SERVANT LEADERSHIP AND THE FUTURE
Presentation by:
Robert A. Vanourek
Group Vice President
Mailing Systems
Pitney Bowes Corporation
Wainwright House
Retiring Trustees Celebration
Apawamis Club
Rye, New York
December 3, 1987
Thank you. I am very honored to be here tonight. What a wonderful celebration for Joe Bishop and Polly Wiley, two great servant leaders in so many ways. Joe Bishop has been a healer of people for many years. His leadership at Wainwright House has been inspirational. Polly Wiley has over thirty years on our board. What wonderful contributions she has given over those decades. It’s a true privilege for me to share this evening with them and you.
I am so genuinely happy to share my personal thoughts with you tonight. I’m a student of the subject of leadership. My comments tonight are really the work of many people: Robert Greenleaf, Peter Drucker, many historical and religious leaders, outstanding global companies, as well as many colleagues. I have woven their ideas together into a particular fabric. The result is a philosophy I have come to feel very deeply. I have been asked by Skip Vilas of Wainwright House to share it with you tonight. Perhaps it will be of value to some of you. I hope so. For then I can be both a student of leadership, as well as a guide to others.
I was first exposed to Robert Greenleaf’s ideas of servant leadership in 1974. I had the wonderful good fortune to work for a short year for Jan Erteszek, the president of Olga, a ladies apparel company in California. Jan was a man of vision, a student of creativity and a very successful entrepreneur. He built his wonderful company on Judeo-Christian values. He believed deeply in people and created a special environment for them. Years later his pioneering small company, along with Pitney Bower, my current company, were both selected as two of the 100 best companies in America.
More than just a coincidence, I think. Jan gave me some of Greenleaf’s pamphlets shortly after they were published. It was ten years, though, before I myself was able to weave them together with other ideas in a fashion that suddenly clicked into clarity for me.
For those of you who may not know, Robert Greenleaf spent thirty-nine years in management with AT&T. Then he became a trustee to several universities, as well as an author, and philosopher. His focus is on leadership. Having lived in institutions of all kinds throughout his life, Greenleaf knows how they dominate our lives – business, government, schools, and churches. He sees, too, that large institutions are the sum of many small institutions or departments.
Robert Greenleaf is also a deep believer in human potential, just like Wainwright House and Joe Bishop, and Polly Wiley.
One of the great philosophical questions of the ages deals with human potential –“Is the nature of man good or evil?” And it’s one of the mysteries of life that man can be either. We can be incredibly capable, or unbelievably evil. And much depends on our leaders. As Greenleaf says, we are “capable of great dedication and heroism if wisely led..”
I believe we can spiral upwards into noble deeds on an infinite continuum. Or, we can spiral down into war and exploitation. Much depends on our leaders.
Like most students of leadership, Greenleaf doesn’t subscribe to the “great man” theory where leaders are “born.” He defines leadership as “going out ahead to show the way.” It’s “venturing creatively.” But how? Leadership is certainly complex. And what we’ll define here is the very best of leadership, the kind of leadership only rarely seen. Unfortunately, all too often, we see cheap imitations of leadership which is really something else, management that attempts to lead but really doesn’t.
The true leader has a sense of history. The true leader sees the whole and also has vision to foresee what might happen. The true leader is action oriented, and realistic, and has superb communication skills. Most authors and students of leadership would agree on all those points, as does Greenleaf, but here is where he steps away from the others so significantly. He repeats that the true leader, most paradoxically, serves.
Yes, good leaders excite our imagination. They have a gift for articulating a dream. But the best leaders are symbols who point to a reality greater than themselves. The leader is servant to the vision. The leader does not usurp the vision.
Too often we have special people with some of these leadership traits who are confused as leaders. The visionary may excite our imagination, but may only be a dreamer with no will to initiate. The charismatic articulator may be a persuasive spokesman with no depth. The best leaders go beyond all this to serve, they synthesize all the elements of leadership for the group to be served.
And we measure service by looking at the individuals in the group. They grow. They become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to be servant leaders, even the very least of them.
Simply said, leaders have followers. They have followers in good times and in bad, followers for the long-term. And how does a leader gain followers? By serving them, not just the vision. Leadership is bestowed by the followers. Another paradox. It is not wrested away. It is not mandated from above. True leadership flows from those willing to be led, the followers. And who will the followers follow? Someone who serves them. A paradox. The power to lead come from giving up your personal need for power in order to serve the group.
