Scrum Master as a Servant Leader
In an article, Larry Spears explains that a good servant leader has 10 characteristics that are of critical importance:
Listening
The servant leader must be willing to
listen and identify the will of a group. Hearing it will give him the
opportunity to clarify that will. The leader must be able to listen and
reflect on what is being said; this is an important aspect of being a
servant leader.
Empathy
Empathy is quite an important
characteristic for a servant leader to have. A servant leader must
accept and recognize the special and unique spirits that exist in each
different person. They cannot reject coworkers and colleagues as people,
even in difficult conflict situations. A successful servant leader is a
great empathetic listener.
Healing
This can be considered one of the
strengths of a servant leader: The power of healing one´s self and one´s
relationship to others. Servant leaders understand that they can take
on a special role within their team/group. They have a special power to
fix relationships.
Awareness
Awareness helps people to become
stronger. Awareness helps the servant leader to understand issues
involving ethics, power, and values. This characteristic helps any
servant leader to be able to view situations from a more holistic and
integrated position.
Persuasion
A good servant leader tries to convince
others, instead of forcing compliance. Usually a successful servant
leader is great at building consensus within teams.
Conceptualize
Transforming a big vision into small
workable pieces that everyone understands is a great characteristic
servant leaders generally have. They have the ability to pick up on
daily problems and conceptualize solutions that are understood by
everyone.
Foresight
A great servant leader has the capacity
to foresee the likely outcome of even the most difficult situation.
Using previous experience and present data, they can predict with great
accuracy the future outcome of a situation.
Stewardship
Servant leadership involves an inherent
commitment to serve the needs of others. It also emphasizes the use of
openness and persuasion, rather than control.
Commitment to the Growth of People
Servant leaders believe in true
intrinsic motivation. They believe that all people have a lot to
contribute to the organization. A great servant leader is committed to
helping people to grow within the organization.
Building Community
Building a community among those who
work within a given organisation is the last characteristic of a great
servant leader. They believe they can create true communities among the
people that work within the same organization(s).
Ref: lmsgoncalves.com/2014/08/04/scrum-master-servant-leader/
