If you’ve been following Zach on Leadership for any amount of time, you know that I’m all about servant leadership. It’s a regular theme on this blog. If you’d like an overview of my views on servant leadership, check out this article.

I’m in favor of it because it yields such good outcomes for everyone involved. The employees win, the customers win, and the leaders win. There aren’t any downsides.

Yet, some still resist this leadership philosophy. Some argue that servant leadership is too passive. Some perceive those attracted to servant leadership roles may lack the fortitude for “real” leadership.

In other words, servant leaders are wimps.

I can see how that perception can happen. Servant leaders prefer to delegate and empower rather than make authoritative decisions alone. They use their positional authority only as a last resort. They tend to elevate relationships over tasks. They make themselves approachable. They may be quiet in a room, choosing to listen rather than speak. They are often vulnerable and transparent about their shortcomings.

To the outside observer, these qualities may seem wimpy. Some onlookers may wonder, “Does this person have what it takes to lead when times get tough?”

Because of this perception issue, I thought I’d write an article about the strong, difficult, and non-wimpy things servant leaders must do in their roles.

Servant leadership is not for the weak.

1. Servant leaders take the blame. Everything is your fault. That can be hard to stomach. It’s so easy to throw someone under the bus. It’s so easy to blame the vendor. You can even blame your predecessor who isn’t here to defend himself. It takes real strength to bear your responsibility and take ownership of anything and everything that goes awry on your watch.
2. Servant leaders take criticism. Being a servant leader opens up a lot of avenues of communication and feedback, which means you’ll get an earful. Leadership and defensiveness don’t mix. It takes a lot of self-awareness and courage to listen to criticism. If this is a problem for you, I encourage you to work on it. This is a muscle that needs to be very strong.
3. Servant leaders protect the culture. Culture is everything. You’ve worked hard to build a culture where people feel safe and do their best work. Unfortunately, external forces and natural erosion will constantly threaten it. You must be on guard to defend and reinforce the positive culture you want every day. No one else will, and left alone, it will just decay.
4. Servant leaders stand on principle. Non-servant leaders can get overly political. They entertain “ends justify the means” thinking. They look for shortcuts. Servant leaders don’t use those tools but instead, lead on principle. This leaves fewer options to get the job done, which is certainly harder.
5. Servant leadership has a cost. People look at leadership roles and think about fancy titles, better pay, and respect. Few count the cost of what it will take to give of themself in service to their teams and their customers. Being a servant leader means choosing to put yourself last. It means finding ways to replenish so you don’t burn out, then do it all again tomorrow. This is not easy and requires a wellspring of strength and confidence to pull it off.
6. Servant leaders aren’t reluctant to deal with personnel issues. Nothing kills a team faster than unresolved personnel issues. Do you have a rockstar who’s also a jerk? How about someone who just isn’t pulling their weight? Do you have team members who just can’t get along? We know that we can’t afford to ignore those issues. They won’t go away on their own. They will spread like cancer. This work is often brutally difficult. If done well, few will know the gory details and what you personally sacrificed to get it handled. One thing is for sure: this requires the utmost strength, focus, and determination.

Servant leadership is for the strong.

That’s my list. Do you still think servant leaders are wimpy? If you are considering servant leadership, but this list makes you flinch, then perhaps you aren’t ready. If you are ready, then get ready for the battle. This job will require everything you’ve got.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download