This idea was inspired in Greenleaf by a German writer, Herman Hesse. But the idea is thousands of years old. The Bible is replete with servant leader stories. As are most religions – Islam, Zen, Taoism,. “The leader follows though a step ahead,” according to the Tao. The leader is not above the others. No one person is better than the rest. True leaders take up their group’s burden. Just as a servant takes up the burden of the baggage. When they lead, they really stand behind. When they take their place of leadership, they do not obstruct the peoples’ progress.
The true leader cares about the people. Without caring about people you cannot be a leader. The leader places the well being of the followers ahead of himself. So, enlightened leadership is service, not selfishness.
And why does the leader care? Because he knows the potential that is there in each of us. He respects those untapped powers and he wants to see the individual soar to new heights. He wants to see the group reach new plateaus. He wants to see them move toward their shared visions. The leader wants to empower the people, to unlock those hidden potentials.
And the people intuitively sense that. They aren’t foolish or dumb. They can’t be tricked for long. They know in their hearts that the true leader is worthy of their trust. So they commit. Voluntarily. With their whole mind and their whole body and their whole heart. Great victories are won in the hearts of men. The best leadership comes from committed followers. Volunteers who intuitively sense the leader will serve them. Sustained loyalty is volunteered.
The true leader listens first. He doesn’t push. “People can’t be led where they don’t want to go.” But if they want to go, then get out of their way! You can’t stop them.
But what keeps these true leaders from emerging? Frequently, it is their need for power. Arrogance. Impatience. Or superiority. Negativism. Lack of belief in the people. Fear. Lack of trust.
Why does this happen? What causes it? All too often we have not clearly seen the dangers inherent in the pursuit of power. So we romanticize the tough guys, the lonely commanders. We assume they have some answers better than ours. We seek benevolent leaders, but then we often watch them fall victim to the drug effect of power in office. The power too often becomes coercive or manipulative.
But coercive power only strengthens resistance. It’s a sign the group wants a different direction or is not ready yet. Manipulative power doesn’t really care about the people. Instead, the leader’s skills at “facilitating” the group should be used. The ideas should evolve from the group. Then the leader can simplify them in a persuasive fashion. Then commitment to the vision can be gained. First to serve. Then to lead. By persuading.
Power corrupts, as Lord Acton said. So servant leaders share power with the group, and with their trustees. The trustees protect the leader from becoming too egotistical. The servant leader guides. The true leader uses the least force required. The true leader, unlike most of us, doesn’t try to fulfill his own desires. He knows the danger in the superstar’s own brilliance outshining the vision.
It’s the ego that gets away from the complacent leader, an ego born in our deepest insecurities.
Leaders should not be lonely and out of touch with their people. That’s a myth. Peters and Waterman said “manage by wandering around.” Leaders should be deeply in touch with their people, connected in the most basic way, and shunning the glory that feeds our insecure egos. The Tao again tells us, “The best leader is one whose existence is barely known by the people. Next comes one they love and praise. Next comes one they fear. Next comes one they defy.” The poem concludes with, “when their task is completed, the people will say, ‘It happened to us naturally.’ ”
So the very best leader has many skills. Action orientation. Communication skills. Foresight and vision. But the most important ingredient of all is the primary need to serve.
Now, can this be true? Is this Greenleaf’s theory? Or just religious philosophy? Does this apply in the rough competition of the free market? In the nuclear age of super powers?
Let me briefly share some of my own experiences from a variety of different circumstances. Through my own reflections, much reading, and discussion with wonderful colleagues. Through many hard lessons learned a picture has emerged for me. A circle that forms a value system in which I can find answers. This value system anchors and guides my actions. Why are we here? What purpose do we serve? What purpose does an organization or institution serve? Pitney Bowes’ chairman, George Harvey, says “Business is a set of relationships.” Isn’t that interesting? Remember, we are all connected, so any organization or institution is a set of these relationships.
I suggest that the purpose of an organization or institution is to “create value for people.” An organization should identify the people connected to the organization and “create value for them,” fill their needs, help them grow and prosper. In other words, to “serve” them. The purpose of an organization is simply to serve the people connected to it. Now, who are those people, and how do we serve them, or create value for them? Let’s use the example of a business organization. Picture a large circle divided into five wedges or segments. Each segment represents one group of people connected to the business. Like a clock let’s start at the top and trace the interrelationship of those segments.
