What is practical servant leadership and what does it look like to put it into practice?
The phrase was first coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in “The Servant as Leader” in 1970. In the essay, Greenleaf says the main difference between traditional leadership and the servant-first leader is “in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served.” A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong.
Heather Dubbeldam, principal of Dubbeldam Architecture + Design in Toronto, spoke about the leadership philosophy recently on the Leading With Nice Interview Series podcast and the importance of starting with team synergy with both clients and coworkers. We touch on some highlights of our conversation with Heather in the video below.