How to Identify Future deServing Leaders
I recently announced a new leadership mentoring program at our firm, Entertainment Technology Partners. We aim to transform our organization’s relationship with our teams from a hierarchical leadership model to a deServing Leadership model — one that:
is inclusive
is firmly based on ethical and caring behavior
is focused on team member growth
improves the caring and quality of the organization.
Our goal is to be intentional and proactive about identifying and mentoring high-potential future leaders. It got me thinking about the critical traits that we seek in future leaders and areas we need to focus on in continuous improvement.
Here are the characteristics I believe deServing Leaders must have or work to gain expertise in:
Emotional Intelligence:
Self-awareness, or the ability to recognize and understand your own emotions, is a critical emotional intelligence skill. However, beyond just recognizing your emotions is being aware of the effect of your actions, moods, and feelings on other people. Awareness helps one in understanding issues involving ethics, power, and values. It lends itself to being able to view most situations from a more integrated, holistic position.
Empathy:
Being empathetic is perhaps the most critical deServing Leadership skill — to understand and empathize with others and assume positive intent.
Listening:
DeServing Leaders must reinforce their communication and decision-making skills by a deep commitment to listening intently to others. The servant leader seeks to identify the will of a group and helps to clarify that will. They listen receptively to what is being said and unsaid. Listening also encompasses hearing one’s inner voice. Listening, coupled with periods of reflection, is essential to the growth and well-being of the servant leader.
Healing:
Probably more than ever, the recovery of relationships is a powerful force for transformation and integration. One of the great strengths of deServing Leadership is the potential for healing one’s self and one’s relationship to others. Many people have broken spirits and have suffered from a variety of emotional hurts. Although this is a part of being human, deServing Leaders recognize that they have an opportunity to help make whole those with whom they come in contact.
Persuasion:
Another characteristic of deServing Leaders is using persuasion, rather than positional authority, in making decisions within an organization. Attempting to convince others and building consensus takes precedence over coercing compliance.
Thinking Outside the Box:
DeServing Leaders dream big. They must think beyond day-to-day realities and look at a problem or an organization from a fresh perspective. Broad-based conceptualization is a key deServing Leadership trait.
Foresight:
DeServing Leaders understand past lessons, present realities, and the likely consequence of a decision for the future.
Servitude:
A frequently repeated theme in deServing Leadership is a commitment to serving the needs of others — via the use of openness and persuasion, rather than control.
Inclusion:
DeServing Leaders encourage and take an interest in the ideas and suggestions from everyone, encouraging team involvement in decision-making. DeServing Leaders have an inherent desire to nurture the personal and professional growth of employees and colleagues.
Building Communities:
DeServing Leaders must identify some means of building community and lead the way, not by mass movements, but by demonstrating their unlimited liability for a specific community-related group.
DeServing Leadership characteristics often occur naturally within many individuals and can also be learned through practice. It’s vital in creating a nurturing environment in which employees feel heard, appreciated and respected. It can help businesses build stronger work cultures with high employee morale and engagement.