Moving from a Transformational to a Servant Leader

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN

Sometimes, you must change your leadership to meet the workforce’s needs. That is the conclusion a quality manager recently reached after failing to connect with staff.  Here is his story:

I have always aspired to be a transformational leader, a critical ingredient in the ANCC Magnet Model. Transformational leaders lead people to where they need to be to meet future demands using a motivational approach. This style had worked well for me for years. I now find that nurses and their leaders need something different from me as they battle exhaustion and burnout. My pep talks about improving quality scores are now often met with indifference. Nurses seem to take less professional accountability for their practice and frequently tell me that if I want to improve quality, staffing must first improve. I decided to adopt a leadership framework that would better meet the needs of today’s workforce. I now practice servant leadership. 

Robert K. Greenleaf first defined servant leadership. He described servant leaders as those who achieve results for their organizations by attending to the needs of those they serve.  A nurse servant leader looks to their staff’s needs and continually asks how they can help solve problems and promote personal development. Their ability to provide service is their primary motivator for seeking a leadership role.  Ten characteristics are key to the development of a servant leader:

1. Listening – the servant leader actively listens to the needs of staff and supports them in their decision-making.
2. Empathy– the servant leader seeks first to understand the needs of others and empathize with them.
3. Healing– the servant leader helps staff resolve problems, negotiate conflicts, and encourages a healing environment.
4. Awareness– the servant leader has high emotional intelligence and self-awareness. They view situations from a holistic, systems perspective.
5. Persuasion– the servant leader does not use coercive power to influence or persuade but instead uses personal powers of persuasion.
6. Conceptualization – the servant leader sees beyond the day-to-day operations of their unit or department. They can focus on the bigger picture and build a personal vision.
7. Foresight– the servant leader can envision the likely outcome of a situation and is proactive in creating the best consequences.
8. Stewardship– the servant leader is a good steward of the resources and staff. They feel an obligation to help and serve others without focusing on their rewards.
9. Commitment to the Growth of People – the servant leader is inclusive of all staff and sees everyone’s value.  They attempt to maximize the strengths of all who work with them.
10. Building Community– the servant-leader recognizes the importance of creating a sense of community among staff.

Servant leadership is caring and builds trust because followers believe their leader genuinely cares about their welfare.  This leader told me that as he reviewed the material on Servant Leadership, he thought about the Maya Angelou quote, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”He realized that his current focus with staff was to enforce the importance of quality measures. While at one time, this might have been enough to convince nurses to change their practice, it no longer worked. He did not attend to their needs or help them achieve psychological safety. I think he made a decision. As he learned, you may need to flex your style when the environment changes to succeed in your leadership.