First, come the customers, the starting point of any business. Frequently, the “vision” of the business is defined around the markets and customers. We must “seek and serve” customers as Pitney Bowes’ chairman says. And how do we create value for them and fill their needs? First, we must listen to them. We must seek them out and talk with them. We must discover their problems through market research. Then we must design and deliver products or services that fill their needs. We can’t foist off junk on them. People are smart. So we must build world-class quality products for them. In too many cases American industries stopped doing this, and our customers felt cheated. But Americans are reawakening fast. World-class quality is being inculcated into our vanguard companies, and we are serving our customers better as a result. I’ve seen it happening in office products, autos, steel, and many basic industries.
The second group of people we must serve in our organizations is the employees, and their families. We can do this in many ways. Naturally, we pay them fair wages and benefits. Beyond that the leading company cares about their job security. Indiscriminate firings and layoffs without concern about their impact have no place in the leading company. Retraining is frequently emphasized instead to balance employee skills with changing company needs. People are shifted to where work does exist and care is taken to provide for their security.
When a reduction is absolutely necessary because the business is threatened, people know that every other realistic option has been carefully explored first. So trust is built, and a sense of common purpose. Shared values are linked to bind the group to the organization and to the series of smaller groups within the larger group. For institutions to effectively change, trust must exist, and trust flows from knowing their institution will serve them.
Finally, in the truly leading edge companies, the employees are served because a special environment is created for them, an environment where people can grow closer to their full potential as human beings. These are organizations where work is not drudgery, but a meaningful part of one’s life. Not where smart bosses tell dumb people what to do, but a place where people collaborate on how to achieve their shared vision, each playing a role and each knowing their role is necessary and valuable to the overall vision. People in the organization might not love everyone there because differences will exist. But they will respect each other and rely on one another. Within the company their role will be balanced with their family lives, their spiritual lives, even their personal lives. In this fashion the whole person is healthy and strong.
I have been privileged to see this kind of special environment created several times. In California, in Ohio, in Connecticut. In large organizations and small. Growth businesses and turnaround situations. I have seen blacks and whites, male and female, college educated and grade school drop-outs all do it. New products brought to market in half the normal time. Quality problems fixed in record time. New ventures started. I have seen recessions weathered easily because the people had an infinite reservoir of ideas to draw upon. Unfortunately, we don’t have the time tonight to go into all the stories about these wonderful people.
Most businesses, like people, operate far, far below their full potential. So, when the right environment is created for the people, the results can be, truly, almost magical.
The third group for whom we create value in our circle is our vendor group, our suppliers, not by whipsawing them into submission, but by involving them early in our plans, building long-term mutually profitable relations, and asking them for quality products delivered on-time at competitive costs. At Pitney Bowes, for example, we are actively teaching our vendors manufacturing process control techniques at no charge to them. These programs can be used throughout their business. But we know the efforts will benefit us too. So, in serving our vendors we serve ourselves too. We know we can count on the for help in an emergency.
The fourth group in our circle is our local communities. We must give not only our money, but more importantly, our time, to help the local schools, and neighborhoods, to keep our streets safe, our bridges repaired, our communities healthy. By serving this way we create good living places for our employees and visitors.
And the fifth group we serve in this continuous wheel is who? The shareholders, of course, because they have given us the financial means to run our business, and we must give them an excellent return on their investment. And we must also generate the capital to keep renewing our business. Without profit to renew, our organization would die and no one would be served, so we must survive independently and flourish. Then we can have a continuous flow around the wheel.
Sometimes we depict this circle more simply as a triangle with customers, employees, and shareholders as the three sides. “Balance” between all three sides is essential. Too much focus on profit and the other groups are threatened. Too much focus on job security and corporate survival may be threatened. Balance is the key.
The business that says, “It’s really only the bottom line that counts” makes the dollar their value system. This “bottom line only” value system doesn’t guide typical daily decisions.
If we say it’s only the bottom line that counts, what might the shipping clerk do at the end of the quarter when a defective product is noticed? He ships it. Without this value system what might a vice president do at the first sign of a business slow down? He lays off the factory workers without exploring other options first.
The circle or triangle can be easily remembered by everyone in the organization from the shipping clerk to the vice president. It can help answer those daily questions that come up about what to do. No more asking the boss what to do on every issue. No more making only the short-term dollar driven decision. Or when the tough decision to guard the short-term is necessary, it is a shared commitment from everyone in the group based on their trust and open dialogue. This circle value system can be easily remembered and used. Money becomes only a measurement vehicle for one element, profit. Other measures can be used for the other people connected to the business, measures like market share, defect rates, employee attitudes, attrition, etc.
