Why Servant Leadership is so Important

Leadership is often measured by outcome, achievement, or results. When we think about great leaders, we think of great accomplishments. Examples that come to mind are great military leaders, great athletes, great politicians, and great business leaders. Sometimes, however, we attribute a great outcome, success, or result to a leader without inspecting the process or the means employed to achieve the outcome. I would argue that the title of great leader has to be based on much more than just a great victory, achievement, or success. Great leadership requires not only achieving success, but also elevating all those who enable the success in the process. No leader has ever achieved anything on their own. Solo sports performers, entertainers, inventors, and creators all need other people in order to achieve the pinnacle of success. Servant leadership values the person, their talent, skill, and passion as highly as all the people required to ensure a successful outcome. It is not today’s prevalent from of leadership. That needs to change.

We currently face a crisis of great leadership. The entertainment, government, and business sectors are being rocked by accusations of sexual harassment and assault. I happen to believe most of the allegations are true, but due process will take its course. I also happen to believe the allegations revealed so far are only the tip of the iceberg. Even if some of them turn out to be unsubstantiated, we must identify the root cause of this crisis. In my opinion, it has to do with flawed leadership and our insistence of assessing great leaders by outcome. For instance, in the entertainment world we classify someone as a great leader because they produce a great movie or some other form of entertainment. What never seems to be asked or evaluated is how that accomplishment was achieved. How were all of the actors, support crews, and all of people who had a role in that production, no matter how small, treated? If we ask, many times the answer is poorly. I think of a recent championship winning team who took the trophy back home to their facility and held an event where every single employee, no matter how small or unrelated their role in the organization, got to handle the trophy and celebrate their role in achieving the victory. That’s a picture of servant leadership... recognizing and elevating the people who work hard every day to ensure an organization’s success.

We need to create a future where leaders are celebrated for the impact they have on the people they are entrusted to lead as much as for the accomplishments achieved. A future where both results and the value for people who achieve them are the goal, not one or the other.r post.