Walsh X Talk - DBA Candidate Nick Peoples
Summary
TLDRThis video script explores the transformative power of servant leadership, contrasting it with traditional authoritative leadership. It highlights the benefits of servant leadership, such as increased employee satisfaction, lower turnover rates, and higher productivity. Through personal anecdotes and examples from renowned leaders, the script emphasizes empathy, listening, empowerment, and service orientation as key tenets. It also addresses the challenges of servant leadership and provides actionable insights for leaders. Ultimately, the message is clear: successful leadership today is about influence, not authority, and putting people first leads to better organizational outcomes.
Takeaways
- đ The script discusses the shift from traditional authoritative leadership to a more empathetic and servant-based approach, emphasizing the importance of influence over control.
- đ„ It highlights the negative impacts of top-down management, such as worker burnout, job dissatisfaction, low morale, and high turnover rates.
- đ The key to successful leadership today is identified as influence rather than authority, with servant leaders focusing on the professional development of their team members.
- đ Traits of effective servant leaders include empathy, understanding, good listening, accountability, empowerment, transparency, and being open-minded.
- đĄ The script uses the example of Dimitri, a manager who genuinely cared for his team's personal and professional development, demonstrating the positive outcomes of servant leadership.
- đ It introduces Robert Greenleaf's concept of servant leadership, which emphasizes the well-being of those served and is based on behaviors and practices that prioritize people's needs.
- đ The four major tenants of servant leadership are empathy, listening, empowerment, and service orientation, which unlock a team's potential and lead to collective success.
- đ Prominent business figures like Jack Welch, Tony Hsieh, Herb Kelleher, and Susan Wojcicki are cited as examples of successful servant leaders in the industry.
- đĄ Susan Wojcicki's leadership philosophy, which includes acceptance of failure and cultivation of creativity, is highlighted as particularly effective.
- đ The script acknowledges the challenges faced by servant leaders, such as finding balance, delegation, conflict resolution, and measuring success, and suggests ways to overcome them.
- đ Statistics are shared to emphasize the benefits of servant leadership, including increased productivity and reduced turnover among satisfied employees.
- đ The importance of self-awareness, adaptability, and continuous learning for servant leaders is underscored, as well as the need for them to be in tune with their team's feelings and needs.
Q & A
What is the main theme of the video script discussing?
-The main theme of the video script is the concept of servant leadership, contrasting it with authoritative leadership, and discussing its benefits and challenges in a business context.
Why is authoritative leadership often criticized in the script?
-Authoritative leadership is criticized for causing worker burnout, job dissatisfaction, low morale, and high turnover rates due to its top-down approach that lacks empathy and does not consider the input of lower-level employees.
What does Kim Blanchard emphasize as the key to successful leadership today?
-Kim Blanchard emphasizes that the key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority, highlighting the power of servant leadership over authoritative leadership.
What are the common characteristics of favorite managers mentioned in the script?
-The common characteristics of favorite managers mentioned in the script include being empathetic, understanding, a good listener, accountable, empowering, transparent, and open-minded.
What is the difference between authoritative leadership and servant leadership according to the script?
-Authoritative leadership is about giving orders and controlling people, while servant leadership is about understanding the needs of the team, building influence through trust and respect, and focusing on the professional development of team members.
Who is Robert Greenleaf and what is his contribution to the concept of servant leadership?
-Robert Greenleaf is the founder of the modern servant leadership movement. He contributed by defining servant leadership as a non-traditional philosophy that emphasizes the wellbeing of those being served, rather than control or output.
What are the four major tenants of the servant leadership philosophy as mentioned in the script?
-The four major tenants of the servant leadership philosophy are empathy, listening, empowerment, and service orientation.
Why is the approach of Susan Wojcicki, the CEO of YouTube, considered effective in the script?
-Susan Wojcicki's approach is considered effective because she promotes acceptance of failure and cultivation of creativity, which allows her team to be imaginative and innovative without the fear of failure.
What are some challenges faced by servant leaders as discussed in the script?
