"Leadership as Service"
Column 10 on Max De Pree's Leadership Jazz
May
Leadership as service
Before sitting down to write this column I finished a cup of coffee and walked down to the washroom in our office building. As I entered the washroom I was immediately reminded of Max De Pree and the story he told in the final chapters of Leadership Jazz. The business tower in which I have my office is well maintained. Yet today I walked into the room to find paper towels overflowing from the waste bin. What did I do? And why?
If you have read Leadership Jazz you will remember the story. Max describes his version: “Without thinking too much about it, I gathered up all their towels and put them in a hamper. A friend of mine quietly watched me do this and then asked me a question that I’ve pondered many times over the years. ‘Do you pick up towels because you’re the president of a company, or are you the president of a company because you pick up towels?'” (p. 219). I heard Max tell that story years ago and it stuck with me. I cannot see towels on the floor without thinking about Max De Pree. Of course, then I choose to pick up the towels. Does that make me a leader?
The person who picks up towels may or may not be a leader. But the person who picks up towels is clearly a servant to others. Are these two roles really so far apart?
What is leadership if not service? Throughout his book Max De Pree has been teaching us that leadership is a relationship – a relationship of influence and service. Leaders are appointed to serve a mission and to serve the people gathered to accomplish that mission. Leadership is the relationship in which leaders seek to influence the vision, values, attitudes and behaviors of others. Followers are the men and women who choose to accept that influence because it helps them realize their potential and contribute to the accomplishment of the mission. Leadership in the service of mission connects leaders and followers. Picking up towels is an act of service. So is leadership.
If service is the purpose that defines the relationship of leadership, what are the attributes that signal its health? Max suggests several as he ends Leadership Jazz. We can add others.
Integrity tops his list and we are not surprised. Remember that this book opened with the story of his granddaughter Zoe and the need always for leaders to connect voice and touch. Integrity is the alignment of stated values and behavior. Followers look for integrity of behavior when they choose to follow. Integrity is about doing what we say we will do; being who we say we intend to be.
Vulnerability acknowledges the leader’s dependence upon those who choose to follow. Leaders abandon themselves to the strengths of others. They trust the abilities of followers and realize that their success as leaders is completely dependent upon the work of those who follow. We are tied together. Followers succeed with the help of leaders; leaders exist only as long are there are followers.
This of course leads to humility.
Not humble self-deprecation but rather a healthy and appropriate appreciation of one’s role and contribution. Recent work in emotional intelligence has underscored that leadership begins with accurate self-assessment. We start with proper perspective: recognition of our strengths and weaknesses, our gifts and limitations. And we recognize that we exist as leaders only to serve – the people and through them – the mission. That complete dependence upon the work of others should keep us mindful of the derivative status of our role. Leaders serve followers.
Max lists discernment as an attribute of healthy leadership. We could add vision and hope. Seeing with a creative eye; hearing with a compassionate heart. Serving leadership tunes to the heart beating below the surface and senses the vision fueled by hope. Discernment reads the world through the lens of humanity and relationship and resists the temptation to fit life into an economic grid. Every person who works with us is more than a timecard, a cost center or a position on the organizational chart. Good leaders understand this.
Which leads Max De Pree to list awareness of the human spirit. “Without understanding the cares, yearnings, and struggles of the human spirit, how could anyone presume to lead a group of people across the street?” (p. 221). Positions, title, offices and salaries do not begin to contain the potential of the spirit pulsing in every person. If leadership starts with self-awareness, it quickly moves through empathy – that ability to feel the emotional state of the other – to the care and nurture of relationships. Listen for the spirit that touches the soul.
Commitment to relationship runs throughout the writings of Max De Pree. Followers expect leaders to care, to tell them the truth, to hold them accountable to their promises, to manage the conflict that accompanies every relationship. Nurturing relationships does not mean ignoring conflict or avoiding pain. Strong relationships require honesty, truth, confrontation and encouragement. Honest feedback in caring relationships is not always pleasant to receive but when it comes from someone committed to my development and well being, it leads to learning and growth. Healthy relationships are necessary to healthy leadership.
To these attributes Max adds energy, curiosity, predictability, breadth, and presence. Healthy leadership brings energy rather than drain energy. It is curious and hungry to learn. Healthy leadership is predictable; it does not surprise the followers. And the embrace of healthy leadership is broad, creating space for a diversity of people and ideas. Finally, serving leadership is accessible. Leaders are there to serve the people in the service of the mission. They are available and attentive; they care about people and outcomes, relationships and results.
Leadership Jazz has walked us through the art of leadership with the finesse of the jazz musician. Max De Pree does not tell us how to lead. Rather he calls us to ponder who we are, what legacy we are leaving, what we are learning. And he calls us to service – to contribute our gifts and create space and opportunity for others to perform at their best – so that together we can create music worth listening to.
Questions for reflection:
Who are you? |
Who cares? |
Where are the results of your leadership visible? |
Do you pick up towels? |
Who picks up your towels? |
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