Servant leaders are known for putting others before themselves in just about any situation. In a work setting, they take their employees’ views and ideas into consideration and support them in many ways. If a team is behind on a project, it’s a servant leader’s job to give a helping hand and help them reach their goal. Being a servant leader isn’t easy, so the leadership style must be learned over time. Here are some tips on how to be a better servant leader.
Listen
The better listener you are, the better of a servant leader you can be. In order to fully understand an employee, you need to commit to all conversations where they’re expressing their ideas or concerns. Some useful techniques to help yourself be a better listener are fixing your body language and avoiding interrupting them before talking. Never leave others without answers, and try your best to give feedback when necessary.
Empathy
By being more empathetic towards other people’s feelings, you can understand situations better. As hard as it may sound, putting yourself on hold and viewing things from another person’s viewpoint is an excellent trait of a servant leader. Try your best always to have an open mind and try not to shut out others because of their perspectives.
Health
Servant leaders should create a healthy work environment where employees can access support and resources to help them get their job done. If you’re not comfortable with your role, it can be challenging for people under you to give more energy. Servant leaders should be engaged and fulfilled in their part in order to make a positive impact on those around them.
Foresight
After years of experience as a servant leader, you can begin to get an idea of what is likely to happen at the end of some situations. Learning from experience is one of the greatest skills that anyone can hold. When your team of employees is going through hard times, be sure to help them identify the situation and understand how consequences can occur. Get everyone involved in a SWOT analysis to make decisions in the future.