Servant Leadership

May 25, 2022

“Good leaders must first be good servants.” Robert Greenleaf

Robert Greenleaf is considered by many in the leadership field to be the founder of the modern Servant Leadership movement. His thoughts and works influenced a whole generation of managers and leaders by sharing this concept as a favorable and effective leadership style.

What Is Servant Leadership?

In 1970, Greenleaf published his first essay, entitled “The Servant As Leader”, which introduced the term “servant leadership” into the contemporary lexicon of management theory. Later, the essay was expanded into a book, which is perhaps one of the most influential management texts ever written. Of his philosophy, Robert Greenleaf wrote in “Essentials”,

“The servant-leader is servant first… Becoming a servant-leader begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first… The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and the most difficult to administer, is this: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?”

The Responsibilities of Leadership

Let’s be real: when we are elevated into a position of leadership, we become accountable for the expectations, objectives, and the delivery of the same within our sphere of influence. We are responsible for the ways and means of achieving those things, as well as the team members and their energies and efforts in accomplishing those things. Each day, and in every opportunity, we are directed and governed by the goal of getting things done through others.

I believe the biggest question we face in this leadership role and in our given capacity is, how do we conduct our leadership in the pursuit of getting things done through our teams?

Consider that question. Pause and reflect. When you and your team have something to get done, what tempers all of your efforts? How do you respond?

Start Thinking about Servant Leadership Today

Get a sheet of paper and a pen. Draft your answers to some or all of following questions:

• How do you define service? What is servant leadership to you?
• When you have goals to meet and exceed, how do you balance your needs with the needs of others?
• How would you rate your abilities in Greenleaf’s Principles of Servant Leadership:
  • Listening
  • Empathy
  • Healing
  • Awareness
  • Persuasion
  • Conceptualization
  • Foresight
  • Stewardship
  • Commitment to the growth of people
  • Building community
• How do you typically demonstrate servant leadership? Where does it fit into your daily routine?
• If your team was asked about your leadership, how would they define it?

Where do these answers take you? Where is your focus regarding whose needs or aspirations? What is your relationship with servant leadership? I find that when we truly have the posture of servant leadership, we are focused on the best interests of others above our own. We strive to make others successful, knowing our success becomes the result of theirs.

Exercising Servant Leadership

Perhaps the take-away is to be better at (or at least more aware of) servant leadership. If you research it, you will get plenty of insight. Beyond Greenleaf’s obvious influence, this concept is universal. It is timeless, and has its roots as far back as a tenet in ancient Eastern and Western philosophies, as well as the life of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. It is also broad in its application. In sales and service, it is about the customer. In our communities, it is about investing in those in need. In leadership, it is about our team members.

In a way, servant leadership is close to being an oxymoron. To lead, one must follow – by serving others. One must put the needs of another ahead of their own. Why is this good for leadership? In the past, managers operated on a transactional basis with employees. An exchange of service. “Do this in exchange for pay and benefits.” One will only contribute so much in that kind of arrangement. When a leader gets to know what matters to the team member, when they care about what the team member needs, possibility expands.

The thing is, it does not really take a ton of effort. Lead by example. Make sure the team has the “why” in things. Encourage collaboration; up and down, and side to side. Help them grow, personally and professionally. Ask for their feedback, insight, and ideas. Give them credit and celebrate their accomplishments. Share your appreciation for what they do. Care for them. In fact, do not stop there; make it a practice with each day given…care for every person.

It is easy to be self-centered. That comes naturally. To mindfully, intentionally, actively serve someone else…that is harder. And potentially the greatest achievement you will ever have. Be part of someone else’s success. Lift them up. Trust me, your shoulders are strong enough!

 How to Exemplify Servant Leadership

• Define and communicate organizational service and servant leadership
• Have your team evaluate the quality of leadership within your organization
• Look for specific opportunities to have your team share insight on upcoming projects
• Schedule one-on-one time with your team to get to know them. Plan a 30-minute touch base
• Pick a servant leadership principle and make it a focus for the day or week
• Make an obvious effort of showing your appreciation. Maybe post a “Thankful Thursday” message celebrating a team member or team on LinkedIn

Perseverance & Crisis Management

May 16, 2022

“It is not what happens to us that matters so much as what happens in us.” Jerry Sittser

Go back 18 months. Go back 20. What you did as a leader over a timeline to the current day. What happened? What did you notice? What did you learn about yourself, your team, and your business?

