Harnessing Processes to Empower Servant Leadership

As a General Manager in a software company, my primary concern was avoiding the trap of micromanaging employees, a practice I had experienced and disliked in my career. Instead, I aimed to equip my team with the necessary tools and remove any obstacles hindering their progress. Little did I know that this leadership approach aligned closely with what is now termed servant leadership. Despite the somewhat misleading term, servant leadership prioritises the needs of others before self-interest, and it is derived from Robert K. Greenleaf's seminal essay, 'The Servant Leader' (1970). 

Through providing support to employees, servant leadership enables growth and learning opportunities and empowers employees to voice their vision and expertise. 

An insightful article, Three Servant Leadership "C's": Part I & II, by Carol Malinski, Director of Content and Curriculum at the Servant Leadership Institute (SLI), explores the principles of servant leadership, emphasising compassion, character, and competence as essential elements for building trust and fostering a thriving organisational culture.

She further discusses what servant leaders can do to build trust with employees, such as finding out what motivates them, inspiring accountability, providing clear expectations, being transparent, and analysing their part in employees' lack of achievement. 

Motivating Employees through Process Visibility

Employee motivation may stem from autonomy in their work, prompting leaders to establish systems and transparent processes to facilitate job performance. Accessible through a process management system, documented processes and procedures offer comprehensive guidance on task execution, including protocols for handling exceptions, which may arise approximately 5% of the time. Employees gain autonomy and decision-making authority by utilising process maps, enabling them to make informed choices without requiring constant approval.

Inspiring Accountability

Employees can demonstrate accountability through detailed process maps indicating each activity's RACI (responsibility, accountability, consulted, and informed). These process maps, available within a process management system, provide transparency regarding who is responsible and accountable for each step, thereby mitigating finger-pointing and misplaced blame. In the depicted process map, the line manager and general manager are tasked with specific responsibilities visible to all within the organisation.

Leaders can establish clear expectations by furnishing employees with process maps comprising interconnected activities that convert inputs into outputs. This methodology is the Noun-Verb mapping method.

In the image below, the blue shapes represent the inputs and outputs (nouns), and the white boxes are the activities (verbs). The activity clearly shows who is responsible for performing the activity, thus the output.

• Input: The input is an open vacancy for a position in the company

• Activity: The activity is creating the job description (Line Manager is responsible)

• Hyperlink: The pink circle links to the company's job description template.

• Output: The output is a completed job description for the vacancy. 

• Input: The input to the two following activities is the completed job description (the output of the previous activity)

• Activity: The general manager is responsible for filing the job description in the Personnel Folder

• Output: The job description is filed.

Recruitment Process - https://tinyurl.com/yckyj2rp

You can observe the transformation of inputs into outputs through various activities. These outputs subsequently serve as inputs for subsequent activities. Process maps provide clarity within the organisation regarding the responsible parties at each process step.

Analysing What Went Wrong

When encountering setbacks in the workplace, such as delayed deliveries, customer complaints, or products failing to meet quality standards, the servant leader takes a proactive approach to identify areas for improvement. One strategy involves documenting all "best practice" processes to establish a baseline against which to evaluate employee performance. These documented processes serve as a reference point within the process management system. The leader assesses whether the prescribed process was followed and examines supporting documentation for evidence of adherence. If both criteria are met, the focus shifts to identifying potential enhancements to the process or documentation. Ultimately, the servant leader aims to empower employees to recognise areas for improvement and proactively address them to prevent customer complaints, poor product quality, or delays. Collaborating with employees to refine processes and documentation fosters a culture of continuous improvement. However, empowered employees must consider how their proposed changes impact upstream and downstream processes, ensuring a holistic approach to improvement efforts. Read more about improving end-to-end processes in The Benefits of End-to-End Processes in Business.

In summary, by establishing clear expectations through transparent processes and encouraging employees to take ownership of refining those processes, servant leaders drive positive outcomes and cultivate an environment where individuals feel valued, motivated, and inspired to contribute their best. 

If you would like assistance developing and documenting your processes, don't hesitate to contact us. 

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