These Are the Top Characteristics of a Servant Leader - How Many Do You Have?

The nature of a servant leader is to be a developer, a listener, and a coach. However, in addition to those qualities and characteristics, there are some additional attributes that I believe are worth exploring. As you (and I) and continue the journey to become a more effective servant leader, a good place to start is to assess our current state and understand how many of these characteristics we employ on a consistent basis.

Some Initial Qualities

As I mentioned above, some characteristics have been repeated throughout the earlier articles What is a Servant Leader, Servant Leadership is Not Weak Leadership, Examples of Servant Leaders, and Creating Engagement Through Servant Leadership on what makes a servant leader. Some of the more obvious are actively listening, developing strong leaders for the future, or being outwardly focused. There are others that may be more subtle but equally important.

Building Trust

Almost any effective leader will build trust. Trust is established through one’s actions over a period of time. When someone is spending their time to serve your needs, that will build trust. You believe that they have your best interests in mind. You feel comfortable sharing with them, and in turn, they continue to provide feedback and coaching that leads to further learning.

Defines a Vision

Knowing where someone is going will make it easier to follow a leader. Servant leaders share, share, share their vision, so everyone knows the direction they are headed. They will ensure that everyone has the knowledge they need to reach the same destination.

Self-Aware

At the beginning of the article, I mentioned taking some time to assess your progress on your journey towards servant leadership. Being honest with yourself and being self-aware is a characteristic of being a servant leader. Having that knowledge allows you to not only work on any improvements you need to make but also to seek that feedback and coaching from those you serve. Letting others around you know where you need help is not only beneficial in improving, but helps to build trust, create empathy within the team, and enable an environment where others are willing to share their opportunities as well. Being vulnerable as a leader is a quality of strength.

Diversity of Thought

Thinking outside the box isn’t just a cliche, it is a skill. To heighten and maximize the idea of thinking differently, servant leaders will seek out people with different points of view. Think about those examples of servant leaders. Do you believe they only had their own ideas? No. It is well documented that they had many people around them that they sought an opinion from, included their ideas, and continued to look for new thoughts from people that were not just like them. Thinking outside the box also means to think outside your circle of friends, coworkers, or influence.

Humble, someone who serves with humility

Once you believe that servant leadership is not weak leadership, then this attribute begins to make more sense. Because servant leaders see their role as being in service to others, they are humble in their actions. They do not seek the limelight, they are not looking for attention, and they happily share in the success of those around them. They do not feel the need to ‘be the smartest person in the room.’ And even if they are (and many times they are, and people just don’t know it), their agenda is a greater good and not about their knowledge or ideas. Perhaps the most ironic thing about servant leaders is they do not seek any of the glory or recognition of their efforts, yet time will define them as among the most successful, empowering people who make a difference.

Celebrate winning

Servant leaders push people to be their best, and with that comes many successes along the way. These leaders always celebrate those wins. Not only does it reinforce the behaviors that got you there, but they know that everyone wants to take time revel in what he or she has achieved. Servant leadership does deliver results (we will discuss that more), and they take the time to call those wins out and celebrate.I could continue to define various additional qualities that define servant leaders. I encourage you to research the topic further to find more qualities that matter most to you in your quest for servant leadership. An excellent article, How to Manage with Servant Leadership from ProjectManager.com has a checklist of servant leadership qualities, many of which we just discussed. Servant leadership is not made up of a list of behaviors to ‘complete,’ it is the consistent behaviors of these characteristics that make a leader, a servant leader.Serving as a leader is not something that can be started and stopped, used only when needed. It is a way of being. It is a choice.Are there other characteristics you see in servant leaders? Which areas do you feel you are strongest in? How does that help you lead? Share your ideas in the comments section.Join other retail leaders in continuing their development journey with Effective Retail Leader.com. SUBSCRIBE today to receive leadership tips directly to your inbox and monthly newsletters that provide many tools to help further develop your leadership skills. JOIN NOW!No spam ever - just leadership goodness.