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The Servant Leader in You: Eight Stories to Learn from
Dario Morandotti, Principal Consultant Dalia Vodice, Trainer&Coach
Echi da Berlino25 giugno 2018
Learning
Objectives
2
At the conclusion of this session,
participants will be able to:
Describe who servant leaders are in real
life, what they do, and how they act
Learn how to foster servant leadership
Your presenters today
Dario Morandotti, PMP®, Scrum Master Certified (SMC™)
Consultant in Innovation & New Product Development, Digital Engineering, PLM,
Project/Program/Portfolio
PMI Northern Italy & Switzerland Chapters Member
PMI-NIC Branch Lombardy Director
3
Dalia Vodice, PMP®, PMO-CP®
Project Manager, Trainer & Coach
PMI Northern Italy & Slovenia Chapters Member
PMI-NIC Communication & Marketing Director
Presentation flow
4
What is servant leadership and why is growing in importance
Eight real stories to learn from – through a conversation
Insights and learnings from the conversations
Conclusion, what’s in it for all of us
What is Servant Leadership? Poll: “Before knowing what servant leadership is,
how much do you see yourself as a servant leader?”
1. Don’t know, never heard about
2. A little
3. Some traits
4. Love it, aspiring, practicing
5
What is Servant Leadership – and which are the
characteristics of servant leadership?
6
“The servant-leader is servant first… It
begins with the natural feeling that one
wants to serve, to serve first”.
The origins of Servant Leadership are old but
formalized recently…
7
1932 1956 1970
8
… and rooted in great examples
Different sources (Greenleaf, Spears, et al.) mention different
characteristics...
9
Natural desire to serve others, deeply rooted and value-based
Calling
Assume first and foremost a commitment to serve the needsof others
Stewardship
Avoid authority, seek ways to
build consensus, coaching vs.
controlling
Influence
Fundamental belief that people
have an intrinsic value beyond
their tangible contributions
Growth
Different sources (Greenleaf, Spears, et al.) mention different
characteristics...
10
Understanding issues, ethics,
power, values in a holistic
manner
Awareness
Transform relationships and
search for wholeness
Healing
Accept and recognize people for
their special and unique spirits
Empathy
Deeply commit to listening
receptively to others and with
reflection
Listening
Different sources (Greenleaf, Spears, et al.) mention different
characteristics...
11
Intuitively see the outcome of a situation,
based on the lessons from the past, realities
of the present, and the likely consequence of
a decision for the future
Foresight
Seek means to explore and fortify
trust
Building Community
Celebrate the joy of the work and let others
reflect on the importance of both struggles
and successes in the organization and the
need to learn from both
Nurturing Spirit & Joy
Encourage great dreams with balance
between conceptual thinking and a day-
to-day operational approach
Conceptualization and Senseof Reality
Furthermore…
PMBoK v6 Agile Practice Guide says…
12
«Servant leader empowers the team and
approaches the work in this order»
Purpose - work with the team to define
the why
People - encourage the team to create an
environment where everyone can succeed
Process - doesn't look to perfect process
but instead looks for results and reflect
frequently on products and processes
«Servant leader responsibilities»
Facilitate, Remove organizational
impediments, Pave the way for other's
contributions, Educate on Agile approach,
Support with mentoring and career
development, Help in risk analysis and
others management activities, Celebrate
success
So we started our investigation knowing –
or supposing to know that…
Servant leaders are not born, they are made and servant
leadership can be learned
Role examples are required (today’s presentation)
Also, practice is needed - it’s a learning by doing -
and searching for honest feedback and adapt is
essential
Does it need to coexist with other situational leadership
styles?
13
14
Eight stories to learn from…
Diversity in role & profession, country
and cultural background, hard/soft
way of learning…
Stories mean
people… where
are they from?
15
Frank
Sharon
Paola
Stefano
AlexiaGiorgio
Damiana Berlin, we are here
Conversations with
them about...
