Servant leadership under the microscope

Is servant leadership an incomplete concept?

James: Good evening, Miss Sophie, good evening.

Miss Sophie: Good evening, James.

James: You are looking very well this evening, Miss Sophie.

Miss Sophie: Well, I am feeling very much better, thank you, James.

James: Good, good.

Miss Sophie: Well, I must say that everything looks nice.

James: Thank you very much, Miss Sophie, thank you.

Miss Sophie: Is everybody here?

James: Indeed, they are, yeah. Yes…They are all here for your anniversary, Miss Sophie.

Miss Sophie: All five places are laid out?

James: All laid out as usual.

Miss Sophie: Sir Toby?

James: Sir Toby, yes, he’s sitting here this year, Miss Sophie.

Miss Sophie: Admiral von Schneider?

James: Admiral von Schneider is sitting here, Miss Sophie.

Miss Sophie: Mr. Pommeroy?

James: Mr. Pommeroy I put round here for you.

Miss Sophie: And my very dear friend, Mr. Winterbottom?

James: On your right, as you requested, Miss Sophie!

Miss Sophie: Thank you, James. You may now serve the soup.

James: The soup, thank you very much, Miss Sophie, thank you. They are all waiting for you. Little drop of mulligatawny soup, Miss Sophie?

Miss Sophie: I am particularly fond of mulligatawny soup, James.

James: Yes, I know you are.

Miss Sophie: I think we’ll have sherry with the soup.

James: Sherry with the soup, yes… Oh, by the way, the same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie?

Miss Sophie: Same procedure as every year, James.

James: Same procedure as every year, James…

Miss Sophie: Is that a dry sherry, James?

James: Yes, a very dry sherry, Miss Sophie… very dry. Straight out of the cellar, this morning, Miss Sophie.

Miss Sophie: Sir Toby!

James: Cheerio, Miss Sophie!

Miss Sophie: Admiral von Schneider!

James: Ad… Must I say it this year, Miss Sophie?

Miss Sophie: Just to please me, James.

James: Just to please you. Very good, yes, yes… Skol!

Miss Sophie: Mr. Pommeroy!

James: Happy New Year, Sophie!

Miss Sophie: And dear Mr. Winterbottom!

James: Well, here we are again, old lovely…

Miss Sophie: You may now serve the fish.

James: Fish. Very good, Miss Sophie. Did you enjoy the soup?

Miss Sophie: Delicious, James.

James: Thank you, Miss Sophie, glad you enjoyed it. Little bit of North Sea haddock, Miss Sophie.

Miss Sophie: I think we’ll have white wine with the fish.

James: White wine with the fish? The same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie?

Miss Sophie: The same procedure as every year, James!

Who doesn’t know the two of them – Miss Sophie and James from ‘Dinner for One’? [1] The well-groomed old lady who refuses to celebrate her 90th birthday without her deceased friends, and James, the hard-drinking, clumsy butler, whose path between the table and the buffet we never take our eyes off for a moment.
A few days ago, I read a report about the origins of this New Year’s Eve classic. Among other things, it said that it was recorded in 1961 in the NDR studios in Hamburg and that comedian Freddie Frinton originally didn’t want to travel to Germany because of his war experiences. A few hours later, I came across an article about ‘servant leadership’, i.e. the manager as servant. And I immediately asked myself: ‘Is that still relevant today?’

While I had always felt comfortable with the term, which has rapidly gained popularity since the 1970s as the antithesis to the widespread ‘dominant leadership’ style, the context of ‘Dinner for One’ now immediately triggered a feeling of unease.

Is the servant really the leader?

Is Butler James really the leader in the room? Which aspects of his behaviour could even be described as ‘leadership’? And how does Miss Sophie fit into this picture as the hostess? Servant leadership has always seemed remarkably consistent to me – why is this concept so rarely questioned? And finally: what am I actually trying to convey to the people who come to me to learn about ‘systemic leadership’?

Here are four aspects, without claiming to be exhaustive:

1. Systemic leadership works on framework conditions

Leadership means working not on the system, i.e. on people, but on the system: on structures, processes and rules. It is not about prescribing behaviour, but about creating conditions under which the desired behaviour can emerge and make sense for those involved.