-Some challenges faced by servant leaders include finding a balance between directive leadership and servant leadership, delegation, resolving conflicts, and measuring success in ways that align with the values of servant leadership.
What is the real-life example provided in the script about managing a team of customer care agents?
-The real-life example discusses the situation where the manager uses servant leadership principles to address Linda's feelings of inadequacy in her role, by empathizing with her, empowering her to lead in certain areas, and discussing her future plans and aspirations.
What are the key takeaways from the script regarding servant leadership?
-The key takeaways are to use servant leadership as a platform to build a personal style, be adaptable, take a hybrid approach combining servant leadership with authoritative actions when necessary, and set clear expectations while holding the team accountable.
Outlines
đŽïž Introduction to Authoritative Leadership
The paragraph introduces the concept of authoritative leadership through a conversation with a character named Peter. It highlights the common experiences with bossy and overbearing managers like Bill Lumberg, emphasizing top-down management's historical effectiveness in maintaining control within organizations but also noting the associated drawbacks like worker burnout, job dissatisfaction, and high turnover rates. The paragraph sets the stage for exploring more socially responsible business practices.
đ€ The Rise of Servant Leadership
This paragraph discusses the importance of servant leadership as a counter to traditional authoritative leadership. It mentions Kim Blanchard's view that influence, rather than authority, is key to successful leadership. The paragraph contrasts servant leaders, who are empathetic, understanding, and supportive, with authoritative leaders. It stresses that servant leaders prioritize the professional development of their team members and are dedicated to their success, thus fostering respect and a strong influence without the need for constant supervision.
đ Empathy and Listening in Leadership
The focus here is on the importance of empathy and active listening in servant leadership. The paragraph explains how servant leaders connect with their team members on a personal level, understanding their emotions, perspectives, and needs. By prioritizing empathy, these leaders build trust and strong relationships, which are essential for effective leadership. Additionally, it highlights how active listening creates an environment where team members feel valued and heard, leading to valuable insights and increased team cohesion.
đ Empowerment and Development
This paragraph emphasizes the role of empowerment and personal development in servant leadership. Servant leaders provide their team members with the autonomy, resources, and support needed to succeed, fostering a sense of ownership and accountability. By focusing on the well-being and development of their team, these leaders create a positive and inclusive organizational culture where everyone can thrive. Examples of successful servant leaders in business, such as Jack Welch, Tony Hsieh, and Susan Wojcicki, are mentioned to illustrate the effectiveness of this leadership style.
đŒ Personal Leadership Experience
The author shares a personal leadership experience with a team member named Linda. The paragraph discusses Linda's feelings of inadequacy in her current role and the author's plan to address this as a servant leader. The approach involves showing empathy, actively listening, and empowering Linda by finding ways for her to exhibit her leadership skills without overburdening her. The goal is to support Linda's personal and professional development, demonstrating the practical application of servant leadership principles.
đ Challenges and Adaptability in Servant Leadership
This paragraph explores the challenges faced by servant leaders, such as finding a balance between directive and servant leadership, delegation, conflict resolution, and measuring success. It emphasizes the need for flexibility, setting clear expectations, and leading by example to overcome these challenges. The author reflects on their own experiences, acknowledging failures and learning from them to improve their leadership approach. The paragraph concludes with key takeaways for aspiring servant leaders, including adaptability, a hybrid approach, and maintaining a focus on team well-being and development.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄAuthoritative Leadership
đĄServant Leadership
đĄEmpathy
đĄInfluence
đĄEmpowerment
đĄEmployee Well-being
đĄJob Satisfaction
đĄTurnover
đĄTrust
đĄProfessional Development
Highlights
The classic example of an authoritative leader is Bill Lumberg, who is bossy, overbearing, and non-empathetic.
Top-down management has been the standard of business operation, maintaining control within an organization.
While top-down management creates massive brands, it often leads to worker burnout, job dissatisfaction, low morale, and high turnover rates.
Servant leadership focuses on influence, not authority, and is about giving orders and controlling people.
Empathetic, understanding, accountable, empowering, transparent, and open-minded are common traits of servant leaders.