16
Frank
Sharon
Paola
Stefano
AlexiaGiorgio
Damiana
Characteristics…
Thinking of you as servant leader
means…
The start of consciousness is…
You learned servant leadership
mostly in…
Paola – Naples, ItalyProgram Manager and Business People Manager,
Information Technology
17
Empathy. «Pick up and understand others’ key aspects – including the more hidden ones. It’s a
predisposition to listen different points of view»
Infuence. «Think how others can view/benefit of you as leader, a reference point in case of need
and support. Doesn’t not mean indulgence or lack of professionalism»
Building Community. «Build the climate!»
Awareness. «Be attentive at 360 degrees and with a sense of reality, with your feet on earth»
Healing. «Put aside pre-concepts and give chance to the relationships»
Paola – Naples, ItalyProgram Manager and Business People Manager,
Information Technology
18
Thinking of you as servant leader means… «Help to remove impediments for the team. A great
sense of fulfillment and gratification»
The start of consciousness was… «It was someone else that told me “you have an ability to
facilitate and negotiate when things appear tough”, so I started thinking more deeply on this quality
and act purposely»
You learned servant leadership mostly in… «Critical situations when confidence is low and
pressure is high, when issue investigation needs everyone’s contribution - yet the solution isn’t
evident»
Key recommendations for people wishing to grow in servant leadership… «Practice listening
and empathy. Train creativity and embrace situations outside the comfort zone»
Stefano – Reggio Emilia, ItalyCEO at BluPeak Consulting
19
Listening. «More and more I’m understanding the importance of active listening, specifically
referring to good coaching schools’ practices. The listening itself is able to activate good dynamics
in the team»
Awareness. «I am absolutely devoted to understand the big picture. I do not see the value of
obsessive micromanagement, or a merely action-driven approach. I am aware that the risk of such
approach is sometimes to be inactive, waiting for the whole picture to be clear and balanced»
Growth. «I am deeply convinced that people have inside themselves all is needed to work, share,
succeed. “Let them sing, they know already how to”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne6tB2KiZuk»
Stefano – Reggio Emilia, ItalyCEO at BluPeak Consulting
20
Conceptualization. «Produce a deep sense of a project, of an issue, of a problem for the whole
team. Working on metaphors is important to build a common sense and vision. Give them a sense,
start with “why?”, refer everything to a meaning, a metaphor»
Foresight. «To me the metaphor of trajectory is very important, the “here and now” decision or
action must always be seen in a broader perspective, with a strong retrospective elaboration, but
projected to the future. I cannot avoid to apply this vision considering past-present-future. Again this
approach risk to be slow compared with an action-driven one»
Building the Community. «I do believe in the speed of trust. I have strongly experienced in
working practices and during the PMI Italy interchapters federation building.
http://www.speedoftrust.com/how-the-speed-of-trust-works/book»
Stefano – Reggio Emilia, ItalyCEO at BluPeak Consulting
21
Thinking of you as servant leader means… «I believe servant leadership is a good approach to
focus on people empowerment, to develop emerging virtuous behaviors within the team and build
an ethical context. Nevertheless I feel that it cannot be the only approach and the best leadership
style I believe in is an adaptive, hybrid one. So I’m aware that in the last few years I have embraced
servant leadership principles and approach, but I feel not completely in: I clearly see the risk that it
can become just a slogan or a fashion, and I would like to avoid it»
The start of consciousness was… «I met this approach during the PMI LIMC 2015, I appreciated
it but not if applied alone and/or schematically, better when integrating it with other values and
approaches. It works well in volunteering-based environment like PMI, but it must be carefully
evaluated in other scenarios»
Stefano – Reggio Emilia, ItalyCEO at BluPeak Consulting
22
A specific example… «In some strategic professional projects in which I was recently acting as a
PM, I adopted a style much less directive that in the past. The effect was to see people more
responsible, growing in decisions making, fluently adapt to reality during execution.
