Leaders Should Stop Leading And Start Serving

A leader’s job is simple. They help remove workplace barriers so people can be successful. It’s not much more complicated than that, yet we’ve complicated our mission by erecting leadership as a system above people. Leaders serve people, not vice versa. That’s the essence of servant leadership, a philosophy that leaders must rekindle today.

Servant leadership, with which societies have engaged for millennia, is getting a refresh in a workplace wrestling with change. Compounding workplace stress, challenging remote environments, increasing work loneliness and the growing AI disruption are fraying more nerves on the job. They’re also preventing teams from engaging with their companies, their managers and each other. 

In its 2024 State of the Global Workplace report, Gallup found once again that workplace engagement is static and well-being is worsening. And if low workplace engagement costs the global economy $8.9 trillion, as Gallup estimates, lifting that engagement is essential.

Leaders who serve achieve that more naturally and effectively than those who merely lead. A servant leader retains employees more consistently, creates more productivity and develops more engaged new leaders. They also serve a greater purpose. In a changing workplace, leaders who serve should be a constant.

What Makes a Good Servant Leader?

Robert K. Greenleaf, who spent nearly 40 years at AT&T before becoming a teacher and writer, introduced the term “servant leader” to the business lexicon in 1970. In his seminal essay “The Servant as Leader,” Greenleaf wrote that servant leadership “begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.”

Greenleaf’s thesis should be a leader’s starting line. A passion first to serve connects every entrepreneur, small-business owner, product manager and CEO to the same purpose. It forms the foundation on which leaders deploy their tools to empower teams.

Successful leaders know and cultivate the tools of engagement, which leadership expert Rachel Wells recently highlighted in a Forbes piece: empathy, selflessness, humility, vision and empowerment. The underlying act of service bonds these concepts into one question every servant leader asks: “How can I help you?”

Crucially, however, servant leadership requires a delineation between guiding and performing. Leaders often exhaust themselves, or even fail, by completing tasks rather than providing counsel. Servant leaders help employees remove impediments; they shouldn’t solve every crisis.

Why Servant Leaders Create More Productivity

Post-pandemic, companies have spent considerable time and money on wellness solutions. The global market for these products could grow to $94.6 billion by 2026. The goal of serving employee well-being through technology is noble, but, as Gallup CEO Jon Clifton writes, apps can’t fix what management neglects.

“It’s understandable when you consider that a major cause of workplace stress is not having the materials and equipment you need to do your job effectively,” Clifton writes. “That problem can’t be solved with a yoga mat; it requires action from management.”

Studies have demonstrated that servant leadership increases engagement, grows productivity and delivers healthy retention rates. One study conducted in Bangladesh found that servant leadership was among several factors in establishing a “significant positive relationship with retention” among Millennial employees.

Another study conducted at the University of Buffalo School of Management found that a “moderate increase in servant leadership” increased revenue by 6 percent. The study found that being “other-oriented” resulted in better decision-making and “more dollars to the company.”

“Our research questions longstanding assumptions that personally ambitious, self-focused employees would be most successful at driving organizations forward and suggests, instead, that leadership focused on others may provide cognitive reflection skills which can translate into greater financial performance,” the Buffalo study authors wrote.

Managers are struggling as much as employees. The Gallup survey found that managers “have more negative daily experiences” than non-managers and are more likely to be job-hunting. Helping others at work can help redirect this energy. 

Research has shown that people who help others benefit personally. UCLA researchers asked study participants to write either a note to a friend or a note on a general topic. Those who wrote supportive notes to friends reported lower stress. As an interesting companion, people who gave money to others, rather than spending it on themselves, showed lower rates of resting blood pressure.

Mental Health America reports that people who perform acts of kindness lower stress and increase happiness. Brain imaging supports this conclusion. Serving nurtures our biological need to care for others and to belong. It grounds our perspective. Translating these benefits to the workplace can boost struggling leaders and their teams.

How Servant Leaders Foster Better Leadership

I’m not a fan of typecasting people by age. Leaders must get to know their employees individually, and what motivates them can vary widely. However, Millennial and Gen Z employees generally bring different generational values to the workplace. As Gallup recently reported, Millennials and Gen Z want employers to value their well-being above everything else. For Generation X and Baby Boomers, an ethical employer was most important, representing a subtle shift in how generations view the workplace.

By serving employees and nurturing their talents, leaders help create a new line of leaders. Serving requires an individual touch and dynamic communication. Employees who receive this approach then internalize it. This encourages employees to solve problems, succeed and thrive independently, in turn building their foundation of servant leadership and furthering the cycle.

Servant leadership can have drawbacks. Burnout is a factor, especially for leaders who too often ask, “How can I help you?” Authors Lisa Earle McLeod and Elizabeth Lotardo suggested a new term: noble-purpose leadership. They call it a “nuanced, yet distinct shift” that organizes leadership strategy around shared purpose and responsibility rather than one person’s to-do list. It’s a compelling concept for leaders who find themselves exhausted at feeling as though their time has become another deliverable.

However, the underlying construct remains. Leaders build better workplace cultures by empowering their teams rather than tasking or ordering them. They foster a new generation of leaders within this culture. And they enrich themselves by serving.