What’s the one thing I could start doing today that will make me a better servant-leader?
Communicate more?
Practice active listening?
Provide more encouragement?
Manage by walking around?
Give rewards and recognition?
Our best answer is YES . . . AND . . .
Each day contains countless interactions with those you lead. Every interaction, no matter how seemingly small or trivial, has the potential to add, subtract, or even multiply our impact as leaders. We must practice being mindful of each interaction and making them positive.
Not long ago, we had just concluded a half-day session with a select group of about 25 key leaders for a client organization, which included lots of energetic discussions and activities.
As the room began to clear, one participant came forward and said, “Hey, that was great! May I tell you what had the biggest impact on me from today’s session?”
I was still pumped from the adrenaline of leading the session. (If you do this kind of work, you know what I mean). I felt good about what I was going to hear. Was he going to compliment the beautiful images on my slides? Was he going to mention the professional workbook? Was he impressed by our carefully-crafted exercises, our masterful metaphors or stirring stories of servant leadership? (Come on, we all think like that sometimes!)
“Please,” I said.
“What had the biggest impact on me,” he replied, “was the way you looked me in the eye, shook my hand and greeted me as I entered the room. I don’t do that enough with my people. I am going to start doing it more on Monday.”
WOW! I certainly wasn’t expecting that. What about our slides, workbook, exercises, metaphors and stories?
Heck, we put long hours into those things. A handshake? I was blown away that what had mattered most for this participant, happened before the session even began.
Later that afternoon, while debriefing the meeting, we made this observation:
A little thing can matter most.
And you never know in advance which little thing that will be.
So, what’s the one thing I could start doing today that will make me a better servant-leader?
Here’s my answer: I don’t know; and I won’t know until I try.
Our experience suggests that there is no silver bullet – no one servant leadership behavior – that works every time, with every person, in every context. Big things matter, of course (annual performance reviews, for example), but so do little things (a morning handshake).
Maybe it’s best to give up looking for the silver bullet. Instead, maybe we should go around shooting golden BBs all day long!
(Putting aside whether you like the bullet/BB metaphor), what do you think? What’s a little thing have you found that matters most? Please share it in the comment section below.
Thanks!