7 self-care tips for servant leaders

…and why you should practice a self-care routine today!

There are schools of thought that leaders of organizations or groups of people had to be aggressive, demanding, and even brutal to get the best out of their employees and teams. Fortunately, we now know that leadership comes in various forms, and some are more effective than others.

Servant leadership has been around for generations, but it is just picking up momentum in businesses and organizations. Servant leadership is an efficient leadership approach, but it can be time and energy-intensive.

While servant leadership is a much more gentle and kind approach to leading teams, it can also potentially leave leaders burned out and stretched too thin. Let's look at some self-care methods for servant leaders and all leaders who are compassionate and results-driven.

I've discovered seven self-care strategies to help you maintain your high level of compassionate leadership while also giving you room to breathe and thrive. Before I discuss these seven strategies, let’s take a look at what servant leadership is.

What is servant leadership?

First, a definition of servant leadership. Servant leadership is a leadership style that revolves around serving others, especially your employees. Providing support, tools, and resources to your team gives them ample room to grow and thrive. Servant leaders run organizations with kindness and compassion and make their employees feel supported.

One of their goals is to support the total welfare of each employee. This doesn't mean you can't provide constructive criticism as a servant leader, but it does mean that you prioritize the well-being of your employees. 

Servant leaders bring tremendous value to organizations by empowering employees to develop creative solutions and new ideas that can benefit the company as a whole. Plus, employees who work for servant leaders are more likely to stick around, helping your organization avoid high employee turnover and costly training periods for new employees to replace those that have departed. 

Servant leadership can have practical and highly beneficial results for everyone in the company. According to recent research, it can have a positive trickle-down benefit to the employees' family and community see my blog article, The Amazing Benefits of Servant Leadership.

Why servant leaders need self-care

Servant leadership is arguably one of the best ways to lead a team; it does require focused planning and preparation for leaders to forge genuine connections with employees and foster a more welcoming environment. According to The Spears Center, here are the top ten characteristics of a servant leader:

• Listening

• Empathy

• Healing

• Awareness

• Persuasion

• Conceptualization

• Foresight

• Stewardship

• Commitment to the growth of people

• Building community

None of these characteristics are straightforward to achieve, and it can take months or years of persistence and hard work to make these a part of your wheelhouse. 

As you work toward becoming a servant leader and implement these characteristics into the workplace, it can be challenging to set and adhere to boundaries. Once you catch the servant leadership bug, it's hard not to wish you could be everywhere at once to serve everyone in your organization at the same time.

Of course, that's an impossible feat, and it's essential to know your limits and maintain a healthy personal balance.

Try some of these self-care tips to help you maintain boundaries and keep a clear head:

1. Delegate

Servant leadership does not mean that you have to do everything for everyone at all times. Sometimes, the best thing you can do to get the most out of your team is to train your staff to take on some of the tasks you deal with regularly. Training not only gives them a new set of skills, which can increase employees' confidence in the workplace, it can also take some pressure off of you to solely deliver on your organization's promises and goals.

2. Take time off from work

Many leaders feel attached to their phones, tablets, and computers, especially when it comes to their email apps. Many of us always want to make ourselves available to clients and employees. Taking time to unplug can help your mind feel clear, and it leaves more room in your head to allow creativity to flow.

To truly unplug from work, including social media apps related to work, you may have to set up a support system among your employees to allow them to take your calls and emails while you are away. 

Vacations and time off are beneficial for productivity upon return. Still, you won't get the same benefits if you're constantly checking in or replying to emails during your time away. Make sure you are getting an actual vacation with its consummate benefits.

3. Get a support system or mentor

Kids naturally seek out mentors that they can turn to when they need advice or support. Unfortunately, many adults don't think they need professional or personal mentors once they reach a certain age. Having a trusted confidant who listens actively has significant mental health benefits (reducing leader isolation, creating support, and healthy connections) and helps us make better decisions in the workplace. Having a good mentor is one of the steps to your continuous leadership development.

4. Nurture your personal health 

Health challenges may occur when we focus on serving and taking care of our employees, but we aren't properly taking care of ourselves. Many people scoff at rest because they believe they can get so much more done if they skip out on it in favor of more work time.

Running on little sleep (Harvard Health) or entering burnout mode can negatively affect your mental, physical, and spiritual health, and it may prompt you to do or say things you will later regret.

5. Get training  

Sometimes the best thing you can do when you're feeling burned out or down is to get training from an expert in leadership and personal success. Seeking out the help of an executive coach can be an investment that pays dividends in the long run, as they can give you the tools and information you need much more quickly than if you are struggling to figure it out on your own. The help and support of an executive coach can significantly expedite your overall leadership development.

6. Train others

Servant leaders should share their vast knowledge with their direct reports to maintain consistent and timely skill levels within an organization. Leaders can also structure ongoing communication and training through traditional classroom settings, webinars, and speaker bureaus in larger organizations.

For a smaller organization or work divisions, knowledge sharing and training opportunities may occur during weekly one-on-one meetings or tailgate safety meetings and section meetings. Here are other ways you can train others by sharing your knowledge in a non-direct way:

• Place your favorite servant leadership publications on the internal routing lists amongst senior managers or note them on your digital bulletin board.  

• Invite staff to sign up for blog updates of their favorite leadership websites.  

• Create a quarterly list of book recommendations that highlight servant leadership and positive leadership principles.  

• Encourage senior managers to submit a blog article for the organizational-wide newsletter and further discussions.

7. Be a visionary

Creating a simple yet comprehensive succession plan can help your organization run more smoothly and allow employees to grow and evolve into new roles that make an even more significant impact. Codifying a succession plan is one of the most effective practices a leader can implement. It allows employees who know the company from the bottom up to take on more prominent roles and use their skills to make the company even better.

A solid succession plan helps prepare staff to fill in for you when you are away from the office for extended periods. It also creates a plan to keep servant leadership a crucial part of your organization's DNA.

Conclusion

It can be tricky to navigate the world of servant leadership, but you don't have to go it alone. Perhaps one of the best things a servant leader can do for self-care is to ask for help and learn more from a qualified leadership coach. If you have questions about servant leadership and would like to learn more about how you can implement it with your team, please contact us today for a free 15-minute consultation!