Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Servant Leadership: Creating Space for Others to Learn

** What is Servant Leadership ?**
---------------------------------------------
Servant Leadership emphasizes collaboration, empathy, and the ethical use of power. At heart, the individual is a servant first, making the conscious decision to lead in order to better serve others, not to increase their own power. The objective is to enhance the growth of individuals in the organization and increase teamwork and personal involvement.

Robert Greenleaf is recognized as the father of servant leadership. Greenleaf described servant leadership in this manner:

"It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead…The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: do those served grow as persons, do they grow while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?"
** How is this Relevant? **
---------------------------------------------
You can see from this that it’s a ‘frame of mind’ that influences the actions you might take. I love the example of a conversation I recently had with a client. We were looking at all the things he’s doing to successfully make the shift into a larger role that he has taken on in the company. Part of it includes his establishing and defining a new function in the company and hiring more people. He said to me, “Lynn, I consciously build in more time for my employees to complete tasks because many of them are new. I want to give them space to learn and make mistakes. So, sometimes projects take longer, but I know it’ll all work out on the back end and start to gain more momentum in time.”

I was so impressed that he had consciously made this decision and it certainly is the best thing to do in order to allow people to grow and it will also allow my client to function at a higher level as his people develop in their own abilities.

He realizes the importance of creating a learning environment so that his employees can develop into their role and take on more responsibility. This also contributes to higher employee engagement.

** Where Can You Apply This? **
---------------------------------------------
Whether you have direct responsibility for supervising other people or not, you definitely influence others in your organization. We can all apply the concepts of servant leadership. Where can you create more space for others to work a process? Where do you want to adopt this concept of serving others? It doesn’t have to be a big thing (to use a highly technical word). Even the most subtle gestures or conversations can have profound impacts on others.


Certified Leadership Coach Lynn Rousseau helps leaders trust their inner wisdom and convert it to action in order to take their next big career step. For more information and to get a copy of Lynn's free audio "4 Keys to Trusting Your Intuition: Without a Doubt!" visit http://www.TheConsciousLeader.com today.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Head and Heart: How to Have the Impact You Intend

As I've shared, I've been through big changes lately. I'm now single again and I have changed my name. The last couple of months have been a very exciting time for me and I'm finally adjusting to 'wearing' a new name and living in alignment with my true self.

Today I want to share with you a simple concept I've been using with my clients lately to bridge the head and heart in important conversations to have the impact you intend.

* Head and Heart Concept *

The concept works like this. If you have a situation with an individual in your work or personal life that you want to clear up, consider what part you want
more clarity (head or cognitive).

Then, consider how you want the person to feel as a result of the conversation with you (heart or emotions).

* Example *

I was recently coaching a client who was just promoted to VP of Human Resources. So, she cares about her new role and that she is perceived positively.

She finds out from her boss that a business unit President is feeling like this VP is being non-responsive to an issue that he cares a lot about. She hasn't even been made aware of the issue until the moment she is told about his perspective of her.

* Head Part *

This is the WHAT part of the communication. We looked at how she could approach him to get clarification about what he wants and needs. She could let him know she was made aware of his concern and that she was not previously informed about this until now.

She can communicate that she wants to make sure she fully understands what he wants and needs so that she can be responsive and take care of it for him.

* Heart Part *

This is the EMOTIONAL IMPACT you want the other person to experience in the communication.

Then I asked her, "How do you want him to feel towards you as a result of this conversation?" She had to think about that. I was looking for the emotional component of her intention and what she wanted to create during the conversation.

She realized that she wanted him to leave with a clear feeling that he is 'cared for' or 'taken care of'. I asked her, "What does it feel like when you know someone 'has your back'?" For the receiver (of being cared for), it increases trust and reduces worry and stress.

My coaching request to her was to anchor that feeling in her body and hold the intention of this president feeling very well taken care of. She doesn't have to say anything explicit, although she could. But, her carrying this intention and this energy into the room with her and it shifts the conversation.

Her words will come from this place. My experience is that it's much easier to find the words in the moment that are just right for the person and the situation if I get my 'state of being' in alignment with a positive intent.

* Experiment *

Allow yourself to recall a time or situation when someone took care of you or had your back. Give yourself a moment to replay this memory and take a few deep breaths to let you body feel it fully. I am willing to bet you notice your body start to relax and your breathing may get a little easier too.

When you positively change your 'state of being',you will positively impact others as well.

Certified Leadership Coach Lynn Rousseau helps leaders trust their inner wisdom and convert it to action in order to take their next big career step. For more information and to get a copy of Lynn's free audio "4 Keys to Trusting Your Intuition: Without a Doubt!" visit http://www.theconsciousleader.com/ today.