In my Chapter President role I am trying to make the board team an organism, robust, with the right
degree of redundancy (DNA principle), not depending upon “heroes” behaviors, adopting servant
leadership practices»
You learned servant leadership mostly in… «LIMC by PMI, Agile PM culture»
Key recommendations for people wishing to grow in servant leadership… «Develop a holistic
vision, develop a true “caring” attitude , be a master observing disciples in silence and shadow,
leaving the stage to them), focus on facilitation and integration skills (for one’s self and the team),
approach the “coaching” discipline, methods, tools, dynamics with honesty and rigor»
Frank – Warburg, GermanyTechnical Product Manager and Scrum Master,
Information Technology
23
Empathy. «This characteristic developed over time as I started to work with people from different
nationalities and had to understand and learn different cultural based behaviors»
Influence. «People had to learn to trust me as I had to learn to trust them. The bigger the trust
became, the more people listened to me and understood my intentions of helping them and not
authorizing / supervising them»
Growth. «I realized the benefit of helping others to grow by, e.g., continuously encouraging them to
learn whenever possible in parallel to their daily work obligations. It is like putting seeds in a field
and water them from time to time to help them grow based on their own inner strength»
Nurturing the Spirit & Joy. «I realized that it is important to understand the huge positive impact of
an environment that allows you to succeed or fail together with your peers and team members»
Frank – Warburg, GermanyTechnical Product Manager and Scrum Master,
Information Technology
24
Thinking of you as servant leader means… «Help my peers and colleagues to remove obstacles
from their way of achieving a specific goal. This does not only apply to the teams I am leading but
also to my customers I am serving. It just feels good to make them happy. It makes me proud of
myself and of those, who apply my servant leadership behavior»
You learned servant leadership mostly in… «Each situation, in which multiple people are
involved and that is set up to aim for a specific goal to achieve with active collaboration»
Key recommendations for people wishing to grow in servant leadership… «Reflect on yourself
by the feedback you receive from others. Learn to accept that diversity of people. Be diverse and
inclusive. Coach people rather than train them. Start to develop an asking behavior rather than a
commanding one. Learn from the answers: how do people react to my questions? Is the answer I
receive what I expected? Am I understandable?»
Damiana – London, UK & Trieste, ItalyExecutive Coach & Trainer
25
Listening. «Deeply commit to being intensely present to others and self at different levels and
reflect actively, so that I gain a sense of the whole person / entity / organisation, to connect people
with their purpose, and enable them to co-create processes»
Empathy. «A way of gathering data by stepping into others’ shoes, experiencing and understanding
the world from their point of view, recognising and accepting people for their uniqueness, while
learning from them»
Awareness. «Internal: recognising my own internal dialogue and relationship with self; and external:
the impact I have on colleagues and the system, and understanding issues, ethics, power, values in
a holistic manner»
Damiana – London, UK & Trieste, ItalyExecutive Coach & Trainer
26
Infuence. «Built on credibility, expertise and integrity, is for me the ability to move others to action
by facilitating the alignment between their and organisational interests, values and purpose, in the
absence of formal authority, with the effect of facilitating people’s development in the process…»
Vision and Sense of Reality. «Nurture great dreams with balance between conceptual thinking and
a day-to-day operational approach»
Building the Community. «Build trust, foster connections, integrity, appreciation for diversity and
open communication»
Nurturing the Spirit & Joy. «Understand the deep human need to contribute to personally
meaningful enterprises, celebrate the joy of the work, facilitate reflection and learn from experience»
Damiana – London, UK & Trieste, ItalyExecutive Coach & Trainer
27
Thinking of you as servant leader means… «The awareness is about our interdependence and
individuality, the power of “we”, the possibilities and challenges of interpersonal dynamics, and
about how I choose to contribute to life
I am conscious that my beliefs, choices and actions shape my reality, that the challenges I
encounter contain opportunities for expanding my edge, and that my key values guide my conduct
and my own self-development.
The feelings of the joy and satisfaction of co-creating something unexpected and of joint
achievement, the freedom of being authentic and vulnerable, the safety of supporting and being
supported, the excitement of learning and growing together, of evolving our communities and
ourselves.
