Presidential Candidates: Are They Servant Leaders?

Cut through Rhetoric to elect a real Servant Leader

Danita Bye

As a management consultant who has witnessed the good, bad, and ugly in leadership styles, I believe that we can assess the potential effectiveness that the candidates for President offer as “CEO” of our Government. I’ve seen successful businesses of all types and sizes overcome and thrive in the most adverse conditions with servant leadership principles.

Outstanding management gurus like Warren Bennis, Ken Blanchard and Stephen Covey tout servant leadership as the most effective style for creating a culture that: recognizes the importance of individuals, supports accountability, conveys moral authority, and breeds a high-performance organization.

The concept of servant leadership was developed by Robert Greenleaf in 1970. The servant leader serves the people he/she leads to accomplish a shared vision. It avoids domineering, top-down leadership, valuing a more collaborative approach to build community and tap the talent reserves of the organization.

So how do we identify the real servant leader?

Both presidential candidates identify themselves as leaders for the times to come. It’s certainly not easy to cut through all the rhetoric, e-lore, and untruths. I want to trust at least one national slate (as I’m sure you do), but we must analyze claims made by politicians and compare candidates with the qualities of a true servant leader. This brief recap of servant leadership offers an insight to the qualities we should look for.

Do they encourage people to tap their unique talents?

They should demonstrate a sincere concern through their actions about meeting the needs of people. This concern surpasses the advancement of their career or personal agenda. A CEO focused on short-term profits may keep Wall Street happy; however the people and customers that built the companies’ success begin to disappear.

Do they demonstrate personal accountability?

Servant Leaders demonstrate a the-buck-stops-here attitude, talking full responsibility for their performance. When was the last time a government official actually resigned because of poor performance or poor judgment—that is, before they were caught red-handed? When the masses become skeptical of their leaders, they become mired in low productivity, lack of creative problem-solving and low growth.

Do they exhibit wise stewardship of our resources?

The stewardship of our national resources and finances needs to be a top priority as we look to future generations. Scrutinize them for moral character and a willingness to nurture shared visions. These traits are essential for inspiring all generations—legacy and future—who want purpose-driven lives.

Do they execute with courage?

Leadership requires difficult decisions—to translate what they know is right into actionable behaviors that create change. Take a look at the candidates’ track records—long or short—and search for the team that has succeeded in effecting change.

Whether you’re a community organizer, a governor, a statesman or a war hero, a true servant’s heart is always in the right place—with the people they serve. And there’s only one way to judge a candidate on whether or not they are a servant-leader—by what they do, not by words alone.

As part of your decision making process, consider the candidates’ actions in light of the seven pillars of Greenleaf’s servant leadership:

Person of character
Puts people first
Skilled communicator
Compassionate collaborator
Has foresight
Systems thinker
Leads with moral authority

And let’s elect a real servant leader.

Bio: Danita Bye

Nationally recognized sales management and leadership expert Danita Bye has built her reputation on building and inspiring intentional, no excuse, high-performance sales teams that deliver bottom line results. With her unique Fortune-100 turned-entrepreneur perspective, Danita helps CEOs and company presidents take their national and international businesses to the next level. Her excuse-free approach to sales management, combined with her leadership acumen, enables sales staff and sales management to increase sales, boost profitability and create predictable revenue streams, all while reducing sales costs.

As a 10-year veteran of the Xerox Corporation, Danita consistently achieved award winning sales performance before leaving Xerox to become an equity partner and national sales manager for Minneapolis-based Micro-Tech Hearing Instruments, where she increased annual revenues from $300,000 to $10 million in just seven years. Danita has authored articles in Upsize Magazine, The Hearing Review, the Star Tribune, and Business Journal, where she was recently honored as one of the its Top 25 Women to Watch. Danita also featured as a guest on “The Ruthless Entrepreneur television show” which will begin airing on Oxogen Network in 2010. Her new book, Sales Management in the No Excuse Zone, is due for release in 2010.

Danita can be contacted at Danita@SalesGrowthSpecialists.com or 612-267-3320