April 8, 2008
Servant Leadership - Leadership Traits and Behavior Modeling, part 2
A characteristic of this important leadership trend, servant leadership, is that the leader keeps the focus is on the development of the individuals and team he or she is leading. As the relationships and trust develops, team members will sometimes adopt behavioral characteristics or their leader. This is called "behavior modeling".
Many characteristics of a leader's behavior are subject to modeling, including: style of speaking using particular terms and phrases, style of writing, physical gestures and attitudes.
People will retain their own individuality, but there will be overtones of the leader present. There is usually nothing wrong with this type modeling and, in fact, it can be very positive. Last time I mentioned that there could be a dark side to behavior modeling, something the servant leader needs to be very cautious about. I’ve personally witnessed this occur. Here it is:
As the leader becomes more successful and more team members begin to model various characteristics of their leader, there can be a tendency for the leader’s ego to get a little swollen. It can be a very heady thing for to experience people doing things just like you would have done or speaking is the same style as you, using similar words and phrases. The leader must be careful to keep their ego in check or the focus can quickly become on the leader instead of on the team and individual members.
Unfortunately, some leaders learn to cleverly manipulate individuals’ behavior toward their own personal advancement. When these manipulations are finally recognized, people become resentful, often feeling trapped and even embarrassed that they fell for this ruse. Trust rapidly erodes and ultimately the team and relationships collapse.
The concept of servant leadership sounds easy, but our egos can easily get in our way.
Filed under Leadership Articles, servant leadership by Stan Levanduski
Comments on Servant Leadership - Leadership Traits and Behavior Modeling, part 2 »
Arjan Doevendans @ 1:15 am
[Quote]"As the relationships and trust develops, team members will sometimes adopt behavioral characteristics or their leader. This is called "behavior modeling (…) People will retain their own individuality, but there will be overtones of the leader present. There is usually nothing wrong with this type modeling and, in fact, it can be very positive."[/endquote]
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts on leadership, this time related to behavioral modeling - it has set me to thinking again. I hold a slightly different view on the things you write above and am very interested to hear your opinion.
Following Gofee's and Jones' (2006) essay on authentic leadership, I believe that there is a constant desire for authenticity all around us. Since I also believe that there are leaders at all levels of an organization (which makes everybody a leader of some sort), I think that creating and developing authenticity needs to be the main focus in every situation. Leaders should perhaps play some sort of mentoring role to create self-awareness among those who follow, so they can become authentic leaders themselves. When people know who they are, and what their personal strengths are, they can start building on that to become more effective in their work. I believe that when people can be themselves, they will be most effective.
Adopting behavioral characteristics of your leader might be 'dangerous' in some situations, when it means that somebody else's behavioral characteristics start overshadowing your own authentic behavioral characteristics in an unnatural way. Other people will most probably notice your 'fake' or 'adjusted' behavior and might question your credibility as an authentic leader.
To conclude with, I would like to suggest a slightly different approach. In my opinion, leaders are everywhere, at every organizational level. To improve personal development and effectiveness, one should always try to capitalize on other people's personal strengths -> create self awareness. When somebody knows who he/she is and what he/she is capable of, leader behavioral modeling can take place to add to that as support.. but one should never lose authenticity.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this!
Best regards,
Arjan Doevendans
Reference:
Goffee, R., & Jones, G. (2006). Why should anyone be led by you?: What It Takes to Be an Authentic Leader. Harvard Business School Press, Boston MA.