The thoughts are about my responsibility for creating the optimal conditions that allow others and
myself to give our best, my focus on learning and purpose, and my intention to lead by example»
Damiana – London, UK & Trieste, ItalyExecutive Coach & Trainer
28
The start of consciousness was… «Having grown up on the border (between Italy and former Jugoslavia)
between two different political systems, with my identity informed by different mindsets, cultures and two
languages, I was sensitive to relative values and familiar with identifying opportunities for creating shared
concepts, which would connect rather than divide the two sides. Empathic listening and awareness of diversity
served me well in that. My tendency to put myself to the test first, provided opportunities to lead by example,
trained my resilience, sense of reality and foresight»
You learned servant leadership mostly… «By trial and error and drew some of my most important lessons
from failures. I was lucky to have had great role-models in my professional life. More importantly, I very much
enjoy working with others and approach them with the intention to build supportive trusting partnerships and
communities, which co-create the conditions in which we can be vulnerable, free to not know, to be open for
learning»
Key recommendations for people wishing to grow in servant leadership… «Clarify your values, cultivate
your dialogue with yourself, reflect on your actions to learn from experience and from failure. Listen, listen,
listen… ask and then listen a bit more»
Sharon – Paris, FranceExecutive Director at LEAD NetworkThe mission of the LEAD Network (Leading Executives Advancing Diversity) is to attract, retain and advance women in
the retail and consumer goods industry in Europe through education, leadership and business development.
29
Calling. «A sense of purpose and strong attraction to bring about a greater good»
Stewardship. «Serving the needs of a community»
Empathy. «Putting myself in others’ shoes, understanding their needs, anticipating their needs, imaging what
they are feeling. Authenticity and expression of a genuine feeling of acceptance and understanding»
Listening. «Be a keen listener, absorb and register what others are expressing, looking into their eyes as they
speak, making the person feel my interest and compassion»
Building the Community. «Bringing everyone together around a vision, dreaming big together. Motivating a
group of individuals, volunteers to want to spend their precious resource of time with you»
Nurturing the Spirit & Joy. «Happiness is contagious. People will naturally want to give time as a volunteer if
they feel a sense of joy in what they do and have a sense of purpose. It’s about making people feel special»
Sharon – Paris, FranceExecutive Director at LEAD NetworkThe mission of the LEAD Network (Leading Executives Advancing Diversity) is to attract, retain and advance women in
the retail and consumer goods industry in Europe through education, leadership and business development.
30
Thinking of you as servant leader means… «Generates a sense of satisfaction, reward, a feeling that I am
able to make a difference»
The start of consciousness was… «By being told by others around me how I was the “glue” that brought
everyone together under a common vision of what we wanted to accomplish. Being told by people around me,
that the personal touch I bring is genuine, noticed, appreciated … and rare …These characteristics of servant
leadership were nurtured over time. When I could actually see the concrete results of the stewardship I
provided, I became aware of these traits that I built on and nurtured over time»
A specific example… «The first examples occurred in my childhood. As the eldest sibling with a younger
brother and sister, I feel I was a servant leader by leading projects that I called “Winter fun in a box” and
“Summer fun in a box”. There was a sense of stewardship that is was my role to take the lead, bring the fun
and nurture the joy, and through a sense of empathy, make my siblings feel they were contributing to a project»
Sharon – Paris, FranceExecutive Director at LEAD NetworkThe mission of the LEAD Network (Leading Executives Advancing Diversity) is to attract, retain and advance women in
the retail and consumer goods industry in Europe through education, leadership and business development.
31
You learned servant leadership mostly in… «Working in an environment where I was serving
CEOs and top level executives who were volunteers in our non-profit (LEAD Network) organization.