The pandemic was a popular time for phrases like action plan, problem solving, and crisis management. But nine times out of ten, leaders used these terms to discuss setbacks, not opportunities. For me, and I bet with you as well, this time was ripe with circumstances that challenged what we did as leaders and how we did it. As I shared previously, the organizational mission doesn’t change, but the way we deliver that mission can definitely change. Now, we step into what degree we deliver it. What about when the circumstances create discomfort, uncertainty and distraction? What about when we face difficulty? Are we staying true to what we need to do, day in-day out, when our leadership is being challenged?

I am reminded of two wonderful quotes. One from Robert Frost, who shared, “The only way out is through”. The other from Winston Churchill, “If you are going through hell, keep going.” Both of these resonated with me because the crisis of COVID tested our resilience and our ability to keep doing what we need to do. It tested our perseverance.

Perseverance in Crisis Management

Perseverance is defined as persistence in doing something despite difficulty in achieving success. It’s the quality someone resolutely continues to do what they need to do even though it is difficult. Words like resiliency, determination, endurance, steadfastness, grit, and moxie come to mind.

Question: what’s the action plan when overseeing something during difficulty? What is important as we work through disruption? What are the common denominators in an uncertain landscape? Both crisis and crisis management give us enormous opportunities as leaders.

Leaders who are growing through crisis, show up and stand out. They put people first. They calmly embrace reality. They remain flexible by leveraging their resources, and create an action plan that suits. They use good judgment. They provide value to others. They’re confident, vulnerable, and authentic. They assure us of the hope found in “we’ll get through this together”, and “this too shall pass.”

How do we respond to the question, “are we managing crisis or are we leading through it?”

Start Thinking about Perseverance in Crisis Management Today

Get a sheet of paper and a pen. Draft your answers to some or all of following questions:

•  How do you define perseverance and resilience?
• How do you typically respond to crisis, adversity, disruption, and difficulty?
• How do you evaluate your goals, objectives, mission and values when you face difficulty?
• Do you tend to lose sight of your organizational mission in a crisis?
• What are your problem solving steps when you face difficulty and are in the midst of adversity?
• Think back about a previous time when you faced difficulty. How did you respond, what got you through it, and what did you learn?
• What training on working through difficulty are you providing your team and organization?
• When you persevere through difficulty, how are you processing the lessons and planning for the future?
• How are you paying attention to your people during difficulty? What do they need from you?

How will these questions and answers influence perseverance in yourself, within your team and in your organization? Our resilience in change, failure, and all challenges is seen. It is felt by the teams we oversee. Our greatest influence is our response to crisis.

Crisis Management as a Leadership Opportunity

In March 2020, leadership guru John Maxwell delivered a three-day virtual leadership summit, Leading Through Crisis. I would absolutely encourage you to check out this video. The biggest ‘aha’ I experienced was the underlying opportunity in crisis when he said, “With this crisis, we’ve all been given a lemon. So, I’m going to take that lemon, cut that baby open, and I’m making lemonade.”

His message of leading through adversity resonated. Adversity is often seen as a bad thing. We want bad things to end. We want to know when they will be over. While I understand that perspective, that is not my thinking. Adversity challenges us to change the question from “why is this happening?” to “what can we learn and improve?” Opportunity lies in the middle of our adversity. Perseverance is our driver to explore what happens next.

Adversity, crisis, failure, distraction… All of these experiences create change, and cause us to change with it. They challenge how we look at wanting the old normal, risking new success, and how we work through what we are given. It increases our focus by having us re-evaluate our priorities and what we see as essential in our life. It also gets us to be creative in our thinking, bold in our decisions, and precise in our action plan.

Today, be intentional about who you are and who you are becoming in difficulty. Believing whatever you face makes you better. And remember, your people are your greatest resource. When you and I persevere for them and for their sake, they persevere.

Your Action Plan for Building Perseverance

• Define organizational perseverance, resiliency, and grit
• Elevate organizational mission, purpose and “the big picture”
• When in season of difficulty, be very transparent and communicate often
• Encourage team collaboration and development of perseverance best practices
• Take opportunities to reflect on and capture lessons being learned
• Celebrate wins and success stories often
• Pay attention to emotional intelligence and resilience
• Foster employee health and well-being programs

Optimism & Leadership Style

May 16, 2022

If we open up a conversation about how we see the day, as leaders, it always starts with outlook. Our aspiration about our own daily walk through the efforts of our team and organization.

