Servant Leadership
A leadership style that puts the team first by understanding, supporting, and developing its members so they can remove obstacles, grow their skills, and achieve top performance together.
Key Points
- Leader serves the team by clearing impediments and securing needed resources.
- Focuses on people growth, coaching, and continuous learning.
- Builds trust, psychological safety, and shared ownership of outcomes.
- Measures success by team performance and customer value, not personal authority.
Example
A Scrum Master notices recurring delays from slow test environments. They work with IT to provision on-demand test environments, coach the team on test automation, and facilitate a retrospective to adjust the workflow. As a result, the team shortens cycle time and consistently meets sprint goals.
PMP Example Question
Which action best demonstrates servant leadership by an agile project leader?
- Assign detailed tasks to each team member and track hourly updates.
- Escalate underperformance by recommending disciplinary action.
- Ask the team what they need to succeed, remove blockers, and enable skill development.
- Make technical decisions unilaterally to speed up delivery.
Correct Answer: C — Ask what the team needs, remove impediments, and enable growth
Explanation: Servant leadership centers on serving the team by eliminating obstacles and supporting member development so the team can deliver its best work.
