In this post, I’ll highlight my favorite servant leadership quotes that have inspired and reminded be to constantly serve others.
When people typically think of a leader, it is an authoritative position that holds power (especially over others). This is traditionally known as a “top down” approach. In a servant leadership approach this dynamic is flipped to be a “bottom up” approach with leaders on the bottom and front-line employees on the top.
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I found that I was able to grow, develop, and feel way more fulfilled when being supported by a leader who followed a “bottom up” approach. In my first job after graduating university, I was very lucky to have a leader who managed with a servant leadership style.
She asked me questions like, “What can I do to best support you?”, “How can I help you reach your learning objectives?”, and “What do you think would best move this work forward?”
This was a stark but welcoming contrast from a few other leaders I have had in the past who were more authoritative, directive, and top down.
In this post, I’ll cover:
- What is Servant Leadership
- Servant Leadership Quotes in the Workplace
- Servant Leadership Quotes In The Community
- Servant Leadership Quotes For Inspiration
- My Experience with Servant Leadership
- Final Thoughts
What is Servant Leadership?
Servant leadership is a belief that leaders should strive to serve others rather than try to control or lead with authority. “Others” can be direct reports, customers, stakeholders, a community, etc.Servant leaders have a goal to serve the best interest of others rather than themselves. Examples of this style can look like:
- Actively listening
- Demonstrating empathy
- Giving autonomy
- Encouraging growth and development for employees
- Coaching
- Granting decision making power
Now that you have a better sense of what servant leadership is, lets look at some of the most inspirational servant leadership quotes I’ve come across!
Servant Leadership Quotes In The Workplace
“It has generally been my experience that the very top people of truly great organizations are servant-leaders.”
– Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
“Leadership is not about being in charge. Leadership is about taking care of those in your charge.”
– Simon Sinek, author of Leaders Eat Last and inspirational speaker
“Servant leadership is all about making the goals clear and then rolling your sleeves up and doing whatever it takes to help people win. In that situation, they don’t work for you; you work for them.”– Ken Blanchard, American business consultant, author, and speaker
“The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say ‘I’. They don’t think ‘I’. They think ‘we’; they think ‘team’.”– Thomas J. Peters, American writer on business management practices
“Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.”
– Michelle Obama, former First Lady, attorney, and author
“As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.”
– Bill Gates, founder and former CEO of Microsoft
Servant Leadership Quotes In The Community
“A leader … is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.”
– Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa, anti-apartheid activist
“Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.”
– Sheryl Sandberg, former COO of Meta
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
– Mahatma Gandhi, Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist
“True leadership is servanthood. Put the interests of others at the center of your decisions.”
– Dave Ramsey, author of the Total Money Makeover
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
– Maya Angelou, American memoirist, poet and civil rights activist
“A true natural servant automatically responds to any problem by listening first.”
– Robert Greenleaf, founder of the modern Servant Leadership Movement
“Serving others prepares you to lead others.”
– Jim George, American author, two-time finalist for the Gold Medallion Book Award
Quotes For Inspiration
“The goal of many leaders is to get people to think more highly of the leader. The goal of a great leader is to help people to think more highly of themselves.”
– J. Carla Nortcutt, CEO at NewCentury Leadership
“Life’s most urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?”
– Martin Luther King Jr., American Civil Rights Leader
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.”
– Booker Washington, Presidential Advisor, author, orator, and educator
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.”
– John Adams, former President of the United States
“It’s not about trying to find something to help you be a more effective leader. It’s about trying to be a better person. The other will follow.”
– James A. Autry, former Fortune 500 executive
My Experience with Servant Leadership
These are some of my favorite servant leadership quotes that I have come across over my career. They help to continually inspire and remind the importance of serving others as I lead them through different projects, initiatives, tasks, etc.
I realized that when I lead with a goal of serving others, it didn’t just impact the people I directly worked with. It seemed to ripple across with people I indirectly worked with.
Modelling a servant leadership style for others is infectious because of how it makes people feel. People feeling empowered, valued, motivated, and energized are all benefits from leading with a servant leadership style.
Final Thoughts
I highly recommend reflecting on ways you can serve others in the various professional or personal roles you hold. Whether you are in a leadership position or not, you can always lead others and model servant leadership. The benefits and more importantly, the way you can make people feel will be all the inspiration and motivation you need to adopt this style.
Use the quotes above to serve as a reminder to look for opportunities where you can be a servant leader. Some ideas to keep it top of mind are:
- Post servant leadership quotes up at your desk
- Try to read one new quote a week
- Ask the people you work with for feedback
- Seek out opportunities where you can serve others.
I hope this list of servant leadership quotes has inspired and motivated you to adopt this style in your personal and professional work.
If you have a favorite servant leadership quote you would like to share, please comment below!
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