In ‘Dinner for One’, Miss Sophie clearly sets these framework conditions. She issues the invitation, chooses the guests, selects the menu and determines the order of events. ‘The same procedure as every year, James’ is her rule. She creates the framework for her 90th birthday evening, and the entire play unfolds within this framework.

2. Where decisions are needed, leadership is required

Responsibility means making decisions. Leaders make decisions where the system would come to a standstill without them.

‘We will have white wine with the fish, James.’ The choice of drinks is obviously not structurally determined; it is decided spontaneously by Miss Sophie. Without this impulse, things would not move forward, because James himself does not take on this responsibility.

3. Making unlikely communication possible

In organisations that are divided into departments, divisions and teams for reasons of efficiency, communication is quickly inhibited. The problem is not so much the thinking, but the silo itself. A central management task is therefore to repeatedly initiate exchange between these units.

In ‘Dinner for One,’ Miss Sophie also facilitates communication where none can actually take place. She toasts her long-deceased guests and reacts calmly to every bizarre toast, such as Mr Winterbottom’s ‘Huuuh, I’ll kill that cat’. This ritualised form of exchange, often referred to in companies as a ‘jour fixe’ or ‘management meeting’, keeps things running smoothly. James takes care of the rest.

4. Don’t outshine your employees, give them the spotlight

Simon Sinek aptly describes this as ‘leaders eat last’. A good leader does not put themselves at the centre of attention, but creates space for others to shine.

Every laugh belongs to James. We follow his stumbling, his insecurity, his sense of duty. Miss Sophie remains in the background, and that is precisely what makes her leadership so effective.

Looking at all this, it becomes clear that Miss Sophie is the real leader in this play, the hostess, not the servant.

The six roles of host leadership

Miss Sophie leads not by serving, but by setting the framework, making decisions and keeping things moving. She is present without putting herself at the centre of attention. Her behaviour is reminiscent of a different understanding of leadership that describes this balance much more accurately.

The corresponding concept is called ‘host leadership’ and was developed by Mark McKergow and Helen Bailey in the early 2010s. [2] It describes six roles of the host:

• the initiator, who sets the framework,
• the inviter, who extends invitations,
• the space creator, who designs the space and takes a step back during the event,
• the gatekeeper, who sets boundaries and reacts when they are crossed,
• the connector, who builds relationships and makes sure that no one is left alone,
• and the co-participant, who is part of the community, sometimes leading, sometimes serving.

The host should serve the guests, i.e. the employees, and enable them to have a successful evening or working day. At the same time, they need the power and means to set the framework and enforce rules. This is a balancing act that is only half visible in the role of the servant. Being a good host obviously means more than being a good servant.

Why this powerful image has not become more widespread to date can only be guessed at. It sounds less radical and provocative than ‘servant leadership’ and is therefore more difficult to market. At the time of its inception, it was overwhelmed by the agile wave. And it requires dealing with the whole complexity of leadership and its contradictions.

It is worth taking a closer look at ‘host leadership’ and repeatedly questioning models that appear consistent at first glance.

Conclusion: Servant leadership under the microscope

Leadership is not a choice between serving and shaping. Good leadership combines both: it creates space, provides guidance and enables development without denying one’s own responsibility. In this sense, the image of the hostess fits better than that of the servant. Miss Sophie shows that leadership means setting the framework, making decisions and at the same time leaving the stage to others.

So is servant leadership an incomplete concept? Perhaps it is more one-sided. It describes a valuable attitude, but overlooks central aspects of shaping, power and responsibility that also characterise leadership. Host leadership broadens this view because it focuses more strongly on the interplay between serving and leading.

A small disclaimer at the end: Of course, I am not averse to many components of servant leadership. In particular, the often-cited ‘service to employees’ is an important feature of good leadership for me. So I don’t want to disparage the model in any way. I just believe that there is another model that describes leadership more completely, one that better captures the balance between responsibility, design and service.

Or, to quote Miss Sophie: ‘Another procedure than every year, James.’

Notes:

Would you like to discuss servant leadership or host leadership as an opinion leader? Then share this post in your network.

And if you would like to exchange ideas with Nicolas Korte, simply visit his website: https://nicolaskorte.de/.

[1] Dinner for One with Freddie Frinton and May Warden

[2] Host by Mark McKergow and Helen Bailey

Here you will find a blog post on the topic: Why management consultants should be servant leaders.

Nicolas Korte has published three more posts on the t2informatik Blog: