Safety and Servant Leadership: Does it Give Us the Best Chance to Win?

I’m a fan of servant leadership.  I first wrote about it in a cover story for Professional Safety in 1996.  Servant leadership is largely about developing and helping others first - allowing them to become leaders too.  And I think for front-line leaders and even for leaders in the middle, servant leadership offers the best chance to win – to create a safety culture of extreme success and excellence.  Even when we compare servant leadership to transformational leadership, for me, servant leadership wins out.  And even though there is a paucity of empirical work surrounding servant leadership, it is looking stronger and stronger to many.  We need servant leaders – let's take a look at the primary facets of this school of thought and contemplate our work in safety advancement.

Servant Leaders: 

Care.  They Get It and Feel It.  Servant safety leaders leave self-interest behind for the good of their people.  They understand that improving safety performance will ultimately compliment and improve productivity, quality, and morale. Servant leaders have a natural desire to care for the safety-related needs of others. This basic tenant is rooted in their personal values and cannot be easily taught. Servant leaders want to make a difference in peoples’ lives but not at their own gain.

They See The Vision.  Servant leaders see the dream for excellence in safety. They nurture a climate that encourages thinking beyond the ordinary for extraordinary results. Those who want to be at their best as a safety leader must encourage and support thinking that allows everyone to believe in the greatest dreams for success – zero accidents and zero incidents.

Have Foresight.  Servant leaders are able to get a clear picture of the future before others can see the consequences.  Unlike other leaders they know the investment in people through safety helps to avoid fateful consequences that can lead to fatalities or physical destruction from egregious events.  So often leaders put off significant investments in safety only to realize a catastrophe lay in wait.  Those who want to be successful servant leaders need to have and develop this foresight.

Know How to Listen.  Servant leaders are good listeners and want to know how safety can be continually improved. They are genuinely interested in the thoughts of others. In turn, want them to share their ideas and thoughts because they know their leaders will value them. Listening is a skill that can be developed and is essential to building a high-performance safety culture.  And listening moves to a higher level of organizational efficiency by listening strategically – through regular employee input, safety sensing sessions, and perception surveys.

Have Empathy.  Servant leaders want to know what’s going on in safety – they want to tap into the feelings of their people.   They also want to know more about the challenges and barriers to working safely – at work and at home.  Empathy is practiced by the servant leader to get to a deeper component of listening – beyond the head alone but also with the heart.

Heal.  Do people come to you when the chips are down or when something traumatic has happened in their lives? Servant leaders are people who others want to approach when something traumatic has happened. They have developed a remarkable appreciation for the emotional health and spirit of others. They are good at facilitating the healing process and others gravitate toward them when emotional needs arise. The ability to create an environment that encourages emotional mending is crucial for those who want to become great servant leaders and great safety leaders as well.

Have Awareness.  Do others believe you have a strong awareness for what is going on? Servant leaders have a keen sense for what is happening around them. They are always looking for cues from the environment to validate and form their opinions and decisions. They know what's going on and will rarely be fooled by appearances. This skill is crucial to the development of servant leaders.

Use Persuasion. Do others follow your requests because "they want to" or because "they have to?" Servant leaders seek to convince others to do things rather than relying on formal authority. They are naturally very persuasive and offer compelling reasons when they make requests. They seldom force others to do things. This ability is important for servant leaders to develop.

Seek Stewardship. Do others believe you are preparing the organization to make a positive difference in the world? Servant leaders are often characterized by a strong sense of stewardship. Stewardship stems from medieval times when a 'steward' would be assigned to hone the skills and development of the young prince – to prepare him for his reign. The kingdom relied on the steward to teach and hold the prince in trust so that he would be a successful king. Today the term stewardship involves many of the same things. A steward in an organization is responsible for preparing it for its destiny, usually for the betterment of society. When we describe a leader as having a strong sense of stewardship, we refer to a desire to prepare the organization to contribute to the greater good of society – not unlike preparing the prince to serve the greater good of the kingdom. Making a positive difference in the future is characteristic of the stewardship mentality. Those who desire to be excellent servant leaders need to have a natural sense of stewardship. If you don't naturally have a stewardship perspective, it is unlikely that the servant leadership style will come naturally or easily to you.

Work for Growth.  Do people believe that you are committed to helping others develop and grow? Servant leaders have a strong commitment to the growth of people. They believe that all people have something to offer beyond their tangible contributions. Servant leaders work hard to help people in a number of ways – spiritually, professionally, personally. Those who want to be great servant leaders need to connect to others' developmental needs and actively find ways to meet these needs.

Build Community. Do people feel a strong sense of community in the organization that you lead? Servant leaders have a strong sense of community spirit and work hard to foster it in an organization. They believe that an organization needs to function as a community. A servant leader instills a sense of community spirit in the workplace. Those who want to be great servant leaders need to work hard to build community in the organization.

Everyone should have a leadership model or practice they understand, embrace, and can act upon – every day.  In the early 1990s, servant leadership was the model that I embraced and shared with others – it changed my life, my career, and hopefully touched the minds and hearts of those around me.  Which model of leadership do you seek to better understand, embrace, and share in your everyday life and career?