The level of service had to be extremely high. The expectation of the quality and effectiveness of
leadership was extremely high. This environment taught me how to be an effective servant leader,
bringing quality support and direction while motivating the high level volunteers to spend time and
efforts to help us build our non-profit organization»
Key recommendations for people wishing to grow in servant leadership… «Listen, listen,
listen. Listen to your heart. Listen to others. Be inspired and learn from example. You get back what
you give. Keep an open mind. The personal touch can go a long way»
Alexia, – Zurich, SwitzerlandCo-Business Manager, Riahi Travel
Co-Founder and Managing Partner AvestArt
32
Calling. «Bring out the best in me and other who touch my life whether consciously or unconsciously»
Empathy. «I know how good it feels to have someone feel your pain (or joy) at times. It is a way of saying “you
are not alone”. I just try to give that sentiment back to whoever needs it from me»
Awareness. «See my little world around me and understanding the forces at hand is primordial. It helps me
understand»
Influence. «I strive to positively influence people in my life, avoiding to impose any of my ways on anyone. I
believe that true leadership begins with oneself and that as such, people will follow the true leader without
having to ask for it. Be the leader in your life first before attempting to influence others»
Growth. «All of us have a potential to even bigger than ourselves. That’s what I aim at and preach my
“microcosmos”. Living, working and being without any hope for growth in any shape or form is just too sad»
Alexia, – Zurich, SwitzerlandCo-Business Manager, Riahi Travel
Co-Founder and Managing Partner AvestArt
33
Thinking of you as servant leader means… «It feels good to know your actions are actually
serving a greater purpose and that you are helping younger generation or even peers, colleagues,
family and friends find and unleash their true potential. The so-called “aha” moments»
The start of consciousness was… «One day, many years ago, I came across Simon Sinek and
his amazing concise speech on the importance of starting any project with “why”. That’s when the
healing started for me and it is still part of my life. I try to relay it to anyone who wants to “heal”»
You learned servant leadership mostly in… «Observing myself and others and keep asking “why”
and getting to the bottom of it. The most amazing and cataclysmic question: “Why”!»
Alexia, – Zurich, SwitzerlandCo-Business Manager, Riahi Travel
Co-Founder and Managing Partner AvestArt
34
A specific example… «One of my team members was going astray, not liking her duties, not
getting along with company owners, angry in her with her private issues… I had just started in that
company and needed everyone to feel part of the team for the big challenge ahead of all of us. I
knew and had felt right away that this young lady had great potential but that no one had ever
listened to her and given her the responsibility she deserved. After interviewing her a couple of
times and showing her my understanding for her difficult situation and laying down my plan/strategy
for the next six month, she cooled off and started taking responsibility. Today, she is one of the best
team members I could imagine having. She does a fab job and I’m truly proud of her. It keeps
getting better»
Key recommendations for people wishing to grow in servant leadership… «Do it without
asking yourself “what’s in it for me” and move on to the best of your knowledge and for the greater
good. Universe always gives back to the ones that deserve it – always (the good and the bad)»
Giorgio (1965-2017) – Gorizia, Italyin memoriam, Project Manager, Consultant and Trainer
35
Listen three times, talk one
Listen three times, talk one
Make new mistakesMake new mistakes
Start with the end in mind
Start with the end in mind
Servant leadership is a gift to cultivate and use
Servant leadership is a gift to cultivate and use
You are the eighth story!
36
Thinking of you as servant leader
means…
The start of consciousness is…
You’re learning servant
leadership mostly in…
Calling.
Stewardship.
Influence.
Growth.
Awareness.
Healing.
Empathy.
Listening.
Foresight.
Building.
Nurturing.
Conceptualization.
37
Few observations and patterns really stand out
The servant
leader… is the
one who goes
ahead and
explores, learns
and then… comes
back and shares
It starts with putting aside preconceptions and
practicing active listening, exploration,
reflection – it’s a journey, but not always clear
Then, in many
cases they were
told «you are…»:
this the
awareness
moment
Everything starts to
change in the mindset
and behavior: focus on
purpose, build climate
and nurture dreams,
presence to others
Freedom of facing critical
conditions, out-of-
comfort-zone, further
experimenting, practicing
“speed of trust”, avoid
“my way”, co-creating
Then the discovery:
“happiness is contagious”
& “greater good”
Everyone has gifts to cultivate
Conclusions
Servant leadership can be discovered and continuously learned –confirmed
Learning requires observation, examples (as in today’s presentation), reflection, interiorization
Practice is needed – starting from own gifts/characteristics – seeking honest feedbacks, adapt
Servant leadership coexists with other situational leadership styles, but offers a high reward that comes from fulfillment and pursuing great good
38
Photo credits
39
Thanks to
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