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Do you want to help the other people that work with you so they are more fulfilled, and get an opportunity to inspire them?

Motivations To Consider

Let\\u2019s start with some of the motivations I think it\\u2019s important to consider if you want to go about servant leadership.

Improve Quality Of Delivery

Ultimately, however you serve people still needs to result in improving the quality of delivery. While we\\u2019ll focus on how to be a servant leader on software projects by serving the needs of others, this fact is important to still keep front and center.

Support Career Goals Of Colleagues

As you go about serving others, you might adopt a motivation to see others\\u2019 careers advance.

This doesn\\u2019t mean you stop caring about what happens to you, but that you share the burden for those around you being recognized.

You Don\\u2019t Need A \\u201cLeadership\\u201d Title

You don\\u2019t need an \\u201cofficial\\u201d leadership title to be a servant leader on software projects. You may be the boss of your colleagues already or not, either way, the goal is to inspire and help others \\u2013 regardless of your job title.

Don\\u2019t Rely On Skills To Inspire

As you attempt to lead others by serving them, you may need to shift from relying on demonstrating how skilled you are as a primary motivator. Instead, utilize some of the other tips in this video to be a servant leader.

Avoid \\u201cSiding\\u201d With Individuals

Be wary of siding with individuals. Do whatever you can do to avoid being sucked into political games, or disputes between people on your team. This doesn\\u2019t mean to not have empathy \\u2013 far from it, empathy is crucial. Rather, don\\u2019t be an ear to lend when someone wants to criticize someone else and join in on it with them.

Detach From Personal Advancement

You may find detaching from your personal advancement helpful if you want to be a servant leader on software projects. The moment you start considering whether your efforts are advancing your own career, conflict can arise that makes it harder to take altruistic actions.

Tips For Better Servant Leadership

So what are some of the things you could start doing immediately to demonstrate your desire to be a servant leader?

Show More Than You Tell

The first thing I\\u2019d recommend is to show more than tell. When you delegate work or information to others, taking the time to show them how its done will go further than just conveying the steps. You won\\u2019t always be able to do this, but err on the side of demonstration whenever possible.

Get To Know Colleagues Personally

Next I\\u2019d recommend you get to know your colleagues personally. More than just what technical or other work related skills they prefer, get to know what makes them tick personally. This will make it easier to support them and their needs and desires.

Organize Opportunities To Socialize

If you can organize opportunities to socialize with your immediate group, you will show your colleagues that you care about them as people and are willing to share of yourself outside of work. Don\\u2019t rely on company happy hours and events as the sole way for your immediate colleagues to get together.

Recognize Individual Contributions

It\\u2019s important to recognize individual contributions, and not attribute them always to the entire team. When providing status or communicating \\u201cwins\\u201d of the team, put a name to each gain and give props freely to those who did the work.

Advocate For Solutions To Colleagues\\u2019 Pain

Listen for pain and advocate for solutions. If you get to know your colleagues personally, they will share their struggles and whatever you can do to ease it or help shift the burden to someone else will help them be more fulfilled and effective.

Advocate For Growth Of Your Colleagues

As a servant leader, don\\u2019t rely on people with explicit management titles to be the only ones to look out for your colleagues careers. To avoid seeing great people you\\u2019ve built good relationships leave, do what you can to remove roadblocks and enable them to grow. If they want to leave because they aren\\u2019t getting the opportunities they need, support them in that as well.

Get Excess Capacity To Support Serving

You will need to negotiate excess capacity in your schedule so you have the time needed to be an effective servant leader. This may be difficult depending on the management style of your organization, but if you can do it \\u2013 it\\u2019s well worth it.

Struggle With Them

It says more about you when others see how you help during times of stress than when things are going according to plan. Share in the struggles with your team.\\xa0If you really want to demonstrate the attributes of a servant leader, this is an easy one.

Be As Transparent And Open As Possible

Though this can be controversial, I believe servant leaders should do what they can to be as transparent with their colleagues as possible. If you wish to serve others above the company, part of that is being open and honest with them about information you know. Do not divulge information you\\u2019ve been asked to keep private, as this is being dishonest \\u2013 but I encourage you to get permission to be as open as possible with your colleagues from whoever you report to if necessary.

You can also\\xa0watch this episode on YouTube.\\xa0\\xa0

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