One Minute Manager

by Ken Blanchard

Leaders cannot accomplish goals all by themselves.
They need their people.

Servant Leadership Revisited

For a long time, students of leadership like myself have talked about servant leadership. Our aim is to encourage managers to move from the traditional direct-control-and-supervise approach to roles of cheerleader, encourager, listener and facilitator. In the past, managers emphasized judgment, criticism and evaluation rather than providing the support and encouragement that people need to be their best.

The past approach to management worked when there was no competition for customers or good employees. Today, mistreated customers go next door, followed shortly by their best employees. I always loved this quote by Winston Churchill: "You can't expect an empty bag to stand up straight." If managers don't take care of their people, you can't expect them to take care of your customers.

In talking about servant leadership at a recent conference of corporation presidents, I sensed some real resistance to the concept. In talking with these managers, I found some misconceptions about servant leadership that need to be cleared up. Their assumption when they heard the term "servant leadership" was that managers would work completely for their people, who would decide what to do, when to do it, where to do it and how to do it. If that meant servant leadership, it didn't sound like leadership to them at all. It sounded like the inmates were running the prison.

It's important for us to correct this misperception. Leadership is an influence process in which you try to help people accomplish goals. All good leadership starts with a visionary role. This involves not only goal setting but also establishing a clear picture of perfection-of the operation running effectively. In other words, leadership starts with a sense of direction. In the book I recently co-authored with Don Shula, Everyone's a Coach, Don said, "A river without banks is a large puddle." The banks permit the river to flow; they give direction to the river. Leadership is all about going somewhere. Even Alice in Wonderland learned that concept when she came to a fork in the road and asked the Cheshire cat which road she should take. He asked her, "Where are you going?" She said, "I don't know." His response was quick: "Then it doesn't matter what road you take."

I want to make it clear that when we talk about servant leadership, we aren't talking about lack of direction. The servant leadership concept really is about the implementation part of leadership. Leadership is more of a visionary role-doing the right thing. Management is the implementation aspect-doing things right. Servant leadership involves both a visionary role and an implementation role. People look to leaders for direction, so the traditional hierarchy isn't bad for this aspect of leadership. While the vision and direction might start with the leader, if you're dealing with experienced people, you want to get them involved in shaping and refining that direction.

Most organizations and leaders get in trouble in the implementation phase. At this point, the leaders want to act as though everyone still works for them. The traditional pyramid is kept "alive and well." The minute the hierarchy is used for implementation, everybody thinks that the leader or manager is responsible and their job is to be responsive. To be responsive to whom? To the leader! When that happens, all the energy moves up the hierarchy, away from customers and front-line folks closest to the action.

When we talk about servant leadership, we must turn the pyramid upside down so the people are responsible and their leader or manager is responsive. Remember, the word responsible means "able to respond." In this responsive role, the leader now encourages, supports, coaches, facilitates and does everything to help his or her people be successful in goal accomplishment. This is where servant leadership really takes over.

When I talk about being a servant leader in organizations, I'm not talking about dying for your people, but once in a while you might want to listen to them, praise them, encourage them and help them win. But remember, the servant aspect of leadership only begins with clear vision, direction and goals. It symbolizes that leaders cannot accomplish goals all by themselves. They need their people. Last November, when Shula tore his Achilles tendon, he missed his first practice in 25 years as a Dolphin coach. When you ask Shula why he needs to be at practice all the time, he replies, "You can't coach from the press box." You want to be where the action is so that you can observe what's happening and respond in a way that helps people be their very best.

That's what servant leadership is all about: making the goals clear, rolling your sleeves up and doing whatever it takes to help your people win. In that situation, they don't work for you-you work for them.

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