The Agile Pocket Guide: A Quick Start to Making Your Business Agile Using Scrum and Beyond

Chapter 25

Personal Kaizen—More on Servant Leadership

I believe it is vastly important to ground oneself in the power and position of being a Servant Leader for your company and team. It really is the most rewarding place to put oneself. It many ways, it might seem counterintuitive to the idea that only the hard-working, tough-as-nails, demanding, authority figures get promoted. In my experience, it is exactly the opposite. As I have seen time and time again, the ones who place their team, their fellow employees, and others before themselves are the ones who reap more rewarding personal and professional gain. They don't do it for personal gain, but rather, the personal gain is a perk that comes with serving others.

I believe that personal character isn't taught, but rather it is grown over time. The more time you spend on personal kaizen, or self-improvement to help others, the more fulfilling and rewarding your work and life will be. The following is what I consider to be the Top 10 Personal Skills for a Servant Leader. I suggest you read each one and let it resonate within you.

1. Communicative and social—A Servant Leader must be able to communicate well with all people, teams, and business levels. Understanding your communication style is imperative to knowing how to engage effectively with people from all walks of life and backgrounds!

2. Facilitative—A Servant Leader must be able to lead, manage, and even coach teams of people to work collaboratively, cohesively, and effectively. ...