Developing Leadership Skills and Future Leaders
Ask someone to describe a leader, and they may use adjectives like “outgoing,” “confident,” “forceful” and maybe even “brash.” While those adjectives might have been accurate descriptors at one time, the leadership model has changed a great deal in the last 10 to 20 years. In the surety industry and many other industries, we are moving away from the authoritarian style of leadership towards the servant-leader model.
Servant leaders exist at all levels of organizations. The chief executive servant leader establishes the corporate culture and sets the direction for a company; this individual helps the team achieve its full potential by establishing clear goals and strategies. On an operational level, the servant leader creates a focused and competitive environment where people can achieve the team’s goals. Having set the tone, servant leaders most likely lead their teams by asking good questions and letting the teams wrestle with finding the right answers and executing winning strategies.