Servant leaders are dedicated to the professional development of those they lead and are genuinely interested in their team members' lives and goals.
Servant leadership cultivates deep empathy, allowing leaders to connect with others and respond with compassion and understanding.
Servant leaders empower their team members by providing autonomy, resources, and support, fostering a sense of ownership and accountability.
At the core of servant leadership is a commitment to serving others, prioritizing the well-being and development of team members.
Servant leaders create a positive and inclusive organizational culture where everyone can thrive.
Examples of successful servant leaders include Jack Welch, Tony Shay, Herb Kelleher, and Susan Wojcicki.
Servant leaders face challenges such as balancing directive leadership, delegation, resolving conflicts, and measuring success.
To overcome challenges, servant leaders must be flexible, adaptable, and set clear expectations while leading by example.
A real-life example from the speaker's career demonstrates the importance of empathy, empowerment, and personal development in servant leadership.
Employees with high job satisfaction are up to 31% more productive and 87% less likely to leave their organization, promoting the benefits of servant leadership.
Transcripts
[Music]
hello Peter what's happening
um I'm going to need you to go ahead and
come in
tomorrow so if you could be here
around 9 that would be great
okay oh oh and I almost forgot
um I'm also going to need you to go
ahead and come in on Sunday too okay we
um lost some people this week and uh we
need to sort of play
catchup thanks yeah we've all
encountered a bill Lumberg type manager
in our professional careers you know the
classic example of an authoritative
leader he's bossy he's overbear ing he's
crash he's non-empathetic he's
cold he's
self-serving top- down management has
been the standard of business operation
basically since business started I mean
it does make logical sense though right
that's how you maintain control of
people within an
organization executive level managers
make decisions usually on their own
accord those decisions flow down the
chain to mid-level managers who
eventually trickle it down to the
laborers who really have little to no
input in the business process
decisions this top- down approach it is
a solid way to run an organization and
it has worked to create massive brands
with billions of dollars of yearly
Revenue but at what
cost you got worker burnout you got job
dissatisfaction you got low morality and
high turnover rates
that's been the common theme amongst
many of these largest companies that you
know of
today so how can we get strong business
results while also being socially
responsible especially to the people who
run our
companies businesses interested in truly
cultivating their most valuable assets
human capital make a Comm commitment to
encouraging serving leadership amongst
their organizational
leaders so legendary business consultant
Kim Blanchard he most famously told us
that the key to successful leadership
today is
influence not
Authority wait let me rewind that back
let me say that
again the key to successful leadership
today is INF fluence not
Authority authoritative leadership is
about giving orders and controlling
people servant leaders on the other hand
understand that influence is more
powerful than
control think about your entire
professional
career especially your time and entry
level positions what were the common
characteristics of your favorite
managers I would be willing to bet that
empathetic is on that list your favorite
manager was probably also understanding
a good listener accountable empowering
transparent
open-minded these are all traits of
social uh servant
leaders a true servant leader is
dedicated to the professional
development of those he or she is
leading people follow and respect
servant leaders because they know that
their leader actually car
Progressive companies and Executives
know that servant leadership is the wave
of the
future so as I hearken back to my own
professional career out of the dozens of
managers that I've personally
encountered there is one
manager that I can remember that stands
out his name was Dimitri oh man Demitri
was he was a character like like really
and uh he was the manager in our call
center uh that I was working in early in
my career I was a rep and Demitri was my
direct
report his leadership style was special
to me because his approach was so
genuine personal and
Progressive now don't get me wrong I'm
not saying Dmitri was trying to be our
friend more than our manager what I am
saying though is Dmitri realized that
his authority was already established by
the title the company had given him and
he didn't feel a need to remind us of
that all the time Demitri was more
interested in getting to know his team
members on a professional level to
better understand our inherent strengths
and
weaknesses you know Dimitri he really
showed an interest in our personal life
our stories our family milestones and
our personal
goals for example in our meetings of
course we definitely discuss business so
things like kpis customer issues process
changes Etc you know what you would
discuss in a meeting normally the thing
