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Leadership - Is It A Service Or Is It A Title?
Category: BusinessTraditional Leadership Model
As you know this model has each employee working for the leader above them. It is in the shape of a pyramid and everyone works for the person above them in the chain of command. In the pyramid model we can see a strong looking and stable organizational chart right? Sure it looks stable, it is how a reporting structure should look like and what is taught in business 101, but that is inside the box thinking. It’s really hard to truly provide outstanding service if the only person YOU serve is your BOSS! So lets explore an alternative (the service leadership model) model.
Service Leadership Model
This is simply taking your traditional model and turning it upside down! Sound less than stable? Sure but remember the old sayings “looks can be deceiving” and “don’t judge a book
Let me put my spin on why I feel that this model is truly effective in any high pace, energetic and passionate organization. The way service leadership works is by providing service to your STAFF not your BOSS. If you are providing a high level of service and support to your team, unit, department, or company your results will show. The goals are not going to be achieved by you alone and they will never be exceeded with you worrying about pleasing your boss at every corner. Let me make a quick disclaimer before people start thinking that I am advising you to disregard your boss…. the boss will be evaluating and writing your reviews so take caution. You report to your boss and assignments come from him/her but you work for and serve your people. It’s a pretty simple concept and humble leaders usually always get it. Those that hold dear to their title and feel threatened by high performing individuals on their team just don’t understand this.
In the service leadership model: THE CUSTOMER is the most important individual. Why? Well think about it for a second…. if your staff works to please YOU, how are they going to provide exceptional customer service? They should be working hard for their real boss - the Customer!
Now where does this service leadership come from? Well there are many books, articles and pieces out there about it and I read a book with this subject in mind but I really witnessed this model in action for many years. The Military! Yes there is a hard-core chain of command that you must follow in the military, however everything you do is a service for someone else (other than your supervisor). As a leader in the military you are held to a standard of well being, performance, and morale for the folks in your command.
The only way to be effective is to support and serve their needs so they can accomplish the mission - because it’s a life/death situation and not about profit or loss. Can you imagine a soldier without the proper equipment or not being trained on how to set up a cigar shape security perimeter? Military leaders serve right along side their troops and lead by example!
I hope this makes some sense and can help at least one leader out there. If you start serving your staff - they will increase the level of service to their customer…. I promise.
Thanks and try to get out their and serve your staff!!
Richard Hull is founder and CEO of The Instructor Group, which provides hosted Learning Management Systems, online training courseware, classroom training on demand, training consulting services, and custom developed training solutions. The company is a leader in corporate and continuing education training, with an unprecedented commitment to customer service. TIG’s philosophy on training and employee development is based on determining the needs of its customers and developing custom-tailored solutions that grow with your business. The LMS and training solutions environment is undergoing significant change based on the available software on the market. The Instructor Group believes that an on-demand hosted training solution to compliment traditional training delivery methods is a best practice for effectively delivering / managing corporate training needs. Mr. Hull states, “A total enterprise learning program can reduce your operating expense and improve your learning curve for the successful growth of your staff”.
To learn more please visit: http://www.theinstructorgroup.com
Tags: leadership model, leadership training, online training, service leadership, succession planning