Millennials should embrace servant leadership

Jesse DePinto thinks his millennial generation may have a collective blind spot.

In many ways, it’s a chicken-and-egg quandary. Most millennials haven’t given much thought to the concept of servant leadership because they haven’t yet been asked to provide much leadership in their young careers.

After all, why should they care about leadership if they aren’t yet in positions of leadership?

However, DePinto says everyone in the modern multi-generational workplace needs to think like a leader. As a baby boomer who has raised a couple of millennials and works with some others, I can testify to DePinto’s premise. I may share my wisdom and experience with them, but I also surely learn from the different ways they see the world.

Like many of us, DePinto, 28, was turned on to the premise of servant leadership by the concept’s most ardent Wisconsin evangelist, Richard Pieper, non-executive chairman of PPC Partners Inc. in Milwaukee.

As the chief technology officer of Frontdesk LLC, a growing Milwaukee-based startup that operates corporate housing rental properties, DePinto says he is applying the concept of servant leadership daily.

“The idea that selfless individuals with high emotional intelligence are rising to levels of leadership appeals more to today’s generation of workers than ever before. It’s no wonder that the idea of servant leadership is becoming a viral sensation. People are craving a new way of management,” DePinto said.

“Does this mean they don’t want leaders? Not at all. They crave leadership now more than ever. What they want is autonomy to act out of their own will to contribute to a greater good. This deep desire in all human beings to serve others is the fuel that burns this fire. To do good work, people need a common, shared vision and the empowerment to execute,” DePinto said. “Servant leadership isn’t just a business theory, it’s a way of life.”

For this week’s C-Level listicle, I asked DePinto to share seven examples of servant leadership at work.

1. Service to the company. “Angela Morton, one of our managers at Frontdesk, has been promoted three times in the past year. She isn’t the loudest voice in our meetings, and she doesn’t ask for these promotions. Instead, she manages her time with quiet and diligent

integrity. We will learn about situations where she will save the company money without telling anyone,” DePinto said.

2. Service to the team. Progress comes when impediments are removed. “Whether those teams are dozens of high-skilled workers or only one college intern, ensure their success for your success,” DePinto said.

3. Service to the employees. “It’s no secret that employees who feel empowered are the happiest and most productive. Jerry Jendusa, the former CEO and co-founder at EMTEQ in New Berlin, advises future leaders to ‘never expect somebody to do something that you wouldn’t be willing to do yourself. Turn your organizational structure upside down and help support and serve your valued staff and team members.’ I now understand the value of empowering employees with autonomy and decision-making authority, from the C-suite to the receptionist and cleaning staff,” DePinto said.

4. Service to the leaders. “The relationships I’ve formed with my superiors have been the most personally and professionally satisfying in my life thus far. I have found that by serving the existing leaders of your company, you are maximizing your potential to serve the greater good of your company through their guidance. Service goes further than simply doing the work assigned, it involves checking in to see what else you can help with,” DePinto said.

5. Service to the cause. “In a tight labor market and a globally connected world, employees are beginning to choose employers that not only pay fair compensation but also share their values. As Simon Sinek put it, ‘People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.’ The happiest employees and employers I have come across are those that are working for a higher purpose, a cause greater than themselves, along with a group of others who share the same beliefs,” DePinto said.

6. Service to the community. “One of the most selfless acts is to serve the least fortunate in your community. Early in my career, I was so eager to advance my career that I could not have imagined spending precious time serving others. I was hyper-competitive

and, to be honest, selfish. One time a good friend of mine convinced me to serve at the homeless shelter at St Benedict the Moor. I was in awe when I saw Marquette University President Michael Lovell, who was then chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, serving food to the homeless. He wasn’t accompanied by the press or even a colleague. He came alone and left alone. That encounter altered my thinking at the time,” DePinto said.

7. Service to yourself. “This might sound selfish or counter-intuitive, but

I’ve found that it’s significantly more difficult to care for and serve others when I don’t take care of myself. Sleep, diet and exercise are not just good for your body, they are good for your career and good for those around you,” DePinto said.

Steve Jagler is the business editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. C-Level stands for high-ranking executives, typically those with “chief” in their titles. Send C-Level column ideas to him at steve.jagler@journalsentinel.com.