that's different about him was Dmitri
was always sure to carve out time at the
beginning of each meeting for us to have
our water cooler time to collect L catch
up with each other and share stories you
know Dimitri was intentional though
about asking about updates on what was
going on in our lives and you can tell
that Demitri actually cared that's the
difference from this personal knowledge
of his team members Dmitri knew how to
best train and communicate with each of
us individually as well as how to best
motivate each of us to perform the best
in our roles
as I think about it Dimitri was also
invested in our personal
development Not only was he encouraging
us to educate ourselves within the
company departments and roles but he
also wanted to educate us for our
personal
career Dimitri treated his Department
like like a launching pad where you were
almost expected to graduate into
something bigger and better for your
life and I'll never forget the time
Dimitri told me turnover can be good
when the destination leads to something
greater you know we respected and worked
hard for
Demitri because we knew that he had our
backs and most importantly we didn't
want to let him
down Demitri was able to leverage that
respect into a strong influence that
allowed him to efficiently lead us with
minimal supervision
as a servant
leader I'd say Dimitri taught me how to
build influence among my
teammates by being a servant to those
who I
lead that brings me to the point of this
talk we will discuss the transformative
potential of adopting a servant
leadership
approach we will fully examine this
style to uncover the benefits and the
challenges of being a servant leader
in the end it will become evident that
servant leadership is the preferred and
the most effective style of leading
teams of people at this
point I probably said the word servant
and or leadership over 10 times but what
does servant leadership really
mean what is the philosophy of the
style Robert Greenleaf the founder of
the modern servant leadership movement
tells us in his essay the servant as
leader that servant leadership is a
non-traditional philosophy embedded in a
set of behaviors and practices that
place the primary emphasis on the
wellbeing of those we
serve if you notice in this definition
you didn't hear the word control or
output or
management servant leadership is a about
leading a team by first being dedicated
to the
people garnering the respect of those
you are leading by being invested in
their success not only in their working
roles but also in their overall careers
or personal
lives so there's four major tenants of
the servant leadership philosophy you've
got empathy you've got listening you've
got empowerment and you've got the
service orientation
these factors is what plays a key role
in unlocking your team's true potential
and the collective
success servant leaders we have a
tendency to cultivate a deep sense of
empathy allowing us to connect with
others on a personal level and respond
to their concerns with compassion and
understanding we prioritize
understanding the emotions perspectives
and needs of our team
members serving leaders we are also
attentive listeners who actively seek
input from our team members we create an
environment where individuals feel
comfortable expressing their ideas their
opinions and their concerns knowing that
their voices will be heard and
valued what can happen when you listen
to attentively by listening attentively
we gain valuable insights and build
strong relationships with our team
members based on trust and
respect servant leaders we Empower our
team members by providing them with the
autonomy the resources and the support
they need to
succeed we delegate the authority and
responsibility allowing uh individuals
to take ownership of their work and
contribute to the organization's goals
by empowering others servant leaders
Foster a sense of ownership think about
that word
ownership and accountability within the
team leading to increased engagement and
motivation at the core of servant
leadership is a commitment to serving
others servant leaders prioritize the
well-being and development of their team
members going above and beyond to
support them in achieving their goals
and fulfilling their
potential we lead by example we
demonstrate
selflessness humility and a willingness
to put the needs of others before our
own by serving as a catalyst for growth
and
development servant leaders create a
positive and inclusive organizational
culture
where
everyone everybody can
Thrive some of the biggest names in
business today they employ a servant
leadership style they know that this is
the best style to use so you got people
like Jack Welch the former CEO of
General Electric Tony Shay the CEO of
zapo herb kellerer the former CEO of
Southwest Airlines and my personal
favorite Youtube CEO Susan wki Susan is
a special case though because her
leadership style is so effective that
she was able to help lead two not one
but two of the biggest tech companies to
massive successes first starting at
Google then moving over to
YouTube Some of Susan's most profound
philosophies about leadership are
acceptance of failure and cultivation of
creativity Susan famously says to
acknowledge your failure instead of
