Lean Leadership 4--Servant Leadership

“Jaded Julie, even though you couldn’t stay for the whole orchestra concert, did you enjoy what you heard?”

"It was great, and as you advised, I listened intently. The first violins all played the same melody, but sometimes the woodwinds or the brass played something different. But it fit together beautifully.”

“That was a countermelody. If the whole orchestra had played exactly the same notes, it might have sounded like a grade-school band. You have observed that when something extra is added to a simple theme, the combined effect is enhanced.”

“I’ve got it, Curmudge. But what does this have to do with Lean? If there’s no connection, this posting will end up in the wastebasket.”

“I used countermelody, Julie, as a metaphor for servant leadership. If you can combine servant leadership with Lean leadership, your performance as a Lean leader will be greatly improved.”

“We talked about servant leadership over three years ago, on May 8, 2008 and also on May 15 and 22. I agree that it’s time for a refresher.”

“Let’s skip the history of servant leadership and get right to today’s lesson. Most of what we will share with readers is found in books by James C. Hunter (1, 2). In fact, much of this posting will simply be quotations from Hunter’s second book. We’ll also reference the statements of authorities that Hunter quoted.”

“Curmudge, I understand that Lean and servant leadership are complementary, but how do they differ?”

“Pretty simple. Lean is organizational; servant leadership is personal. Lean is the organizational culture that we are trying to develop. Servant leadership describes the character that should be a part of a truly successful leader. If all of the managers in an organization were servant leaders, pulling off a Lean transformation should be a slam-dunk.”

“We know intuitively what character means, but how does Hunter define it in the servant leadership context?”

“ ‘Character is our moral maturity and commitment to doing the right thing regardless of personal costs. Character involves the will to respond to stimuli according to values and principles rather than to appetites, urges, whims, or impulses.’ Here are some of the essentials of good character: patience, kindness, humility, respect, selflessness, forgiveness, honesty, and commitment.“

“Presumably, these are also essentials of leadership. Here are some things that others have said about character and leadership: ‘Ninety-nine percent of leadership failures are failures of character (3).’ ‘Leadership is character in action (4).’ ‘There are no weak platoons—only weak leaders (5).’ “

“Julie, we must have said this back in 2008, but it’s worth repeating: Leadership is ‘the skills of influencing people to enthusiastically work toward goals identified as being for the common good, with character that inspires confidence.’ “

“Okay, we’ve tied leadership to character, but how does ‘servant’ enter the picture?”

“Here it is at the most basic level: ‘If you choose to lead, you must serve (6).’ It’s simpler if you consider The Law of the Harvest; you reap what you sow. ‘You sow service and sacrifice; you extend yourself for others and seek their greatest good; you will build influence with them.’ “

“But in the world of commerce and even health care, the word ‘servant’ sounds a bit wimpish.”

“Don’t confuse a servant leader with being a total ‘Mr. Nice Guy,’ Julie. Here’s what Hunter says: ‘The servant leader does not abdicate responsibility to define the mission, set rules governing behavior, set standards, or define accountability. Then the leader helps people meet their legitimate needs so they can become the best they are capable of becoming and effectively accomplish the mission.’ Note that Hunter said ‘needs’ and not ‘wants.’ He illustrates that in this way: ‘If you get your people what they need, they will get you everything that you need. Our leadership will be defined not by what we accomplish but by what we get accomplished through others.’ “

“Old Guy, it looks as if we’ve presented some of the most important elements of servant leadership. I trust that next time we’ll relate servant leadership more closely with Lean leadership.”

Affinity’s Kaizen Curmudgeon

(1) Hunter, James C. The Servant (Crown Business, 1998)
(2) Hunter, James C. The World’s Most Powerful Leadership Principle (Crown Business, 2004)
(3) Schwarzkopf, Norman
(4) Bennis, Warren
(5) Creech, William
(6) Book of Matthew (paraphrased)