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Servant Leadership
Leadership / Concepts
The leader's job is to serve the team, not the other way around.
Core Idea
A servant leader asks: "What do you need from me to do your best work?"
Instead of commanding, you:
- Remove blockers.
- Provide resources and context.
- Shield the team from unnecessary noise.
- Help people grow.
Why It Works in Engineering
- Engineers do their best work with autonomy and support.
- Technical problems are often best solved by those closest to them.
- Trust and respect flow upward when leaders serve first.
Common Misconceptions
- It's not about being passive or avoiding hard decisions.
- It's not about saying yes to everything.
- You still set direction - you just do it by enabling, not controlling.
In Practice
- Spend your 1:1s asking what's blocking people, not checking status.
- Take on the boring organisational work so the team can focus.
- Give credit to the team, take responsibility for failures.
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