making excuses for it think about that
for a
second the sooner you can acknowledge
the failure you the faster you can begin
correcting it and learning from
it as a servant leader Susan makes space
for her team to
fail understanding that failure is
inevitable and it's the first step in
success removing that fear failure from
her team Susan allows them to be as
imaginative and creative as
possible this seemingly simple
leadership philosophy has led to the
creation of some of today's most
Innovative Tech
products so now servant leadership is
not without its challenges don't get me
wrong sometimes servant leaders struggle
with things like finding balance between
directive leadership and servant
leadership
delegation resolving conflicts and
measuring
success interestingly enough many of
these are the challenges that I
personally struggle with in my
leadership
career it can be difficult at times to
be assertive and hand down directives
when you're used to a more passive
approach this is why servant leaders
must be flexible enough to adapt by
altering approaches setting clear
expectations building
trust and leading by
example enforcing the accountability
based on set expectations was crucial
for a servant leader to not be walked
over so now while servant leaders aim to
Empower each other or others excuse me
they may struggle sometimes with
delegation particularly when they have
high standards or perfectionist
Tendencies again that's me
perfectionists letting go of control and
trusting others to take tasks on can be
difficult but it's essential for
fostering growth and development within
your team let's talk about conflict
resolution conflict resolution can be
particular L challenging for servant
leaders when they uh prioritize
maintaining positive relationships and
Harmony within the team addressing
conflicts headon while still upholding
the values of empathy and understanding
that can require some tax and some
diplomacy looking at the metric of
success the traditional metric of
success such as profitability or
productivity may not always align with
the values of servant leadership which
focuses more on employee well-being and
development finding meaningful ways to
measure the impact of serving leadership
practices can sometimes be difficult to
overcome the challenges of measuring
success in serving leadership a leader
can start by redefining traditional me
me metrics to include indicators of
employee well-being satisfaction and
development
this may involve implementing regular
feedback mechanisms conducting employee
surveys and tracking metrics related to
employee engagement retention and
growth addressing the challenges of
servant leadership philosophy it really
requires a deep commitment to the
principles of servant leadership as well
as an ongoing
self-awareness
communication and adaptability
we'll talk more about that later it's
not always easy but the rewards in terms
of Employee Engagement satisfaction and
organizational success can be
substantial so let's transition let's
explore a real life example from my
management career
today I manage a team of customer care
agents my team is unique though in that
they are not just all uh phone answerers
but each has a unique job that's related
to customer care initiatives of the
company I won't bore you with too many
of the details of the Team Dynamics but
we have a pretty closely Nick group and
each of my team members are about as
atomous as an employee can be and I love
it my lead agent we'll call
her Linda used to be the leader of the
team but decided to step down to be able
to focus more on her personal life when
I got hired she was the one who trained
me um and since has been an exceptional
right-hand partner for me I can trust
and lean on Linda for
everything of everyone of the team
Linda's probably the closest to me um
she and I have the most interactions
during our normal work day and work week
so now it's time for Linda's annual
review
next month in preparation we use a
questionnaire to gather information
about the employees year and review the
questionnaire focuses on things like how
well the employee communicates how
receptive they are to change how
efficient they are at their jobs the
ways that the employee has leaned or
made their job more
efficient um how well they work within
the
team so the questionnaire uh it gets
sent
to um the employee three of their peers
and the leader of the team to get a
well-rounded scope of the employees
performance we are instructed to offer
feedback of our perspective of the
employees performance which includes
pointing out areas for improvement when
I filled out Linda's review I had
nothing but great things to say about
her she's closest you can get to perfect
her performance her character just all
great I was able to give deep feedback
because I know Linda not only in a
professional capacity but I also know a
lot about her as a person I have always
been intentional about learning and
understanding my team members as humans
first then as a member of the team or an
employee of the company but I see them
as humans first
upon reading Linda's assessment of her
own performance I was surprised to see
some of the personal Reflections and
feelings that I was not aware of that
Linda had Linda