When working with new leaders, I have always been intrigued when they ask, “But what about when you are not feeling it?” It being the tasks in the job, leading others, communication, coaching, etc. In essence, asking if it is okay to have a bad day, or just feeling overwhelmed.

“Optimism is not ignoring facts. It is moving into uncertainty trusting who you are, with the facts, and an unyielding faith about what the future holds.” Kurt Reinhart

There will always be some level of tension in our leadership journey. Each day is a different balancing act of what we know and what we believe. Tip too much on one side, you can easily get a little ‘schrecked’. Too much to the other… Well, happy on its own doesn’t get things done. Management styles of positivity, enthusiasm, or gratitude, or being of good cheer don’t ignore the circumstances. The goal is not making them bigger than our possibilities and opportunities.

 Optimism and Leadership Style

How is Optimism defined? It is defined as hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something. In psychology, it’s defined as a mental attitude characterized by hope and confidence in success and a positive future. Optimists are those who expect good things to happen. A pessimist is the opposite, predicting a less favorable outlook and outcome.

As I firmly believe, leadership is not just what you do; it is who you are. It is also how you are seen in all circumstances. You get to demonstrate what good looks like and which posture to take. You may not control the circumstances, but you do control how you respond to them.

Think of people and of leaders you have had in your journey. The ones that always stayed positive. Professionally and personally. What was it about them? How would you evaluate their optimism? What about you?

Start Thinking about Optimism in Your Leadership Style Today

Get a sheet of paper and a pen. Draft your answers to some or all of following questions:

•  Firstly, how do you define being optimistic, hopeful, enthusiastic, and grateful?
• Secondly, how do you balance knowledge of facts with belief and faith in self?
• Thirdly, consider a current circumstance impacting your leadership, how would you evaluate your outlook? What is contributing to that point of view?
• Moreover, have you seen optimism shine through in other people’s management styles?
• Additionally, how do you typically demonstrate optimism within yourself and with your team? Where does it fit into your daily routine?
• When you are in the midst of “rainy days”, what keeps you positive?
• Imagine you have a team or individual team member struggling, how do you proceed?
• Finally, what are you truly grateful for?

As you consider your answers, are there any things, any characteristics that begin to take shape? Any commonalities? Take this moment, right now as you read this… what word is top of mind?

How Optimism Enhances Management Styles

Optimism, and whatever feeds it within us, is a lighthouse in leadership. It guides us and those around us. No one really enjoys following a leader who views all things in a negative light. Nobody wants to work for a manager who thinks the worst in people, things and situations. No one dreams of having a boss who doesn’t believe in their team’s ability to overcome failures or hardships. People want to be led by those who see the world with hope and excitement. They want to be mentored by people who inspire possibility and positivity. We are naturally drawn to leaders who see the world through the prism of optimism.

We can easily see the optimistic leaders. They are evident in how they view, in how they live, what they have and what they want. For one thing, they have a “Joy in life” mindset. Doesn’t mean they don’t have bad days. It means they decide to live joyfully, even in hardship. They don’t dwell on the challenges, but rather anticipate the exciting opportunities to come.

For another, they appreciate what they have. Life has an expiration date, and each day is an opportunity to do and be better. These leaders consistently give thanks…for their team members and their work. They let them know they are grateful for their efforts and value their commitment. And lastly, they always want the same thing, to be successful. Success is always within reach. They know they can win. It’s better to be disappointed in losing than expecting you’ll fail. Optimistic leaders are always seen as hopeful, and that is seen by the team and throughout the organization.

Winston Churchill said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

Your choice.

How to Add Optimism into Your Leadership Style

• Define and communicate organizational optimism
• Assess how you demonstrate optimism in your personal and professional spheres of influence
• Share a goal, objective or vision for the future. Pay very close attention to optimism within your strategy
• Review a previous setback or failure, consider the best practices in how to best bounce back quickly
• Evaluate your capacity to inspire motivation in others; review your word choice, tone, and mechanics
• Create a gratitude list; maybe each day before you step into what comes next

Vulnerability & Transparency

May 16, 2022

I remember my diagnosis. I remember the choice. In retrospect, it was a crossroads moment. It was on a Tuesday afternoon. May 21, 2013. “You have cancer.” A response was required.

“A leader, first and foremost, is human. Only when we have the strength to show our vulnerability can we truly lead.” Simon Sinek

I couldn’t just wish it away. My mindset had to change from “I hope I don’t have this” to “OK, I have this.” My prayers had to change from “Lord, I don’t want this.” to “Lord, give me the strength to move through this.” I had to change the posture of my heart from fear and doubt to surrender.

