Can you be a Servant Leader AND an Executive?

Over the last two years,I have been struggling with something. My personal leadership model is based onservant leadership. My professional role is at the executive level. To me,these two things seemed to be in conflict. If they are, it means that thecareer path of servant leaders is capped. Yet, I know that is not true becauseI have studied leaders at the highest levels who are clearly servant leaders. Inresponse, I think I have found the path through. I am growing as a result. Thispost shares how my thinking has evolved.

What is ServantLeadership?

If you are a servantleader, your top priority is your team. You fully recognize that it is yourteam that delivers the value and drives the business. You understand that ifthe business is dependent on your individual contributions, it is not scalableor sustainable. Your team always comes first. There is an implication ofengaging at a low level.

What is Executive Leadership?

If you are an executive,you are responsible for broad scope. You are a leader of leaders. You areresponsible for strategy. Strategy is setting long-term objectives and workingwith the team to set up the system to accomplish them. Note I said “system”versus “plan.” That is another interesting topic for a future post. Being anexecutive means that you are engaging at a high level.

The Conflict

Why did I believe thatservant leadership and executive leadership were in conflict? It stems fromlevel of engagement.

As a servant leader, youdo not ask your teams to do anything that you would not do. You excitedly “rollof your sleeves” and work “shoulder to shoulder” with your teams. You haveretained some ability to understand and add value on a tactical and operationallevel. Put another way, you are intimately in touch with the day-to-day. If youare able to do it, the credibility you build with the team is very deep.

If you are an executive,your responsibility is varied and large. There are many areas you cannot godeep because you do not know that aspect of the business and the sheer size. But,you know that selectively going deep still builds credibility with the entireteam. Since you believe in servant leadership, you go deep. But, there is acost.

You are dedicating ameaningful focus and time understanding and contributing to the day-to-day.That time and focus is not being aligned to strategy. Worse, you might actuallybe undermining your leaders who are responsible for the areas where you havechosen to go deep. That is the opposite of what a servant leader would want.

Another drawback is thatyou are likely overextending yourself. If you go deep here, why not also tryand go deep there? It leads to back-to-back-to-back meetings and very long days.It leads to burnout.

The Solution

How am I combating theconflict between servant leadership and being an executive? I am focused onthree things:

Deprioritize Insecurity : Your teams greatlyappreciate your servant leadership. Your presence in the day-to-day is a tangibleexample that you care about them. And, in my experience, they express thatappreciation. While it is not your goal, the external affirmations feel good.Once you get used to it, it feels like something is wrong if it slows down. If youtruly are an executive, the positive feedback will lessen. You are less intouch with the day-to-day and you are in contact with fewer people (because youare trusting your leaders to lead their teams). You will have to make decisionsfocused on the long-term that have visible short-term negative implications. Asa result, you actually start getting some negative feedback. To combat this, youfocus on your decision quality, communicate appropriately, and drive forward. Inother words, if you are objectively confident that you are doing the rightthing for the long-term, press forward. Trust your Leadership Model : If you have anexplicit and simple leadership model, empowering and aligning your leaders andteam will be foundational. You have isolated the principles and methods youbelieve drive sustainable results. It is what “Strategic Pause,” my leadershipbook, is all about. “Trust the System” would be another way to express thispoint. Your system versus your personal level of engagement is how you practiceservant leadership. Be Strategic : As an executive, your job is to be strategic.You assess the market, articulate the value proposition, set the long-termobjectives, empower and align your leaders, and reinforce the guardrails of thesystem. In today’s world, change continues to accelerate. This makes being an executivemore challenging than ever. Recognize that and align your time and focusappropriately. If you are going deep in the name of being a servant leader orto counter your insecurity, you are stealing from your executive role. Do yourjob.

Opportunity, NotConflict

Believing in servantleadership and being an executive responsible for large scope is an opportunitymore than a conflict. It is the chance to further servant leadership morebroadly. It is the opportunity to further your leadership model, your way. Itrequires practicing servant leadership through your system and direct lineleaders versus your individual contribution on a lower level. Taking this approachis being strategic. Is it strategic servant leadership.

© 2021 Don Graumann. All Rights Reserved. Other than personal sharing, please do not redistribute without permission.