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Was really expecting something more substantive from Harvard here. This is barely even a summary. Growing up in Evangelical church circles in the '90s and '00s

by smeej 2y ago

Was really expecting something more substantive from Harvard here. This is barely even a summary. Growing up in Evangelical church circles in the '90s and '00s, this was the only kind of leader you were allowed to (admit you) want(ed) to be. And in that culture, it probably works. If your primary goal is (even ostensibly) "help these people love each other better and follow the golden rule better," this fits. That's a situation where any person's success helps other people succeed. One person's growth in love isn't at the expense of another's. But does it work if your goal is to launch something in a cutthroat competitive landscape? Probably not nearly as well, and it doesn't make much sense to me to expect it to.

karaterobot 2y ago
The only manager I ever had who used the phrase 'servant leadership' was a really good, helpful manager. But, it was never clear to me how the servant leadership principles he espoused were different than just taking a practical approach to unblocking your 'resources' and making them happy, so they can meet the goals you've set for them. It looked the same from my perspective, and the results were the same. There was never any confusion in my mind about where the power lay, so the whole servant leadership model always seemed lightly and inoffensively patronizing. This manager was also very religious, and I always wondered whether he came to the servant leadership model through the church, or through management philosophy. But in any case, when I hear about people in leadership positions advocating servant leadership, I think "ahh, in your mind you're the Jesus in this scenario, and we're your disciples. Got it."
strken 2y ago
In my experience of people who claim to be servant leaders within smaller orgs, it works pretty well. Explaining to your team what the business needs, getting them to align on a direction together, and then listening to their complaints and unblocking them when they ask for help...that's just how most modern tech leadership works. Either those people have neutered the idea of servant leadership, or the concept has been incorporated into normal leadership so fully that nobody remembers why it was special, or maybe both.
oytis 2y ago
> But does it work if your goal is to launch something in a cutthroat competitive landscape? I guess that's the only one that works. Hire a team of exceptional engineers and make sure they have everything they need to deliver.

by smeej 2y ago

karaterobot 2y ago

The only manager I ever had who used the phrase 'servant leadership' was a really good, helpful manager. But, it was never clear to me how the servant leadership principles he espoused were different than just taking a practical approach to unblocking your 'resources' and making them happy, so they can meet the goals you've set for them. It looked the same from my perspective, and the results were the same. There was never any confusion in my mind about where the power lay, so the whole servant leadership model always seemed lightly and inoffensively patronizing. This manager was also very religious, and I always wondered whether he came to the servant leadership model through the church, or through management philosophy. But in any case, when I hear about people in leadership positions advocating servant leadership, I think "ahh, in your mind you're the Jesus in this scenario, and we're your disciples. Got it."

strken 2y ago

In my experience of people who claim to be servant leaders within smaller orgs, it works pretty well. Explaining to your team what the business needs, getting them to align on a direction together, and then listening to their complaints and unblocking them when they ask for help...that's just how most modern tech leadership works. Either those people have neutered the idea of servant leadership, or the concept has been incorporated into normal leadership so fully that nobody remembers why it was special, or maybe both.

oytis 2y ago

> But does it work if your goal is to launch something in a cutthroat competitive landscape? I guess that's the only one that works. Hire a team of exceptional engineers and make sure they have everything they need to deliver.