The following contains excerpts from the book, Servant Leadership Roadmap (Cara Bramlett).
At our music school in Odessa, Texas we believe that music is more than sound, rather, it is relationships. A key component to relationships is the subject of Leadership. The following thoughts on servant leadership apply to those who desire to serve their community in music and the arts.
The author asserts twelve components, or competencies, of becoming a servant-leader: self-awareness, stewardship, motivation/persuasion, listening, empathy, acting with humility, culture of trust, mentoring, coaching, foresight, vision, continuous development.
Competency goes beyond words. It’s the leader’s ability to say it, plan it, and do it in such a way that others know that you know how – and know that they want to follow you. (John Maxwell)
“Our job as leaders is to remove barriers and roadblocks to secure the team’s success. The team’s success is our measuring stick. Consider the obstacles that are creating difficulty for the team. Identify solutions for the obstacles and how to remove them.”
At our music school in Odessa, Texas we endeavor to remove roadblocks that are in the way of students, as they progress. Our goal is to help them find a smooth path toward their personal development by providing them with the knowledge and understanding they will need to succeed.
The author states that a good leader must be able to use various leadership styles in the context of situational needs. She sets forth those styles as: autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire. “Autocratic style demands immediate compliance…It is effective during a code or in the critical care unit when someone goes into cardiac arrest. It is not beneficial when modifying the behavior of our team and often met with resistance…Democratic style is consensus through participation…collaboration…an avenue for the team’s buy-in…Laissez-faire style is based on the mindset of building a strong team and staying out of their way…One of the most significant benefits of this style is innovation. This style can be frustrating to individuals who want clearly defined objectives.”
In addition to this, the author shows two generalized approaches: task-oriented and people-oriented. “Task-oriented is focused on results-driven outcomes…People-oriented is focused on determining which team member is most suited for a task based upon his or her current skill set, interest, or personal development.”
“In 2002, Daniel Goleman detailed the six emotional styles of leadership including visionary, coaching, affiliate, democratic, pacesetting, and commanding.”
Visionary style moves people towards a vision. This is said to be the most impactful style of leadership
The coach empowers the individuals. This style empowers and inspires the team…Coaching style develops people for the future
Affiliate style creates emotional bonds
Pacesetter style expects excellence and self-direction. This is the kind of leader who is prone to set high standards without considering other’s ideas…may damage their morale and make them feel inferior
Transactional leadership is focused on the day-to-day operations
Transformational leadership is a venue for innovation within an organization through inspiration and motivation of the team…This leadership is achieved through clear communication, conveying vision, integrity, emotional intelligence, authenticity, and self-awareness
Charismatic leadership encompasses the components of transformational leadership by inspiration and motivation. However, it is for the benefit of the leader.
Servant leadership was first defined in the 1970s by Robert Greenleaf as the natural desire to lead by serving others – meeting the needs of the team members, empowering them to make decisions, focus on growth, and ensures their basic needs are met.
“The benefits of servant leadership are higher engagement, which leads to the high performance of the team. The team members feel valued and have a greater sense of engagement. They feel the leader cares about them and their well-being.”
At our music school in Odessa, Texas we want the student to be empowered to ultimately achieve autonomy. Having a servant-minded attitude, as teachers, helps us to achieve that goal.
Self-awareness
“Being the leader does not mean you are required to know everything about every aspect you are leading…You cannot be an expert in every field you manage…Instead, surround yourself with subject matter experts in their discipline.”
“Ask yourself if your initiatives would advance if you were out of the office. If not, you are too involved and not empowering individuals to lead the charge.”
“Consider the individual and assess based on the following: skills, strengths, reliability, workload, and development potential.”
Stewardship
Management is doing the things right; leadership is doing the right things. (Peter Drucker)
“The leader’s role is to be accountable to the members of the team through leading by example and removing barriers. Accountability is accepting the outcomes of an initiative, good or bad.”
“We must set the example for others to follow. Then we must follow the same rules, policies, and regulations we have required of the team…Keep in mind that you are on stage and your team is watching. The higher your position, the bigger your stage…Each time you fail to lead by example causes a withdraw from the account…The result is you have lost the privilege to manage the team. Yes, leadership is a privilege.”
At our music school in Odessa, Texas we strive to be role-models of how successful musicians and artists thrive in our community, providing the students an opportunity to learn from our examples.
Motivation and Persuasion
“Persuasion is a fundamental and essential proficiency of leadership…know your audience and speak their language…The number one message to communicate to an audience is the benefit of following the initiative you are conveying…Knowing our team begins with knowing what motivates them.”
Each team has three categories of people: highly engaged, engaged, and disengaged. “Where does most of your team fall? Generally, 10 percent will be highly engaged, 80 percent engaged, and 10 percent disengaged.”
Use the RESPECT acronym:
Recognition – Know your individual’s preferred venue for recognition.
Empowerment – Instill in your team the trust to make decisions and function independently.
Supportive feedback – The team members must receive the information as a personal growth opportunity, not a punitive one.
Partnership – Leverage transparency of ensuring the team is in the know of the current happenings.
Expectations – The expectation should be clearly communicated and in writing to limit confusion of the team.
Considerations – Understand the position of each individual as it is rooted in his or her personality. Make sure they know you have their best interest in mind.
Trust – This is the most pivotal element of any leader. It is the ability to make a good leader great and a mediocre leader fail.
One of the most important values we have at our music school in Odessa, Texas is to let each student know that they are unique and have worth as a person and as an artist. We want them to know that they are respected and have value even before they are given the opportunity to perform.
Listening
Speak in a way that others love to listen.
Listen in a way that others love to speak. (Anonymous)
“The spoken word is only 35 percent of the intended meaning. The remaining 55 percent of communication is through body language.”
“On average, you only process about 13 to 25 percent of what you hear.”
Four types of listening styles:
People-oriented: demonstrates a strong focus on understanding the feelings of the individual who is speaking. This style leverages empathy and emotional intelligence.
Content-oriented: The focus is more of a fact-finding mission and credibility of the individual.
Action-oriented: They are more concrete thinkers and focus more on getting the job done. Some drawbacks of this style are the perception of lack of empathy towards the team and losing sight of the big picture.
Time-oriented: These leaders are more focused on getting straight to the summary points and short answers.
“Mastering mindful listening is at the heart of a servant-leader. If you only listen, the individual will tell you everything you need to know to be an effective leader.”
Become a better listener by the following suggestions:
- Prepare – Clear your mind by writing down ideas ahead of time.
- Be present – Focus on the words, the tone and the body language.
- Show that you are present – Use your nonverbal cues of head nodding, facial expressions, and smiling.
- Remove barriers while listening – Remove physical, mental and emotional barriers throughout the listening process.
- Respond appropriately – Allow the speakers to complete their full communication. Ask clarifying questions and paraphrase what has been said…Many times, the emotional response is due to miscommunications or misunderstandings.
One of the greatest lessons a student can learn in our music school in Odessa, Texas is the discipline of listening. This applies not only to the study of music, but also in every relationship in life.