Servant Leaders Set Standards in Excellence
by Kendrick B. Melrose
Author of Making the Grass Greener on Your Side

A twelve year old boy banged the side door shut as he came home from school on a day that beckoned winter. It was the end of his first school term, and among his books was his report card.

Later that evening, he sat quietly in the living room, watching as his father studied the grades with a grimace and a furrowed brow. Before his father could say anything, the boy nervously blurted out, "The teacher said I did okay."

The father handed the card to the mother, and before she too could show her disappointment, the boy added, half optimistically this time, "The teacher said I was in the top half of my class."

After a lengthy pause, his father began to speak. "Son," he said gently but sternly, "you shouldn't be so concerned with how well you did compared to the other students, or even how your teacher felt about your marks. What's important — far more important — is that you set a standard of excellence for yourself. That standard will become the measure that tells you if you did your very best, and will enable you to look back at all you do without regret. It's a standard that will challenge the very best in you. And always remember, it can't be the teacher's standard nor anyone else's. It must be yours, and yours alone. You have to own it."

I first heard this story when I was fourteen years old. My family was gathered at Princeton University to celebrate the graduation of my older brother, Bob. I was so proud that Bob was one of those receiving the high honors conferred that day. I remember looking at my parents and being surprised at the tears streaming down their faces. I didn't know until later that Bob had been the boy in this story.

We were there on that bright June day partly because of the lesson our parents had given to Bob years ago, and partly because, from our parent's example, Bob had set himself a standard of excellence. Our parents planted in Bob and in me the seeds of a model of excellence -- one based on a set of principles. They believed in our infinite capacity for self improvement, and eventually we believed in it too. Still, we, by our own actions, had to make standards of excellence part of the fabric of our lives.

Servant leaders, those who choose to lead an organization by serving instead of by directing or controlling, must also make standards of excellence part of the fabric of their lives. I am not talking about the kind of excellence that means flawlessness or perfection. I am talking about a kind of excellence that means "to exceed, to surpass, to be better," a kind of continuous improvement that accelerates momentum and enthusiasm within an organization as individuals attempt to achieve goals that are both challenging and realistic.

A leader who challenges individuals or a team to move toward excellence faces a personal challenge -- to create and maintain an environment that engenders trust and empowers action. Empowering others isn't about abdicating your leadership role. Achieving standards of excellence demands that you help your people develop and grow, and that you improve your own performance of all leadership tasks. At The Toro Company, we ask all of our leaders and employees to incorporate the following six dynamic leadership attributes into their roles and interactions. In this way, we hope to ensure that our vision is achieved and that we are living every day by the standards of excellence we have set for ourselves.

Six Dynamic Leadership Attributes

1. Anticipate and Respond to the Future

An insightful leader will have a sense for the unknowable, see the unforeseeable, and respond appropriately. He or she is able to paint a picture of the future and fashion a plan to move toward it opportunistically. For example, The Toro Company purchased its major competitor as a result of anticipating how retailing patterns would change.

2. Live Your Vision, Communicate It, and Act It

It's not enough just to have a vision. It is also the leader's responsibility to articulate it clearly to those he or she leads. A leader must inspire others to embrace the vision, demonstrate his or her commitment to it, and incorporate it into the daily work setting. A vision is not just a statement on the walls of the lobby.

3. Give Power Away . . . Build Trust

As a leader exhibits a stronger coaching and empowering role, he or she will build trust, but this is a slow and difficult process. Following are some ways to foster trust:

Foster risk taking, innovation, and creativity by providing a "freedom to fail" environment. For example, at Toro, a group of employees worked long and hard to find a better method for producing a major part on one of our products. To make a long story short, the new process didn't work at high manufacturing rates. Unfortunately, they learned this only after it had been implemented during the normal production process — well after the product had been introduced to the field and annual stock orders had been taken. Instead of giving them a reprimand, we celebrated. Word spread quickly. The message was: good tries are encouraged and recognized. As a postscript to this story, and as is often the case, we were able to use their process later to assess the effectiveness of future designs.

4. Create an Environment for Personal Growth

An environment that encourages personal growth allows the organization's most important assets to appreciate in value. To create such an environment, focus on the following:

5. Champion Positive Change

Following are some ways to do it:

6. Integrate Results and Relationships

This is often the most difficult of all the leadership attributes. It seems so contradictory. While treating people in a valuing way, leaders must still expect and require excellence, positive results, and goal achievement. Accepting sub par performance is devaluing to those who are meeting requirements.

As servant leaders, we have the responsibility to inspire and guide others to live up to their potential. To do that, we have to model the character and behavior we hope to see in others. Leadership is an inside out thing — what we have internalized, we reflect outwardly in what we do. When we recognize incongruence between our words and behaviors, we need to reconcile that incongruence before we can break ground for the new growth needed to reach the goals we've targeted. These goals are like mile markers along the roads we choose to travel; they serve as checkpoints for our journey. Standards of excellence focus and channel our best efforts, and along the way we grow and become stronger. .

###

Third of a Series
Series Courtesy of Article Resource Association

Back to Top