I was punched in the neck, figuratively and literally (neck cancer), and I had to surrender. Not the type of surrender that means giving up and giving away one’s rights and freedom to another. No. The type of surrender to something bigger than ourselves, which actually frees us up to live broader, wider, deeper, and – though not obvious in the moment – with purpose.

I was being disrupted. My leadership was being interrupted. This moment changed me forever. And I am grateful.

Our leadership will have all kinds of disruption. Each moment in its own way represents interruption. Leadership is uncertain. It’s challenging. It’s hard. Nothing about leadership is easy. The choice, though, is simple.

Lash out, or live. Lay down defeated or stand up. To take a lesson from our previous article, give up, or persevere and keep moving forward.

But that’s not to say a leader needs a stone-cold heart. On the contrary, one thing I have learnt from my experience with cancer is that we can reach a whole new level of understanding through vulnerability.

Recognizing the Value of Transparency in Vulnerability

Vulnerability comes from the Latin word for “wound,” and is defined as openness to attack or hurt, either physically or in other ways. It also represents a willingness to accept the circumstances. And it is an acceptance of the situation as being exactly what it is supposed to be. This helps maintain a state of focus, and most of all, a belief that “I am worthy”.

Leaders may see being vulnerable as weakness, or as an exposure to weakness. I contend it demonstrates our humanity and capacity for others to see us honestly and truthfully. When those around us can really see us in these moments, it can bolster respect, connection, and trust.

This extends also to organizational transparency. Creating a transparent culture within your organization promotes those same qualities across all levels of your team. In doing so, leaders invite those around them to reach a mutual understanding, creating a unified force against the problems you face.

We need to explore our belief in who we are, who we are becoming, and the feelings we associate with vulnerability.

Building Organizational Transparency through Vulnerability

Get a sheet of paper and a pen. Draft your answers to some or all of following questions:

• How do you define being vulnerable, transparent, as well as willing, honest and open?
• How do you process disruption, tension and stress?
• Consider a past success or failure. How would you evaluate your humility in that situation?
• Do you actively foster a transparent culture of vulnerability in your business?
• How are you demonstrating courage within yourself and with your team?
• When you are uncertain or uncomfortable, how are you at communicating your reality?
• What is your posture in problem solving and thinking creatively?
• What is your leadership story? And what parts are you willing to fully share?

I would love to sit down with each of you and unpack your answers. To hear how your head, heart, and soul factor into your reflection.

Vulnerability, Acceptance, and Strong Leadership

Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston. She is perhaps most widely known for her TED talk, “The Power of Vulnerability.” Without reservation, I can say it was a life changer for me. To an extent, her 2010 speech shared a perspective about vulnerability in my 2013 diagnosis and in a personal crossroads moment that followed a year later it transformed me. Personally. Professionally. Completely.

Brené Brown teaches all of us the power of acceptance. That our leadership has to include an authentic point of view. All of us have a story. Full of joy and failure. Complete with scars that show what has happened to us and has not defeated us or defined us in our leadership journey.

Embrace your vulnerability. Don’t be ashamed of your story. Leadership is not just what you do, it’s who you are and who you are becoming. It will always have you processing a sense of self-value, self-discovery, and acceptance. That surrender doesn’t make us weak. It makes us stronger and gives us the grace needed to influence others.

How to Build a Transparent Culture of Vulnerability

• Define organizational vulnerability, transparency, and acceptance
• When you are struggling, overwhelmed, or wrong, consider how you say so
• Get comfortable with being uncomfortable, then discuss “what, why, and how” with your team
• Roleplay and collaboratively brainstorm a variety of situations that challenge vulnerability
• Share the Brené Brown quote, “The courage to be vulnerable is not about winning or losing, it’s about the courage to show up when you can’t predict or control the outcome.” Share it with your team or organization and then discuss what this means.

In embracing vulnerability, we find the strength to lead authentically, fostering trust and connection. As Brené Brown teaches, it’s through acceptance and openness that we build resilient leadership, shaping not only what we do, but who we are becoming. Interested in learning more about the Russell Cellular? Visit our blog or check out our locations.

