Page 68 - Harnessing the Strengths

Dilemma 1: Leading Versus Serving ■ 51

Servant-leadership has a double focus, and that opin-
ion is shared by Jan Carlzon of SAS airlines who, in his
book Away with the Pyramids! (coauthored by Tomas
Lagerstrom), was the fi rst to try to turn the pyramid upside
2
down. He argued that both cabin staff and bosses should
serve each other as well as they served the client.
This double focus was also an important component of
the radical upgrading of cabin staff service implemented at
SAS and British Airways. Nick Gergades, BA’s HR director
in the early nineties, proposed that the cabin staff needed
to serve the clients in the same way in which their superiors
served them. That principle is exactly what makes servant-
leadership so important. When staff members genuinely like
their superiors, that shows, and an esprit de corps begins to
spread, which has a positive effect on all involved.
In some cultures, servant-leadership is already deeply
rooted, particularly in Asia. In Japan, for example, leaders
give their followers more than they could ever repay. The
result of this is that workers feel indebted to their leader,
which drives them to try to fulfi ll the wishes of the leader.
The modest character of this leadership style is a good
match with Asian cultures. People with the most seniority
will make the least fuss. They would rather radiate that
they would like to learn something from you. This modesty
works to actually increase their status. A Japanese leader is,
in this way, the perfect example of the integration of master
and servant, coming in from the serving perspective.

Autocratic Versus Participative Leadership

As a leader, do you rely on authority or participation of your
employees? The choice you make is extremely important.
In Figure 5.3, you can see where authoritarian and partici-