Masters of Servitude: Giving Up Control Doesn't Mean Losing Control

  PM Network  

It seems wrong. By their very nature, leaders, are, well, supposed to lead the way. But sometimes embracing the qualities of a good follower can make a more effective leader.

So-called “servant leaders” focus on the needs of their teams rather than adhering to a top-down hierarchy centered on commands barked from the upper echelons. For project managers, the leadership style can help secure buy-in from team members by playing to their particular talents.

“Project managers are ideal examples of servant leaders,” says Don Ledbetter, director of management and organizational effectiveness at L-3 Communications, a defense contractor headquartered in New York, New York, USA. “The role they play is to work to meet the customer’s and employer’s objectives. Leaders must work to make the team successful, which means putting aside the leader’s ego and issues to focus on the team’s success. In this context, a leader must be selfless.”

That philosophy can take some getting used to, though.

Inverting the pyramid

The concept of servant leadership isn’t new. It actually originates in such philosophies as the Tao Te Ching, written around the 6th century BCE. But it caught on as a business buzzword in the 1970s, when former AT&T executive Robert K. Greenleaf wrote The Servant as Leader. Although it&…

Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.