How Great Leaders Serve The Team

The best leaders are those who truly learn to serve others.
They learn how to put employees first.
They learn how to flip the hierarchy.

Even though the hierarchy of most organizations flow from the many up to the few, the best leaders know that their job is actually to flip that hierarchy to help the many figure out how to do their best work.

There's been decades of research on varying models of leadership—transformational leadership, servant leadership, authentic leadership, and on and on—but while they differ in the details almost all are united in their assertion that leadership isn’t just about being in charge, but also about serving those in your charge.

But for all that is said and written about leaders as servants, there’s very few words about exactly how that is done. There’s a difference between taking care of your people and being taken advantage of by your people. So in this episode, we’ll outline five different ways great leaders serve their team not by giving up their power, but by using it to empower their team.

Remove What’s Blocking Their Progress
Invest In Growth and Development
Encourage Candor and Risk Taking
Foster Common Understanding
Remind Them Why They’re Working

There is a lot more to servant leadership than just these five simple actions. But what all five of these actions have in common is that they’re not about just blindly giving up power and turning all decisions and authority over to the team. That may work in some contexts. But more often, great leaders use the power given to them (by the organizational chart and by the consent of their team) to serve their team by providing for them what they can’t get on their own. Great leaders are servant leaders, not just servants. They know that because they’re in charge, they can better serve the people in their charge and help them do their best work ever.

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//ABOUT DAVID
One of the world’s leading business thinkers, David Burkus’ forward-thinking ideas and bestselling books are helping leaders and teams do their best work ever.

He is the best-selling author of four books about business and leadership. His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into dozens of languages. His insights on leadership and teamwork have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, USAToday, Fast Company, the Financial Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, CNN, the BBC, NPR, and CBS This Morning. Since 2017, Burkus has been ranked as one of the world’s top business thought leaders by Thinkers50. As a sought-after international speaker, his TED Talk has been viewed over 2 million times. He’s worked with leaders from organizations across all industries including Google, Stryker, Fidelity, Viacom, and even the US Naval Academy.

A former business school professor, Burkus holds a master’s degree in organizational psychology from the University of Oklahoma, and a doctorate in strategic leadership from Regent University.

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