbox)?
3. Build capability by ensuring all leadership programs can show they will achieve the objective of developing leaders who can serve the cause and lead people by reconciling day-to-day business dilemmas.
4. Have robust feedback loops where leaders learn from the people they lead and are able to improve the experiences of each team member of their diverse workforce and thereby become more relevant and effective leaders.

To lead people within the context described above, managers and leaders need to step up and wear the following four hats: (wonderfully described by MTN )?

1. Chief Clarity Officer...who provides assurance, priority focus and direction and brings values to life through clearly articulated behaviours.
2. Resolver in Chief... a leader who reconciles day-to-day business dilemmas and helps find clarity of direction and actions out of ambiguity.?
3. Chief Empathy Officer... a leader who is curious about the well-being of each person in their care and helps them grow either as people (Character) or as individual contributors (Competence)?
4. Chief Life Coach... a leader who uses the best of all the leadership models that they have learned and provides team members with what they need when they need it to serve the cause.?

In the end, if your team members are all committed to the cause, then the Servant-Leader can say

“Your success and my success cannot be separated”

So find people who believe what you believe and help them be the best version of themselves. Serve the cause, lead the people!?

Finally,?

If you have people who are not committed to the cause and who are not living the values through agreed behaviours, the Servant-Leader can be true to the cause, and help them move on because this is when "your success and my success can be separated".

This is what Garry Ridge calls "Servant-Leadership with an edge", it's a simple concept where the leader's role is to help you be the best in your world, and your role is to come on that journey.

Once your team members commit their hearts to the cause, they will find a way to win because "values-guided" resourcefulness is more important than resources.

Hank van der Merwe

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