Berger Leadership Blog

A leader's role should include helping employees feel a purpose, motivated and energetic about their work.

However, building this kind of company culture does not come from top-down leadership. Obsessing over control and end goals will not create the outcomes we desire.

It is not until we focus on our people and help them grow that we'll reap the benefits of an engaged workforce. "To put it bluntly," writes Dan Cable in the Harvard Business Review, "servant-leaders have the humility, courage, and insight to admit that they can benefit from the expertise of others who have less power than them."

How does a leader accomplish this? Cable lists three ways:

1. Ask how you can help employees do their own jobs better – then listen.
2. Create low-risk spaces for employees to think of new ideas.
3. Be humble.

He emphasizes that with servant leadership, the "responsibility of a leader is to increase the ownership, autonomy, and responsibility of followers — to encourage them to think for themselves and try out their own ideas." I encourage you to read each of Cable's points more thoroughly here.

Remember, leadership is an action, not a position.

Follow me on Twitter (@BDanBerger).