writes where I struggle most is knowing
the scope of my responsibilities today
when I formally led the team the skills
I developed as the team lead are still
there but not being used in the same
capacity as a result I'm feeling a sense
of purpose is missing right now I hope
there's something down the road that
will better fit my skill set so what
does a servant leader do in a situation
like this how can I best acknowledge
Linda's feelings of inadequacy in her
role when there's no plans to change her
role what action plan can I offer Linda
to show her that I'm going to help her I
figured that my plan should start with
empathy I already empathize with Linda
as I'm reading her words uh and
absorbing her perspective I will show my
empathy by restating her words to show I
understand and offering my own examples
of similar feelings that I've had in my
own career I plan to make Linda feel
heard by asking her to elaborate on her
written words and actively listening
while she speaks though using verbal and
nonverbal cues I plan to show Linda that
I'm receiving everything that she's
saying and absorbing her
points I plan to empower Linda by
working with her to find ways she can
exhibit her leadership skills to the
rest of the team without putting too
many extra tasks on her plate we will
work together to identify areas and
situations where she can take the helm
and Lead members of the team also I plan
to utilize her more often in making
decisions on departmental processes and
procedures overall though I will uphold
my servantship to Linda by showing true
care and concern not just for her output
as a member of this team but also for
her personal well-being and career
goals Linda and myself will discuss her
future plans and aspirations whether
they are within this company or
elsewhere doesn't really matter as long
as she
progresses I'll do my best to help Linda
evolve as a professional that's my job
as the servant leader I plan to show
Linda that my goal is helping her reach
her goals and of
course I expect to give her a nice fat
raise uh at the end of it all because
she's an exceptional
worker as I was thinking about Linda I
started thinking about
my failure
here I had to come to the realization
that I failed Linda I failed her because
she had these feelings all the time and
I never knew I didn't know because I
never
asked a servant leader is constantly in
tune with his team and the only way to
maintain that is by asking impactful
questions especially during the
one-on-one check-in
meetings so in the spirit of suan would
checky acknowledgement of my fail
failure offers me an important
opportunity to find a valuable
lesson this has taught me to be more
intentional in my one-on-one meetings
about understanding my team going
forward I will craft better questions to
help promote and excuse me to help probe
the truest feelings of my team members
so I can be of service to them sooner as
a servant leader my overall intuition
has really been enhanced through this
situation learning from my
failures most important here so let's
talk
takeaways uh my career as a servant
leader has been full of failures and
successes the lessons from both they
have really shaped my perspective and I
have found some key takeaways here
number one use the servant leadership
philos phos ophy as a platform to build
your personal style around it's not
meant to be a set of rules to be
strictly
followed two be adaptable don't be so
rigid or indoctrinated by one leadership
philosophy that you can't be quick on
your feet when different situations
arise number
three take a hybrid
approach service to your team it should
be the foundation of all your decisions
and actions but when you need to take
charge deliver directives and be more
authoritative do that but do that in a
respectful
way
four set clear expectations of your team
from the
beginning have the team agree to the
expectations the most important part
hold the team accountable for for
meeting the agreed upon
expectations your team will gladly
follow you and work hard when they know
that you're leading with care but you
also have their best interest at heart
and not your own
self-interest so I'll close by offering
a few
statistics employees with high job
satisfaction are up to 31%
more productive think about that happy
equals
productive delighted
employees are
87% less likely to leave their
organization that's from HR
magazine leadership is it's not a
perfect science and servant leadership
is not some miracle answer to all the
world's business
problems but it is meant to provide a
solid foundation for you to base your
leadership style
around job satisfaction that's a key
driver for turnover productivity but
also team
Synergy servant leadership promotes job
satisfaction because the philosophy puts
people
first the days of the simple manager are
dying out because people are demanding
more from their their
employers today's Forward Thinking
companies are recruiting leaders over
supervisors leaders who can inspire
people to move on one Accord towards
company goals servant leadership is in
its Renaissance and the wave of the
future now the only question that
remains is will you
serf or will you
sink thank you for your time
[Music]
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