Why Practicing 'Servant Leadership' Is So Critical for Organizational Success

Robert K. Greenleaf coined the term “servant leadership” in a 1970 essay entitled The Servant as Leader. Though a service-first style has been viewed and advocated by many as the most holistic and effective way to lead an organization, it is still underrated today. Because the power of a leadership style is difficult to quantify, I will illustrate it with a short story instead.

In 2014, Sameer Dholakia joined a startup called SendGrid as its new CEO. The company, which automates email delivery for giants like Airbnb and Uber, was in a slump at the time. In the following two years, sales increased by almost 40%, and the startup now earns more than $100 million USD annually.

And top-line growth was only half of the story. Comparably ranked Dholakia as the top leader in tech among companies with fewer than 1,500 employees, and he holds a 98% approval rating on Glassdoor.com, higher than even LinkedIn’s CEO Jeff Weiner (97%), and equal to Adobe’s CEO Shantanu Narayen (98%).

Glassdoor also ranked SendGrid as the 31st best company to work for in 2018.

How did Dholakia catalyze growth and gain such high approval? The answer is servant leadership.

Dholakia believes the ultimate gauge of success as a servant-leader is whether or not those being served grow as individuals. It’s why he ends almost all meetings by asking, “Is there anything I can do for you? Anything our leadership team or I can do? Any problems that we’re not capitalizing on, but should be?”

The approach Dholakia takes toward his organization and his employees is an admirable and effective one. But the question remains: is it simply a personality trait or is this something we can all practice?

Embodying servant leadership

No formula exists to turn oneself into a service-oriented leader on a whim. It takes dedication, commitment, and a willingness to learn. Effective servant leadership relies on three qualities:

1. Selflessness

Prioritizing the growth and success of others – as well as that of the organization – above your own hinges on an ability to direct energy toward the wants and needs of those around you, enabling outcomes that benefit everyone.

2. Service Mindset

Conscious activation of a service mindset shifts the focus onto others. Building awareness of the people around you – their feelings, strengths, weaknesses, needs, and desires – takes the concept of selflessness and puts it into action.

3. Stewardship

Good stewardship is important for every employee, but most of all for a servant-leader. Servant leadership requires taking responsibility for those being served, both inside and outside an organization.

The differences between servant leadership and other styles of leadership appear subtle but generate very different outcomes. While traditional leadership focuses on top-down movement (such as delegating rules and requirements), servant leadership humbles itself to the grassroots level of an organization. It enables from the ground up, always striving to support the wellbeing and growth of individuals. As Dholakia puts it, servant-leaders “invert the traditional organizational chart and put the CEO at the bottom.” This is particularly important for technology leaders and employees – we have the responsibility to look across our entire organizations in order to determine the best practices for all involved.

Building a legacy of servant leadership brings radical empowerment to employees and results in a more authentic culture. The focus is on what truly matters. When employees see they are valued and supported, they are emboldened with courage to express what they want, ask for what they need, and strive to be their best selves in and out of the workplace.

It may be possible that servant leadership is the only true type of leadership. After all, any of us can, with a bit of luck and perseverance, step into the role of manager or even executive. It is only those of us whose actions inspire others to do, learn, and become more that can be said to truly lead.