LeadingAge New York Adviser Fall 2015 Vol. 1 | Page 31

Shift Your Approach and You Can
Change the World

S

ervice is action, action leads to success and success
creates value. Servant leadership can be a very
different approach to the way you manage your organization
but the resulting business success is undeniable. Serving
and caring for staff before personal achievement can inspire
them to take meaningful action and in turn, creates a better
workplace for everyone.
Matt Tenny is a man who turned a mistake into a lesson
and is working now to be of service. His practice of serving
starts with his staff. He suggests that if you take care of the
people in your organization – from the frontline staff to the
executives – success will follow. He says that when you are
a servant leader your staff members feel rewarded, are fully
engaged, and don’t want to leave your organization. Lower
turnover results in better service, and better service leads
to success. He asks leaders to do little things every day to
prove to the members of the team that they are valued. These
genuine and sincere gestures show staff you are a servant
leader. He reminds us that often, the best way to serve our
staff is to ask them how they want to be appreciated. You will
undoubtedly be surprised by the answers.

Based on the
conference program
entitled:

LEADERSHIP
LESSONS FROM
A PRISON, A
MONASTERY, AND
A BOARDROOM

Whether you send a letter recognizing someone’s extra
effort or take the time to thank them in person, people
respond to your service leadership with extraordinary
results. Tenny encourages leaders around the world to step
back and place value in their people. In his book, Serve to
Be Great: Leadership Lessons from a Prison, a Monastery,
and a Boardroom, Matt talks about how to attract top talent,
increase engagement and lower turnover; and in doing so,
provide better customer service.
These principals aren’t new to most of us, in a time when
change is inevitable, he asks us to remember: when you
serve your residents and your staff, with a philosophy of
meaningful action, you are changing the world.

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