Too often, people go into leadership roles for the wrong reasons. They seek the prestige and authority that comes with the role, as Patrick Lencioni says in The Motive. They focus on what they want to get, not on what they should be giving. That’s a dangerous motivation for a leader, as he asserts. These would-be leaders are using their time and energy in the wrong ways, while neglecting their people’s growth.
And some people believe that as a leader, they should have less to do. After offloading all the hard work, they can sit back and just make sure it gets done.
Some business leaders have latched on to this idea by popularizing the titles of books like Tim Ferriss’s The Four-Hour Workweek without digging into the context of the book. The idea is to free yourself from the day-to-day tasks so you can get yourself to a place where you canto focus on developing your team and growing your business, not checking emails and managing your CRM.
Many have the idea that they can unload all of the dailyys tasks so they can spend as little time at their business as possible, all while and expecting the business and team to keep growing.
This is absolutely the wrong approach. Leadership isn’t about giving orders, gaining power, and shirking off responsibilities. His book offers some worthwhile advice on time management, the goal of boosting your productivity should be to tackle higher-level tasks, not to sit back while others do all the work.
As a leader, you have to do more — not the same things you’ve always done, but different tasks that add greater value. Essentially, you should be taking on a servant role.
Let’s explore what the servant leadership style involves and how to apply it as you set your goals and priorities.
What Does Taking on a Servant Role Mean?
Ask a lot of people to define the functions of a leader, and they’ll say something like, “directing company operations” or “giving instructions.”
But in reality, leading is about serving others and putting their needs first.
There’s a big gap between how well leaders believe they’re doing here and how they’re actually doing. While 89% of execs believe they’re supporting employees’ growth and well-being, just 41% of employees agree.
As a leader, everyone is depending on you — including your clients. Let’s dig into the mindset of servant leadership and how it benefits the team and company.
Philosophy of Servant Leadership
Servant leaders focus on helping people grow and realize their dreams. By guiding them to tap into their sense of purpose, they help people find fulfillment in their work. As a result, they enhance team outcomes, letting everyone move toward bigger goals.
And servant leaders focus on building a community of equals, not bossing people around. As they build strong relationships, they foster growth, trust, and understanding. People trust servant leaders because they know they have their best interests at heart. This instills a sense of psychological safety, helping people feel comfortable exercising creativity and taking risks.
In turn, that promotes innovation, helping everyone tap into their creative potential. It also encourages collaboration and knowledge-sharing. Why? When a leader models servant leadership, it instills a culture of supporting one another and serving the greater good.
For all of these reasons, servant leadership strengthens engagement by empowering people, enhancing team cohesion, and fostering a positive culture, research shows. As a result, it boosts retention, employee satisfaction, and ability to navigate change and disruption.
Characteristics of a Servant Leader
Here are some defining qualities of a servant leader:
- Empathy: Relating to others with compassion and understanding.
- Humbleness: Welcoming feedback and striving to continuously improve.
- Curiosity: Being inquisitive about what motivates people and what they think.
- Integrity: Showing accountability for actions and results.
Servant leaders are good listeners who are always seeking to learn. And they delegate in a way that empowers others, finding ways to leverage their key strengths.
So, how does this all translate into how you manage your time? Let’s now turn to how you should be reprioritizing your workload.
Redefining Your Priorities as a Leader
When I started my insurance business — and later, IA Blueprint — I had to take care of a lot of different tasks. I was handling all the social media posts, emails, client sales, and writing duties. As I launched IA Blueprint, I knew I’d be working 60-hour weeks for a while; I talked with my wife about how this would likely last for 6 months. It would be challenging, like starting any new business is, but we were clear on the goals. And eventually, I’d start bringing in more people who would help with these assorted tasks.
As I geared up to hire people to fill some of these roles, I then had to figure out how to train them. And as they got up to speed, I wasn’t just offloading tasks — I was clearing space for myself to focus on new things. My goal wasn’t to do less; it was to do more of the things that added greater value.
Redefining priorities is part of the journey for any leader. When you start out, you’re doing a wide range of tasks out of necessity. As you grow, you need to strategically identify your key priorities and figure out how to carve out time for them.
What priorities should a servant leader focus on? Here are some key ones:
- Defining your organization’s core values, vision, and mission.
- Setting strategic direction, then guiding people to executive it.
- Training and mentoring people, helping them tap into their core strengths.
- Sharing constructive feedback and recognition.
- Supporting teams in solving problems.
- Listening to people and seeking their input in decision-making.
- Enhancing the well-being of the team.
Servant leaders connect people with the right tools, resources, and staff to get the job done. They also act as a sounding board when people go through challenges. A good servant leader prompts people to think critically, solving their own problems, but lets them know when they’re on the right track (or redirects them if they’re not). And by setting goals collaboratively, they increase investment in achieving them.
Reclaiming Your Time for High-Level Activities
In leadership, prioritization and time management comes down to freeing up time for what matters most.
Every time you hire someone, you’re actually buying back your time so you can spend it on things that really drive the business forward, as Dan Martell says in Buy Back Your Time.
Hiring an assistant is a critical part of buying back your time. For one thing, your assistant can act as a buffer against distractions, as Martell says. They don’t have the emotional attachment to certain tasks — like paying bills or setting up a tough meeting — that may lead you to procrastinate on them, he notes.
Plus, a skilled assistant can handle a wide range of tasks that are tying up your time, from scheduling to client communications. This includes the big one: checking your email inbox and responding to messages promptly. With a good assistant, you’ll never even have to see a lot of the emails that come your way, as Martell asserts.
As a leader, good time management will let you channel your efforts in the right direction. You’ll then be able to focus on shaping business strategy and coaching your people to success. And as you model a servant leadership mindset, you’ll guide everyone to become a supportive team player. This will all pay big dividends by creating a supportive workplace culture that fully leverages each person’s strengths.
Ready to free up more of your time for core priorities? Hiring a virtual assistant provides a convenient way to boost your efficiency, adding a trusted staff member to lighten your taskload. Let’s set up a conversation about how hiring a VA can support your work. There’s no commitment — just the chance to educate yourself on the possibilities.