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November,
2009
Activity
Update
Greetings
and welcome to the November edition of Servant-Leadership
Solutions. I hope that Autumn is treating you well, and
that you've enjoyed the changing of the leaves.
At
the end of October, I traveled to Camp Lejeune (which I
learned is pronounced Le-jern; named in honor of a famous
Marine Corps general) for their annual Fall Tent Sale event.
The Learning Dock was there with a booth for Teach Me Bass
Guitar - the instructional DVD I mentioned last issue. While
there I got to know TLD's Shipping/Fulfillment director,
Brie Prtchard and her husband Jordan, who is working with
me in sales. I also got to know their wonderful children,
Val and Colby, and two lovable Cockapoos, Sofi and Creek.
Earlier
this month, I had another meeting with Larry Spears, and
he brought exciting news. Larry asked me (and of course
I accepted!) to join the Board of Trustees for the Spears
Center for Servant-Leadership. I can't express how thrilled
and honored I am by this new opportunity. In addition to
Larry, the Council of Equals (as the board is called) includes
George San Facon, Stephens Brooks and Paul Davis, all of
whom have been instrumental in the promotion of servant-leadership
here and around the world. I met them earlier this year,
and can't wait to work side by side with such renowned servant-leadership
practitioners.
Larry
also invited me to submit essays for several new book projects.
In addition, we renewed our commitment to write a book together.
It appears that I will have quite a bit to keep me busy
in the long winter months ahead. My sincere thanks to Larry
for his faith in me, and his continued support of my work.
For
those interested, you can read the
press release here.
This
week, I gave a presentation to the Downtown Danville Rotary
Club. While Danville
Foodstock was the main subject, I also talked quite
a bit about servant-leadership in the community. I've long
admired the Rotary Club and believe that they practice servant-leadership
in the communities they serve, even though they don't yet
use the term. For example, their Four-Way Test (Is it the
truth; is it fair so all concerned; will it build goodwill
and better friendships; will it be beneficial to all concerned?)
embodies servant-leadership principles.
I
readily admit that I welcome any opportunity to talk about
the Foodstock philosophy, what we're doing and how, and
invite others to participate, or start their own chapter.
As far as I'm concerned, the more the merrier. Obviously,
I feel the same way about servant-leadership, and it's always
part of the talks I give about the charity. Next week, I'll
give another presentation in nearby Urbana. If you'd like
to attend, feel free to send
me an email.
Promoting
Servant-Leadership in Your Organization
So
often, we think that in order to create change within an
organization or business, we have to be near the top of
the ladder. While it's true that you can do more as you
climb the ladder of success, you don't have to wait till
you're on the top rung to make things happen.
Robert
K. Greenleaf - the patron saint of servant-leadership -
began at the bottom when he joined ATT. Greenleaf followed
the recommendation of Oscar Helming, a sociology professor
at Carleton College, to create change. Helming said that,
if one wanted to affect society, one of the best ways was
to work for one of the largest companies, climbing the ladder
to the point that you could affect the entire organization.
When Greenleaf graduated, ATT was the largest corporation
in the US, and so he set his sights on the top of their
ladder.
Greenleaf
began life at ATT on a work crew, digging telephone pole
holes. He readily admitted that he wasn't all that great
at digging, but his supervisors were very impressed with
his training abilities. He rose quickly through the ranks,
finally arriving in the executive offices where he became
known as ATT's management maverick. Thanks to his vision,
ATT became one of the most forward-thinking, employee-focused
companies of the time.
One
important aspect of Greenleaf's climb is that he didn't
wait until he was an executive to promote people-centered
business practices. He did it every step of the way - not
by talking, but by doing. As a young crew leader,
he worked hard to support every crew member. Later, as a
supervisor overseeing several crews, he did the same for
his crew leaders. As he climber the ladder, he was able
to affect more and more people at each step. In addition,
senior managers and executives took notice, and liked the
effect Greenleaf's methods had on their bottom line.
If
Greenleaf could do it, so can you and I. No matter where
you are in your organization, you can bring servant-leadership
to the table. Even if you have no employees to supervise,
you can use the servant-leader principles in every relationship.
The key is to be OK with starting small. Don't expect to
create change overnight, or to spread it beyond your own
sphere of influence, at least in the beginning. There's
a good chance that when your team begins to excel, others
are going to want to know your secret.
