Servant Leadership in Agile – All That You Need to Know

When it comes to Agile and SAFe®, many people perceive the roles of a Scrum Master and Product Owner as those performing classic leadership tasks. However, unlike the traditional leadership, they do not instruct or tell the teams what they have to do in detail, Both the Scrum Master and Product Owner empower the others in a team and help the team to become self-organized.

A self-organized team is one that functions collectively, and success is achieved independently of an individual’s leadership traits. The Scrum Master and Product Owner gain the knowledge and principles of servant leadership through SAFe® Agile certification online training. They support the team, removing impediments and guiding them instead of blaming and punishing them for their errors.

The Definition of Servant Leadership

• The term “servant leadership” was first coined by Robert L. Greenleaf in an essay titled “The Servant as Leader”.
• Servant leadership is a non-traditional style of leadership in which the role of the leader is to serve and support the team such that they are able to perform and accomplish their tasks in a self-organized manner and best implement the product vision according to the business goals and principles of the organization.
• In servant leadership, the servant leader puts the growth and well-being of the team first before himself or anything else.
• In servant leadership, power is given to every team member and not just focused on the hands of the leader.
• In servant leadership, the servant leader does not use power and rank to drive performance, but uses it to drive engagement and, at the same time, shares power with others too.
• Servant leadership is an opportunity to serve others and not merely a rank or position to obtain and keep.
• In the case of servant leadership in terms of Agile, a SAFe® Agile course online teaches a Scrum Master, Product Owner, and other servant leaders in Agile to measure success through growth and development and not on the basis of output.
• Servant leadership is rightly known as a non-traditional form of leadership.

What is servant leadership about?

Servant leadership is about:

• Serving others rather than yourself.
• Using the collective power of a team
• Not leading by rank, power, or designation.
• Promoting honest team ownership.
• Empowering the team to grow, develop, and excel in their performance.

What do servant leaders in an Agile organization do?

• Dedicate to serving the needs of other team members in the organization.
• Focus on the needs of others before individual needs.
• Involve other team members in the decision-making process, wherever appropriate.
• Build strong relationships with team members and stakeholders.
• Listen carefully to the team members and build a sense of community.
• Acknowledge and appreciate the views and perspectives of others.
• Provide team members with the support that they need to achieve their goals.
• Empower and train employees to bring out the best in them.
• Protect the team from any kind of external threat or vulnerability.
• Eliminate and prevent impediments.
• Coach, mentor, and train the team and the organization in Scrum and Agile methodology adoption.

Characteristics of servant leaders

• Empathy: Seeing things from the perspective of others.
• Humility: Putting others first.
• Commitment: Committed to the personal and professional development of team members.
• Building community: Allowing people to interact with one another.
• Thinking long-term: Creating a long-term focus in order to achieve distant goals.
• Appreciation: Acknowledge team members for who they truly are.
• Self-awareness: Understanding one’s strengths and weaknesses.
• Encouragement: Encourages everyone in a team to accomplish a task collectively.
• Foresight: the ability to predict things before they actually happen.
• Stewardship: Taking accountability for the performance and actions of the team.

Do you want to become a servant leader in your career?

Do you believe that the ‘Why’ is more important than the ‘How’ and ‘What’?

Do you want to empower others and make the employees feel that they are really a part of the organization?

If the answer to these questions is a Yes, then servant leadership is something that you must really consider. Servant leadership is not something that can just come overnight. A SAFe® Agile course online is the perfect way to begin your journey in the world of Servant Leadership.

AgilityPAD is an organization that conducts SAFe® Agile certification online training. To know more about how SAFe® Agile certification training online can help you pursue your dream of becoming a servant leader, get in touch with us.