This week David Cameron called on Banks to pay smaller bonuses and become “more socially responsible.” However, “micro managing” the banks was not the answer, he added.
Political leaders are keen to convince us that they have been listening to what ordinary people want from government and they promise to act on those ideas when elected. Now that of course is a technique which smart managers use all the time, asking staff what they think instead of just telling them what to do.
Research suggests that bosses who take time to listen get a lot more out of their people than bosses who don’t. The theory goes that society has changed: employees don’t want to be managed any more, they want to be led.
Many companies, including the coffee chain Starbucks, are so convinced of the benefits of listening to their staff that they’ve done away with old fashioned command-control management altogether and brought in “Servant Leadership”.
Servant Leadership was pioneered in the US back in the 70s by the management guru, Robert K. Greenleaf. Its basic idea is that the best leadership within organisations comes first from a desire to serve others. Aspects of the idea have certainly been around for thousands of years and are part of some of the basic understandings we have about caring for one another and listening to one another.
There is an important spin-off effect as it relates to morale within organisations, those who work in servant-led companies frequently comment on what a lovely place it is to work. There are many more people who are involved in decision-making and ideas that involve more people, generally have a better outcome than do those by a single person.
Do you think David Cameron could be labelled a “Servant Leader”? Would you call yourself a “Servant Leader”? Can you see the benefits of adopting this approach?
For more information on our leadership training courses visit the Call of the Wild website.
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