An
excellent case in point involves a very large consulting
firm, specializing in creating custom software for their
clients, then maintaining both software and hardware on
an ongoing basis. Their greatest challenge was finding good
managers among the software geniuses that made up their
project teams. (NOTE: Just because a person is great at
their job, whether it be software programming, sales, accounting,
doesn't mean they can be great leaders.)
A
new manager was hired from outside the company - not for
her software expertise (she had none), but for her team
building and leadership skills. At first, she met some resistance
from other managers as well as from her new teams. However,
as the teams came to understand her management philosophy,
and saw that she really was looking out for their best interests,
their resistance quickly diminished.
The
team building strategies began to work their special magic.
Team members learned to cooperate, and began to see each
other as partners in success - and as friends on a common
path. The numbers quickly turned around; productivity and
output equality improved significantly. Within a few months,
every team she managed was at the top of the charts, ahead
of schedule when it had been behind, and under budget.
It
wasn't long before other project managers began to ask her
advice on leadership. As they began to implement her suggestions,
their teams also quickly improved significantly. Within
a year, she was promoted to a position overseeing a group
of six project managers (each with several teams). Less
than a year after that, she was running an entire division,
with more than a thousand people under her umbrella. By
the time she left the company ten years later, she had completely
changed how a mega-corporation managed its software teams,
literally affecting more than ten thousand individuals,
not to mention the impact she may have had in other areas.
No
matter where you are, or the number of people under your
supervision, you can make a beginning. There's no need to
preach; just do the work. Others will see the results and
respond. And that is how you can promote servant-leadership
in any organization.
Resource
- Organization
Rotary
International
As
I wrote above, Rotarians are servant-leaders, even though
they may not use the term. If you're looking for a good
way to get involved in supporting your community, the Rotary
Club would be a great place to start.
Rotary
International Web Site
Quick
Tip - Take Time to Reflect and Recharge
Many
years ago, I read about a young man in the DC area who,
while still a teenager, had become a very well-to-do real
estate owner. (We're talking a $100M dollar empire.) One
thing that impressed me was the fact that he took a daily
pause in the middle of his day to clear his mind, to reflect
on the first part of the day as well as what was on his
plate for the afternoon, and to recharge his batteries.
He did this every day after lunch.
His
way of recharging was to sit under his favorite tree in
a nearby pocket park, close his eyes, and breathe. Of course,
when it was raining he would choose an alternate location.
Likewise, if was not in his home area, he would find a quiet
spot wherever he was. For fifteen minutes, he let the world
turn without his help while he focused on recentering himself
in preparation for the afternoon.
The
key is to find a quiet place for your pause. No, your cubicle
won't do; neither will the employee lounge or restroom.
Find a spot where you can get away from most distractions
and ignore the one or two that might persist, such as traffic
noise. If necessary, especially in the beginning, set the
alarm on your cell phone to chime in fifteen minutes.
Try
this for a week, then let me know your thoughts.
You've
Got Questions
Q:
I have an employee that seems to have a lot of personal
problems to deal with. His personal situation is negatively
affecting his performance. How do I handle this?
A:
The short answer is: With Empathy. However, there's more
to it than that. First, recognize that many under-performing
employees don't want to be doing poorly. They'd much
prefer to do better. A good servant-leader will help them
explore solutions. Help your troubled team mate by exploring
their options. If the solution is a temporarily more flexible
schedule, do what you can to create it.
One
difficult but important aspect of these situations is that
other team mates will expect equal consideration if/when
they have personal crises. Remember that what you do for
one, you should be willing to for all. There are
limits to how far you can stretch the boundaries, and it's
important that everyone enjoys the same guidelines without
favoritism.
Thought
for the day
Grant
me the ability to be alone; may it be my way every day to
go outdoors among the trees and the grasses, among all growing
things, and there may I be alone, to talk with the one that
I belong to.
The prayer of Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav
End
of Servant-Leadership Solutions V2009, #9, a publication
of:
Lane Baldwin Servant-Leadership Solutions
My business is improving yours.™
Copyright
by Lane Baldwin Servant-Leadership Solutions, 2009. Reprinting
or republication of Servant-Leadership Solutions is prohibited
without prior approval.
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