Leadership Styles and the Elements of the Servant Leader

In a free eBook I just read – 26 Principles of Working for Good – written by Jeff Klein, Julie Van Amerongen, and Elad Levinson, one of the principles they listed is “Servant Leadership.”

Jeff Klein identifies the term “servant leadership” as first being coined Robert K. Greenleaf. Servant leadership, Klein continues . . .

“reflects the practices of spiritual masters and inspirational leaders throughout human history.He then listed ten characteristics of the servant leader:

listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of others, and building community.Having just written a post on the current Internet marketing buzzwords I thought it appropriate to follow with this list, because it describes what we and you are doing as soft sell marketers, even though we may never have consciously articulated them.Each of these qualities warrants a post in itself and it is my intent to do just that.So let’s begin with “listening.” First, “listening” and “hearing” are distinctly different.

Hearing has to do with sound waves reaching your ears and registering a pattern you understand.

This is a purely mechanical process and you need not have any concern with either what you hear or who or what you hear it from.

Listening has to do with connection—as we say, with consciousness, conscience, and care.

To make this simple let’s just assume you are listening to another person.

To truly listen you MUST be aware of and be able to respond to:

not just of the sound coming from the other person, but the intent within what they are saying, or, for that matter, what they are not saying;the meaning being conveyed in the words, a very specific and personal meaning;the context, as best you can, because context is the ground, the definer;the feelings underlying the expression because the feelings give the words their texture and luster and depth; and

the possibility of seeing the world through someone else’s eyes while simultaneously seeing it through your own.

Your willingness to care enough to extend yourself into someone else’s experience, even for just a moment.Because when that touch occurs—that’s listening.So, now . . .How does this apply to you as a soft sell marketer, a conscious marketer?How do you listen to your clients and customers and your prospective customers when there is limited sound, mostly text, and often not even that?1) Since, as a soft sell marketer, the product and service you offer is likely to have been created by you out of your own need to resolve the issue your offer deals with, what was your intent within the questions and concerns you experienced before you developed your own solutions?

2) What are you asking your customers and clients regarding what they need from you? That will give you an array of specific and personal answers and the meanings they contain. This simple yet often revealing step in listening is overlooked.

3) The context for their response is the pain they experience not being able to resolve their questions and concerns. Offer free teleseminars designed to dialogue with your customers and clients and test your assumptions. Most people are willing to be forthcoming if they know you can be trusted.

4) During your teleseminars or in the email you receive from your list community, pay close attention to the feelings embedded in the words. They’re there but will remain opaque unless you consciously focus on mining them.

5) Even though you make assumptions that your community is much like you were back when you were without your solution, at some point let go of your assumptions and listen for what you don’t know. Your customers will tell you in a variety of ways—praise, complaints, chit chat, requests. Pay attention.

Listing is not just about sound. It’s about an open heart and a desire and willingness to connect. Then deep listening becomes a quality of your listening and an indispensable part of your leadership style.

Because It’s All in the Connection,

Judith & Jim

Our most recent book, The Heart of Marketing, has a sone of it’s major marketing themes the idea and practice of listening.  You can still get one or all of the 60 FREE marketing bonus gifts we made available during our launch once you buy the book. Just go to http://www.theheartofmarketing.com – And after you’ve read it, please leave your review at amazon. We’d appreciate it.