Organizational Flexibility

May 16, 2022

“The mission doesn’t change. The circumstances change how we approach it.” Kurt Reinhart

In 2009, I was nine years into management consulting, and two years into my own consulting business. I was designing, developing, and delivering retail management development and leadership programs. As I was in the midst of delivering a large-scale training program, something became a big topic. At almost every workshop, as we explored best practices, newly promoted managers kept asking, “What if this happens?” They were challenging what to do when they faced a host of possible situations. These were situations that popped out of classic managerial and leadership circumstances. To name just a few: getting buy-in, team conflict, perfectionism, coaching poor and rock star performance, tardiness, and my personal favorite, personal hygiene.

These conversations stimulated me to write a book about organizational flexibility. Specifically, improvisational management. It focused on the need to be adaptable, and, most importantly, that context dictates action. The managers and leaders wanted a “one size fits all” formula that would help them navigate these unexpected or uncomfortable situations. But in their search for prescriptive answers, their deficiency became clear: the inability of new management to plan for change.

Creating a Culture of Organizational Flexibility

In What If; A Guide to Improvisational Management, I discussed there is no absolute “A + B =C” formula. There is a formula of sorts. “A + Variable(s) = Customized Approach”. “A” represents the thing that must be done. It is the task, system, objective, mission or core value. “Variable(s)” represents what makes up the situation. It can be seen in the context, history, environment and even the degree of belief and buy-in with everyone involved. “Customized Approach” represents our response and action. And the most important element in living out this formula of sorts is creating a culture of organizational flexibility.

If you want to evaluate the necessity and power of organizational flexibility, look no further than COVID. This pandemic, and the ripples it created, represents the ultimate case study. Within this experience, we realized the leadership book we relied on did not contain this chapter. And if it did, I do not believe it could have shared the sheer scope of how it challenged leadership teams.

COVID challenged everything in our leadership arsenal. Skillset. Mindset. Belief. It provided ample opportunities to bring into question our ability to see this unprecedented moment as an opportunity. To remain adaptable in uncertainty and constant change. To innovate our what and how. COVID had us questioning our organizational flexibility. What did we learn?

Start Thinking about Organizational Flexibility Today

Get a sheet of paper and a pen. Draft your answers to some or all of following questions:

•  How do you define organizational flexibility, adaptability, agility, and improvisation?
• How do you typically respond/adjust to change, uncertainty, discomfort, criticism, and inefficiency?
• How open are you to alternate approaches, suggestions, and necessary changes in your own behavior?
• Where and in what situations do you typically engage your organizational flexibility?
• When you craft a change management plan, does it offer the right level of flexibility?
• What are your strengths when flexibility, versatility, and innovation are required?
• Describe a challenge you have dealt with, and how you overcame it
• How do you handle having multiple priorities at the same time?
• Consider your team. How do you work with people with differing personalities, views, and work styles?
• If you could change something in the course of your life, what would it be?

Each of these questions provides a glimpse into our culture of organizational flexibility. In challenging situations with a diversity of people, managing and leading in all efforts to achieve a seemingly unachievable goal.

Imagine something ahead. An objective or mission you believe will create good or produce impact. Your circumstances change, or things get turned upside down. How do you approach the path ahead?

The Value of Organizational Flexibility in Management Culture

Commander’s Intent is a military doctrine in executing a mission. Simply put, it promotes leaders and subordinates to exercise judgment and initiative – to depart from the original plan when the unforeseen occurs – in a way that is consistent with the desired outcome. In other words, the mission does not change, however the means to achieve it can and will.

Leadership will always involve tension. Tension between what we believe, what we know, and what we do. Flexibility represents an elasticity in that tension. It is a pivot posture in how we move forward.

I close with this. The uncertainty and unexpected happen. They are constant variables. Our teams need us to know our mission, and be willing, honest and open in our drive to get it done. We do not control the winds of change – we do control how we adjust our sails. Cheers.

Using Organizational Flexibility to Create a Change Management Plan

• Define organizational flexibility, adaptability and improvisation
• Prior to any implementation, ensure a clear goal and discuss potential tripping points
• When possible, run a pilot to test efficiencies and effectiveness of process and teams
• Encourage consistent and ongoing “pulse checks” during implementation process
• Identify and educate change management best practices
• Look for positive ways to make changes work rather than identifying why change will not work
• Encourage curiosity and collaboration

In the ever-evolving landscape of management, the essence of the mission remains constant, yet the approach must flex with the shifting circumstances, embodying adaptability and improvisation as essential pillars of effective leadership. Interested in learning more about the Russell Cellular? Visit our blog or check out our locations.