Servant leadership for design leaders
Servant Leadership is a leadership philosophy outlined by a set of behaviours and practices that have their main emphasis on the well-being of those being served. It empowers teams by creating trust, transparency and security and fosters an inclusive culture. Designers in your team will feel respected, appreciated and valued.
The ten core characteristics of servant leadership were established by Robert Greenleaf in the early 1970’s.
Listening
Although communication and decision-making skills have traditionally been valued in leadership roles, they need to be backed up by a deep commitment to listening to what is being said and unsaid.
Empathy
The servant leader strives to understand and empathise with others. People need to be accepted and recognized for their special and unique backgrounds, personalities and skill-sets. The most successful servant leaders are those who have become skilled empathetic listeners who back it up in their actions.
Healing
Understand that designers are whole humans. Recognize that many people have experienced, and are traumatised from, toxic work environments and may have suffered from a variety of emotional hurts. Healing begins with understanding and listening to what the individual designers need.
Awareness
General awareness, and especially self-awareness, are strengths of the servant-leader. Being aware of what you don’t know is especially important. Recognize your own strengths and weaknesses. Be aware of how you act and what you say and the impact it has on those around you.
Persuasion
Servant leaders seek to convince others rather than use their position of authority when making decisions. Hearing thoughts and concerns from your team before making decisions is effective at building consensus within groups.
Conceptualisation
Being able to think big, and beyond the short-term operational goals, servant leaders seek to nurture their abilities to dream great dreams. It is then vital that they can convey these north stars to their team.
Foresight
Foresight is a characteristic that understands the lessons from the past, the present situation, and the likely consequence of a decision for the future. This is one of the hardest characteristics to learn, but one that comes with knowledge and experience.
Stewardship
Servant leadership assumes a commitment to serving the needs of others. It also emphasises the use of openness and persuasion, rather than control. Allow your team to follow what
Commitment to the growth of people
Be deeply committed to the growth of each and every designer on your team. Listen and understand where they want to go in their careers and where they want to grow. Spending time and resources on growing your team's skills will benefit both the individual designer and the team.
Building Community
Servant leadership requires not just building relationships between you and your team, but helping them build relationships with each other. Encourage collaboration. Building trust within your team where they can rely on each other and help each other grow is a model for a happy team.
Some practical examples
Lead by example
If the team is falling behind with design tasks, be prepared to jump in to help catch up.
Encourage collaboration
Start by having design critiques with the whole team, and then encourage the team to have mini critiques before the main one. This encourages open dialogue between the team.
Care for your team
If a team member has been working above and beyond to get some work finished by a deadline, allow them to take some personal time to recharge and connect with themselves.
Being a servant leader to your design team you should build trust with and within your team. Be as transparent as possible by including team members in decision-making, whenever you can, asking for feedback, and listening. Lastly, foster a safe place for your team to express themselves by understanding them as human beings.
Andy Chipperfield
