THREE WAYS SERVANT LEADERSHIP CAN HELP OUTSIDE OF WORK

I always appreciate opportunities to teach and coach. I was trained as an educator, and I taught high school English, Speech, and Television. These days, I value every opportunity I receive to work with our leaders at all levels.  

Each time I get to teach and coach about Servant Leadership, I ask people to remember a three-letter acronym: NAQ (Needs, Accountability, Questions).  

I also ask them if they feel they have the “NAQ” to be a great Servant Leader. While I recognize that is not the correct way to spell knack, it is a great way to remember what is most important about Servant Leadership. I believe it can also be a wonderful way to discover and build the most fulfilling relationships.  

N = NEEDS 
A = ACCOUNTABILITY 
Q = QUESTIONS  

NEEDS

We ask our Servant Leaders to meet the needs of the people they serve. Wouldn’t that also be a great idea in our personal lives? How do we see through other people’s eyes, as our EDSI Mission Statement asks us? Do we put other people first? I know, in my life, my happiness comes from putting the needs of others in front of my own.  

ACCOUNTABILITY

Servant Leaders hold others accountable. It is a big part of the leadership model. At EDSI, we do that by keeping score. Everyone should have the opportunity to set goals for their jobs. The Servant Leader evaluates the appropriateness of the goal. For example, a company needs each salesperson to sell ten pairs of shoes per day to make their practical profit. If a salesperson says they can sell two pairs of shoes per day, that is obviously not an appropriate goal. At that point, the Servant Leader would need to explain why the goal is ten. Once the goal is set, the Servant Leader gives that person everything they need to be great at their job.  

Think about Servant Leadership applied to parenting. Don’t we help our kids set appropriate goals? Don’t we ask them to work to the greatest level of their potential? We also try to give them everything they need to achieve their goals. In your relationships, how do you address someone who is chronically late, when you are always on time? Don’t we hold our friends accountable for the things we are giving to them?

Finally, and most importantly, Servant Leaders hold themselves accountable. Great Servant Leaders set the standard for behavior. Our great Servant Leaders embody our values. Do you have family values? Do you hold yourself accountable for those values? Hopefully, we are all serving as great examples for our friends, family, and the larger community.  

QUESTIONS

This is my favorite of the three behaviors. I think it can also be the most challenging. It is easy to look at someone else’s choices and think you could help them make better choices. Think about customer experiences you have and how easy it is to identify how you would like it to be different.

Before we share our opinions or insights, it is always critically important that we ask great questions. What if you asked a business owner why something is present in their customer approach? I would guess most of them have a story for why something exists the way that it currently exists. Our questions help us see through other people’s eyes. We need to ask great questions to appreciate where someone is today. That allows us to ask the next great question to help them through their challenge.

If it seems hard, please start with a powerful question I find helpful. I adapted a technique from a book titled Supercommunicators, by Charles Duhigg. I shortened what Charles asked in the book to say, “Do you need my head or my heart right now?” It is a powerful question to ask a teenage daughter, who is just beginning to share something. Does she want your head to help her make a decision, or does she simply need your heart to listen with great empathy? The older I get, the more I believe that questions may hold the secret to most of life’s great mysteries. They certainly make all my relationships more genuine and rewarding.  

Asking that question puts the focus on their NEEDS. It holds you ACCOUNTABLE as a person who wants to be present and help. It also holds them accountable because you are listening to their challenge, not taking it away from them. And you are clearly staying in QUESTION mode by asking a fantastic open-ended question.  

Thank you for reading what grew into a longer newsletter article. As always, I would love to hear your insights, feelings, and feedback.  

Please take great care of yourselves and one another. Please also let me know if there is anything else that I can do to support you.  

Take great care,
Kevin