Servant Leadership has recently created a paradigm shift in management training. The concept of Servant Leadership was first introduced by Robert K. Greenleaf in 1970 in his book “The Servant As Leader.” Servant Leadership is based on the principle that serving employees is more beneficial than dictating or punishing employees.

This management training concept is gaining acceptance and has recently began being implemented in more and more organizations. Servant leaders desire is to serve employees in any way possible to motivate them to become better people, more autonomous, more productive, more confident and happier within their work environment. The end result of this motivation is a more productive workforce where employees want to be servant leaders as well.

Servant Leadership management training teaches the servant leader to devote his energy towards meeting and exceeding the needs of employees by encouraging their skills and providing guidance to help them overcome their shortcomings. This helps employees become happier and more productive within their work environment which ultimately makes them more likely to remain loyal to their company.

This management training concept will help leaders create an environment within the workforce that is more productive, less stressful and more devoted. Ultimately servant leadership will create an overall feeling of contentment within a workforce. Employees will feel as if their relationship with their leader is more of a partnership rather than a dictatorship.

Starbucks is one company that has adopted the management training concept of Servant Leadership. Starbucks is a hugely successful corporation and one of the major reasons for this is the fact that have created a friendly and inviting atmosphere for its customers largely by creating an environment in which their employees are happy. Starbucks success and growth has been enviable and much of their success can be credited to their adoption of servant leadership as their corporate philosophy.

Servant Leadership management training teaches leaders to work in a partnership with their employees, which motivates them to work in a partnership with the customers. This creates a work environment where information flows from the decision-makers unimpeded and helps create a better customer experience that could not be achieved without that flow.

Here are ten characteristics of Servant Leader management training that are considered essential to the development of servant leaders:

Listening: The servant leader should listen to others in an effort to identity the will of the group.

Empathy: The servant leader should accept and recognize coworkers for their unique spirits.

Healing: Successful servant leaders should recognize the emotional pains of others and help to make whole the individuals they come in contact with.

Awareness: Servant leaders should be self-aware as well as aware of pertinent issues, especially those involving ethics and values.

Persuasion: The servant leader should seek to convince individuals rather than coerce them. The ability to build a consensus is seen as an asset.

Conceptualization: Servant leaders should have the ability to see what may be coming in the future but maintain the balance of looking ahead while keeping up with the day-to-day.

Foresight: Successful servant leaders should know the likely consequence that a decision will have on the future.

Stewardship: Servant leaders should motivate all stakeholders within an institution to maintain their trust for the betterment of society.

Commitment: The servant leader should be committed to the individuals within an organization as well as the organization itself.

Community Building: In order to build a community, servant leaders should lead the way by demonstrating their unlimited liability for a community-related association.

Bill Jenkins – About the Author:

Bill Jenkins is the Executive Director of the Office of Institutional Advancement for Grand Canyon University. For more information about Grand Canyon University, visit http://www.gcu.edu

Training Resource: A Grander Goal tells the true story of how one man went beyond simply “doing a job” and changed the lives of poor, unemployed young men in Uganda.

Many business owners and managers see corporate social responsibility (CSR) as something that’s ‘nice to do,’ but not really connected to growing the business and profits. Just the other day I had an experience that shows how wrong this is….

I took part in a training exercise where half the class pretended to be ‘employers’. The other half of the class pretended to be ‘potential employees.’ We (the ‘employers’) had to find a way to attract the ‘employees’ to come and work for us.

Sounds simple? Well I thought so. I was an employer offering flexible working hours, a great salary and career development. Yet my new recruits were undecided. But then I spoke about our corporate social responsibility program and they were suddenly a whole lot more enthusiastic. I signed them up.

Okay, so it was only a game. But it is a great example of how corporate social responsibility (CSR) can make all the difference to your competitive position. Initiatives such as pro bono work, philanthropy, support for community-building initiatives and environmental awareness can add significant value to your company, and if the program is well-designed, the benefits far outweigh the costs.

An easy way for your company to build its brand, reputation and public profile

Being socially responsible creates goodwill and a positive image for your brand. Trust and a good reputation are some of your company’s most valuable assets. In fact, without these, you wouldn’t even have a business. You can nurture these important assets by being socially responsible.

It is crucial, however, that you devise the right socially responsible program for your business. When used properly, it will open up a myriad of new relationships and opportunities. Not only will your success grow, but so will your company’s culture. It will become a culture which you, your staff and the wider community genuinely believe in.

Corporate Social Responsibility attracts and retains staff

Did you know that socially responsible companies report increased employee commitment, performance and job satisfaction?

Yes, it is in us all to want to do ‘good’ (and perhaps be recognised for it). Our lives become meaningful when we realise our work has made a positive difference in some way. It makes all our striving worth it. In fact, a 2003 Stanford University study found MBA graduates would sacrifice an average $13700 cut in their salary to work for a socially responsible company.

By attracting, retaining and engaging staff, ‘doing good’ for others reduces your recruitment costs and improves work productivity. It’s just plain good all ‘round!

Customers are attracted to socially responsible companies

Branding your business as ‘socially responsible’ differentiates you from your competitors. The Body Shop and Westpac are companies who have used this to their advantage. Developing innovative products that are environmentally or socially responsible adds value and gives people a good reason to buy from you.

Corporate Social Responsibility attracts investors

Investors and financiers are attracted to companies who are socially responsible. These decision-makers know this reflects good management and a positive reputation. Don’t underestimate this influence; it can be just as important as your company’s financial performance. In fact, it may be the deciding factor in choosing to support your company.

