Module five characteristics of a servant leader. There are many qualities and characteristics that define a servant leader including good listening skills, empathy, power of persuasion and great communication skills. Although a servant leader may develop or follow different leadership styles, they must all possess some of these main qualities and characteristics in order to become a great servant leader to their employees listening skills. Great listening skills can be an important tool in any position, leaders must be able to listen to their employees and actually hear what they are saying and what they are needing. Active listening is a common tool used in improving listening skills because it involves listening without distractions, and then periodically repeating back what is heard for clarification. Good listening skills also include being able to remove distractions, never interrupting while someone is speaking, and paying attention to nonverbal communication such as body language, tone and gestures.

A servant leader knows that improving their listening skills can improve communication with employees, which in turn can lead to better professional relationships. improve your listening skills by actively listen. Avoid interruption. Give your undivided attention. Notice nonverbal communication. persuasive powers.

Some leaders confuse power and authority with the ability of persuasion. But persuasion is a powerful tool that can be used without well power. persuasion is the art of using your knowledge and expertise in order to enlighten and encourage others. It does not use force or backhanded coercion. A servant leader can use persuasion to build unity among the team and conformity when making big decisions. Of course, persuasion should always be backed by facts and research.

So a servant leader should never use persuasion that is based on false information or personal choices. persuasion builds trust, so leaders must learn to use it effectively. help improve your powers of persuasion by know your facts and do your research. Aim to educate knowing when to Listen to the other side recognizes opportunities. Sometimes when a leader recognizes an opportunity for growth and expansion, it is often referred to as foresight. Generally, a servant leader can recognize an employee's potential or a certain skill set, and can see an opportunity for them to set a goal or complete a task.

Sometimes the leader can simply observe how an employee works and find a good fit for them. communicating with each employee allows the leader to get to know each employee and build a personal relationship with him. Other times simple work evaluations can be done in which the leader takes notes about the employee and creates an outcome from their findings. Whatever tools the leader uses, it is always important to listen to their intuition as well and always keep their eyes open. common tools to identify opportunities, observe the employee, keep open communication with employees perform formal and informal evaluations relates to employees Being able to relate to an employee is similar to being able to be empathetic, but requires a little more emotional involvement. A leader should be able to relate to an employee by remembering how they got to the position they are in, and what leader helped them along the way.

Leaders can relate to their employees because they used to be one. When employees need help or struggle with a task, their leader should be able to relate to their sense of need, rather than criticize or judge them for it. When it's time to delegate tasks, ensure that you are assigning duties and not barking orders or demands. Allow the employee to work on their own as much as possible and let them work on their own confidence level. In the end, employees will feel closer to your equal and less like just another one of your employees. Case Study.

Justin and Mary just left a seminar about becoming a servant leader in the workplace. They began discussing what qualities would make them a good servant leader in their offices. Mary pointed out that in her office, she needed to be more empathetic and relate to her employees. Since a lot of them seem to face struggles from time to time, Justin admitted that he was not a very good listener to his employees and plan to improve his listening skills in the future. Both Mary and Justin agree that while they had good communication and persuasion skills, they decided to work harder on building better relationships with your employees and be able to identify more opportunities with them within the company.