Characteristics of the Leader as Servant : Part 2

The Servant Leader: How to Build a Creative Team, Develop Great Morale, and Improve Bottom-Line Performance
by James A. Autry

(Page 2 of 2)

Here's another question: Were you surprised in those sad circumstances to find that one of those supportive and comforting coworkers turned out to be someone you'd always had negative feelings about? Perhaps you had thought that coworker was overbearing or officious or disruptive or obstructive. If so, I'm not surprised.

When that happened, you discovered a very important truth, one that should underlie our attitudes when we are with other people: All of us - whoever we are, whatever jobs we hold, and however we look - are more similar than dissimilar. Underneath it all, we have very similar hopes and fears, desires and ambitions. We love, we celebrate, we suffer loss, and we grieve.

This simple fact transcends everything else about us, and this simple fact is the foundation of an attitude that can truly transform the workplace if only we will learn and practice a few guidelines for how to be and how to behave.

There's a line from an old spiritual that goes "Everybody talkin' about heaven ain't goin' there." I've thought of that line many times over the years. I thought about it when I heard some executives talk about TQM, then watched them try to use it to put the squeeze on employees. I thought about it when I heard much hoopla about "teams" while watching many companies use teams as a dodge for downsizing. I thought about it when I heard managers talk grandly about empowerment while still looking over the shoulders of, and micromanaging, their employees. As the spiritual says, it's a lot easier to talk about something than to put it into practice.

No news about that. But now there's another subject, one that is getting a lot of attention lately because it has the potential to bring about enormous changes in the workplace, in the lives of employees generally, and in your own life specifically.

The subject is spirituality and work.

Now I can hear the groans and sighs of those who must be thinking, "Here's another one of those touchy-feely 'Let's all love one another so we can be productive' books by a self-appointed guru."

If you're thinking that, you have every right to. And my purpose is not to try to talk you out of that skepticism, but to talk about how you have to be, not what you have to do, to put the spirit of work to work, to become a leader who serves rather than one who expects to be served.

I say "the spirit of work" to distinguish your spirituality at work from the more personal spirituality that comes from your relationship with the sacred, with God, with a higher power. Certainly the spirituality you bring to work is derived from the same source - but the expression of it is in another context, which is, "How does your spirituality find expression in the workplace, in your attitude about your work, in your relationships with your employees, peers, colleagues, customers, vendors, and others?" That's the question and the challenge, because it is in your attitude and behavior as well as in your relationships that your spirituality expresses itself at work - an expression that is most often manifest as service.

I've said it before, I say it again: Business is about people. Business is of, by, about, and for people. And it is ultimately how you are with those people that makes all the difference in whether or not your spirituality finds an expression within the context of your work.

This is not about some arbitrary decision. "Okay, now, let's all be spiritual; then we can be happier and more productive that way." This is not a trick or a gimmick. This isn't a technique. It's not even a process. It is a conscious choice about how you choose to be and about how you choose to live your life at home as well as at work.

I know there's always the risk of sounding too otherworldly, too disconnected from the reality of the workplace, when I talk about being versus doing, so let me state clearly my belief that what you do at work is a direct reflection of how you are. If you want to make that connection between your spirituality and your work, then the proof of it, in other people's eyes, is in what you do and the way you choose to do whatever it is, from an appraisal to running a meeting to, yes, even firing someone.

Copyright © 2004 by James A. Autry.

About the Author

James A. Autry was the president of the magazine group for Meredith Corp., responsible for such publications as Better Homes and Gardens and Ladies Home Journal. He is the author of six books, including the top selling Love and Profit: The Art of Caring Leadership. He is currently a business consultant with top corporations and has an active speaking schedule. He lives in Des Moines with his wife Sally Perderson (who is lieutenant governor of Iowa) and his son.