Corporate Social Responsibility encourages professional (and personal) growth

Your staff can develop their leadership and project management skills through a well-designed corporate social responsibility program. This may be as simple as team-building exercises or encouraging your employees to form relationships with people they would not normally meet (like disadvantaged groups).

Corporate Social Responsibility helps to cut your business costs

Environmental initiatives such as recycling and conserving energy increase in-house efficiency and cut costs. Introducing a corporate social responsibility program gives you a good reason to examine and improve on your spending!

Two important tips for you

Before you rush into your own corporate social responsibility program, remember:

* You must implement your program strategically. Just giving a donation is not enough. The best corporate social responsibility programs are based on a two-way relationship with you and each of the organisations you are involved with. This allows both parties to be challenged and grow together.

* Your corporate social responsibility commitments should be in line with the values of your company, customers and staff. Most importantly, they must be based on a genuine concern for people and the community. You do not want the program to backfire, making you seem hypocritical. A poor strategy will cause people to become cynical and distrustful of your company.

But all in all, corporate social responsibility makes financial sense, adds meaning to your work and makes everyone feel good!

So what should you do next?

It is a highly competitive world out there. If you want people to buy from you, work for you and invest in you, look seriously at corporate social responsibility.

Dianne Taylor – About the Author:

To find out how your company can grow from a corporate social responsibility program, contact Dianne Taylor at Sirius Business on dtaylor@siriusbusiness.com.au. Dianne is currently offering free advice on how to implement an effective corporate social responsibility program. This advice includes a list of 10 Simple Corporate Social Responsibility Actions for your business.

With over 25 years as the co-owner of a successful engineering business employing 30 staff, combined with a background in leadership development and education, Dianne has a wealth of experience to draw upon. Dianne’s practical experience is supported by qualifications in coaching, training, human resource management and business. As a business management and leadership coach, consultant, speaker and trainer, Dianne is passionate about helping people and organisations discover and realise their potential. Have a look at Anderson Gray Worldwide – http://www.anderson-gray.com

As 2010 planning initiatives focus on strategies that will prepare companies to return to growth, leaders are looking for new ways to engage critical talent who execute key business priorities. The reason? Research by CLC Genesee, the HR consulting and employee survey division of The Corporate Executive Board (CEB), shows that companies with highly engaged employees demonstrate a 3-year revenue growth of 20.1%, compared to the 8.9% their industry peers will average. They also establish a 3-year EBITDA growth that is three times higher than their industry peers. What’s more, CLC Genesee research shows that shifting an individual employee from low engagement to high engagement can increase discretionary effort level by 60%, improve employee performance by up to 20%, and significantly reduce recruitment costs.

To achieve high levels of employee engagement, you need to first understand what they are thinking. One way to do this is to collect employee feedback through regular employee surveys. However, successful companies don’t just rely on surveys as an event, but also steadily maintain communications and actions throughout the year to continually involve employees in driving positive change. One progressive and admired company leading the way is Google.

Google firmly believes that feedback and discussion are an important part of doing business, and finds avenues for “Googlers” (as Google employees are called) to not just raise problems but help solve them. Google’s annual survey is critical in gathering employee feedback on what is working well and what can be improved. Beyond the survey, Google uses a variety of regular feedback channels to encourage employee involvement and leverage its philosophy that more minds on an important issue are better than one.

Strategy 1: Create a two-way dialogue on the most important issues on people’s minds.
Open dialogue between employees and leaders has always been an important part of Google’s business operations. Every Friday, Google holds a forum called “Thank goodness it’s Friday” (TGIF) to have an active conversation and answer questions ranging from product decisions and external news to internal people-related policies and decisions. This program initially started small with a few employees asking the founders questions on a Friday afternoon. As it evolved, TGIF now occurs almost every Friday, and the notes are distributed broadly across the company. Googlers use Google Moderator, an online tool to submit and vote on questions, and the top-voted questions are directly answered by Google’s founders and executives. TGIF also includes live questions. High levels of employee and executive participation in TGIF contribute greatly to the culture of transparency and create a more intimate atmosphere despite the company’s size of 20,000 employees.

Strategy 2: Engage employees in solving problems, not just raising them.
Google encourages employees to attend problem-solving sessions designed to resolve business challenges. Appropriately called “Fixits,” these sessions can invite a specific group of employees or be open to anyone. One recent Fixit addressed particular concerns regarding career development in a growing business unit. For one week, suggestions for how to improve career development were collected via Moderator. Googlers submitted 51 ideas, in total receiving 5,615 votes, and the best three ideas were implemented. As employees were involved in the solutions, satisfaction in many areas in the annual employee survey improved one year later, including double-digit increases in the favorability scores on two career development items.

As demonstrated by CLC Genesee research, increasing employee engagement has clear business benefits. Following the lead of companies such as Google, organizations can creatively find new ways to encourage and collect employee input on important issues to achieve measurable business outcomes. It’s not about making employees feel involved; it’s actually involving them. The result is more informed leaders, more engaged employees, and ultimately better decisions for a stronger business.

From http://www.executiveboard.com/businessweek/bw-week41.html Used with permission.

Need More Help in this Area? 5 Questions Every Leader Must Ask is a terrific tool for involving employees in problem solving. Using the proven model in this program, even the most inexperienced manager can generate great ideas and effective solutions in a team setting.