Who Do You Work For?

If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first. ~Mark Twain

I had an interesting conversation recently that centered around the topic, "Who do your work for?" For most people in the US, the answer to this is typically the company who signs your paycheck. In this context, the conversation was between people all at the same company so it had a different meaning. The person asking the question started naming off people in authority, I work for this boss and that boss and the other boss. My answer was that I work for the team I am leading.

This was not a trite answer to provoke conversation which is something I have been know to do occasionally. It was an answer to a question I had mulled over for quite a few years because the way in which people lead others is neatly summed up in the answer.

The reply I received to my response was, "That's simplistic", in a tone of voice that oozed derision and a complete dismissal that there was any grain of truth in my response.

I can't say I was surprised at the response because the person in the conversation has a style of leadership that is diametrically opposed to my style. Where my colleague works from an autocratic style mine is more aptly described as coaching/mentoring based.

The spectrum of leadership extends from the Henry Ford types who wouldn't let people make a decision without his approval to the leadership style I practice which is known as Servant Leadership. Servant leaders view themselves as servants of the team they are leading, a servant who seeks to empower people to achieve a goal, to achieve greatness. A servant who works to grow a team to act independently.

I can ascribe the mindset of a servant leader as having a simple focus but never as being simplistic. It is not very difficult leading with this style because the servant leader must suppress his own ego in order to effectively mentor other people. A servant leader must act out of heart of humility.

Autocratic leadership leads to teams that are disengaged from their work because they sense the lack of trust from the leader. This is manifest in that their opinion is rarely asked and, if it is asked, it is rarely acted upon because 'leader knows best' is how the teams are managed. The goal of a servant leader is to help people become fully engaged in their work, to grow people into independence from the leader such that they can make their own decisions. A servant leader starts from a mindset of trust.

I was tempted to try and explain to my colleague why it is important to view leadership as working for the team, why it is important to grow fully engaged individuals, why it is important to empower individuals to make decisions, why it is important to view oneself as a leader serving the team. However, I did not for there really is no benefit to beating my head against the wall for the umpteenth time.