Similarly, in government aren’t we seeking most servant leaders who can be trusted to lead us toward our collective visions in ways that benefit us, not their place in history, or their own ego need for power and influence.
There is no doubt in my mind that this value system depicted by a circle or triangle is enormously helpful in guiding people in their daily decisions. And the guiding principles are based on creating value for people, serving them in a blanced way, seeing their relationships to each other.
But where do we go from here? What about the servant leader and the future? We can lead by serving. We can help people move closer to achieving their potential. Does it stop there?
No. The most exciting phase of all then comes once we have this recognition. Why? Because the future focus won’t be on the leader. It won’t even be on the vision. The future focus can be on the group, the team, the small institutions inside the large institutions. And it’s here where a literal transcendence can occur.
Why does the leader serve the group? We said to “create value” for them. The leader doesn’t serve himself because the group, including the leader, is better than the leader alone or the leader without committed followers.
The group has essence greater than the sum of its parts. I hesitate to use an overworked work, but “synergy” is the only way to describe it. Life is not a zero sum game here. It is not, “I win, so you must lose,” not plus one here, minus one there, and the total equals zero. In this kind of committed group led by a servant leader we have more than a zero sum game, even more than 2 + 2 equals 5, 10 or 100.
Creativity, as Jan Erteszek showed me in 1974, is stimulated by the group. It’s the collective thought processes which then stimulate new impulses in those brains of ours to “innovations.” There is so much untapped in our minds, but we’ll only get a small part unlocked in isolation from each other. Yes, we need quiet time to reflect and understand. But we’ll evolve to new plateaus when we spark each other in our interactions. Our dialogues will challenge each other to new heights.
The human potential movement has long focused on helping us achieve our individual potential. But the capability of the group or the team to soar to new heights is even more exciting.
Why should the leader serve? To create value for the group of which he is a member. Then they are all better off. Our world is a set of relationships. The servant leader can build institutions by welding teams of teams together and helping them lift themselves to new plateaus. The true leader will facilitate this process, like the midwife assisting at birth. That can only be done inside the institutions where leadership can exist in every department, class, or section. One can’t serve the followers by criticizing from the outside of the institution. One must patiently, caringly, carefully facilitate the process from within by serving. Each of us can do that. Leaders can exist throughout the organization. Each of us being a personal role model. For the servant leader who has the capacity to be a builder, one of the greatest joys to be experienced is in building.
But, this process can be a very difficult one. We are used to power, toughness and decisiveness. A servant leader will endure a great deal of abuse. Flexibility is needed to bend and flow.
Paradoxically, again, the soft touch shall be the strongest. But some will judge the servant leader weak. It will not be easy. But the strength will come from the united, committed, voluntary action of those led. There is absolutely no tough decision that can’t be implemented by such a group of united, committed, volunteers under a servant leader. Trustees will be needed to watch out for the drug effect of power in the leader, but the servant leader is the key.
The more I learn the more I realize that serving is the highest form of leadership and achievement. Through serving others completely and caring enough to facilitate their journey toward their true potential, we enable them, and we ennoble ourselves.
So, I see our institutions changing, from hierarchical chain of command groups with rigid rules led by superior, elitist bosses who direct the activities of subordinates seen as inferior to a whole new approach. I see an open, participative, entrepreneurial environment with loose, flexible teams. I see a core set of values being well understood by everyone. I see a common venture with clear linkages to a shared vision, where value is created for people, where people see how they are connected, where they can grow and realize more of their innate potential. I see organizations with trust and caring, where work is a meaningful part of your life experience. And, most of all, I see servant leaders guiding these institutions, servant leaders at all levels throughout them.
And maybe, just maybe, if we begin doing that on a small scale with our departments, our classrooms, our parishes, maybe the results will be so good that soon our towns, our states, and even our countries are guided by servant leaders. Then our circle approach will really take the form of a globe, like the earth, to symbolize what mankind is truly capable of.
You see, I have learned a wonderful insight from all my teachers. I believe in these values. I believe in Joe Bishop and Polly Wiley. I believe in servant leaders. I believe you can be servant leaders.
You see, I believe in you.
Thank you.
