Agile talks about the need for servant leadership, but what does this really mean? Surely it’s more than scrum masters clearing blockers and T shaped people helping others outside of their specialisms? Isn’t the term servant leadership a contradiction anyway? Don’t servants serve leaders, and leaders lead servants? How can you be a servant and a leader at the same time? This session will provide a fascinating overview of the key elements of servant leadership thinking, alongside practical advice and exercises for you to take back to your organisations and start being servant leaders yourselves. It will cover a brief history of leadership thinking, the 10 principles of servant leadership, why servant leadership is about the health, happiness and freedom of those you work with as well as society more generally, why servant leadership is essential to building trust, and why agile needs the traditional organisation hierarchy pyramid to be turned on its head.

4. ‘Management)is)about)
crea1ng)order)and)consistency)
in)an)organisa1on,)whilst)
leadership)is)about)crea1ng)
change)and)movement’!
Ko$er,!J.!P.!(2008).!Force)for)change:)How)
leadership)differs)from)management.!NYC:!
Simon!and!Schuster.!

7. “The)servantBleader)is)servant)first.)It)begins)with)
the)natural)feeling)that)one)wants)to)serve.)Then)
conscious)choice)brings)one)to)aspire)to)lead.)The)
best)test)is:)do)those)served)grow)as)persons:)do)
they,)while)being)served,)become)healthier,)
wiser,)freer,)more)autonomous,)more)likely)
themselves)to)become)servants?)And,)what)is)the)
effect)on)the)least)privileged)in)society;)will)they)
benefit,)or,)at)least,)not)be)further)deprived?)”!
Greenleaf,!R.!K.!(1977).!‘Servant!leadership’,!p27.!

8. 1.)Listening)
2.)Empathy)
3.)Healing)
4.)Awareness)
5.)Persuasion!
Spears,!L.C.!(2010).!‘Character!and!Servant!Leadership:!Ten!
CharacterisLcs!of!EffecLve,!Caring!Leaders’,!The!Journal!of!
Virtues!&!Leadership,!Vol.!1!No.!1,!pp.!25S30.!
6.)Conceptualiza1on)
7.)Foresight)
8.)Stewardship)
9.)Commitment)to)the)
growth)of)people))
10.)Building)community)

9. “It$begins$with$the$
natural$feeling$that$one$
wants$to$serve…”!

10. “You)know)that)those)who)are)
regarded)as)rulers)of)the)Gen1les)
lord)it)over)them,)and)their)high)
officials)exercise)authority)over)
them.)Not)so)with)you.)Instead,)
whoever)wants)to)become)great)
among)you)must)be)your)servant”!
Christ,!J.!(C.!30AD)!in!The)Bible,!Mark!10:!42S43!!

11. “There’s)no)ques1on)that)we)want)to)
end)our)own)suffering.)But)the)shib)in)
Mahayana)Buddhism)is)this:)we)want)
to)end)our)personal)suffering)so)we)
can)help)others)put)an)end)to)theirs…
we)realize)that)what)we)do)for)
ourselves)benefits)others,)and)what)
we)do)for)others)benefits)us”!
Chodron,!P.!(2005).!No)Time)To)Lose,!London:!
Shambala,!p8.!

12. “Build)projects)around)mo1vated)
individuals.)Give)them)the)
environment)and)support)they)need,)
and)trust$them$to$get$the$job$done.”!
Beck,!K.!et!al.!(2001).!The)Agile)Manifesto,!taken!from!
www.agilemanifesto.org!!

13. 1. Think!of!someone!who!annoys!you!
!
2. Think!of!three!things!that!annoy!you!about!them!
!
3. Decide!which!one!of!the!three!annoys!you!most!

17. Principle)1)
Our)highest!priority!is!to!
sa;sfy!the!customer!through!
early!and!conLnuous!delivery!
of!valuable!so^ware!!
Beck,!K.!et!al.!(2001).!The)Agile)Manifesto,!taken!
from!www.agilemanifesto.org!!

20. “…nearly)two)thousand)years)aber)one)
man)had)been)nailed)to)a)tree)for)saying)
how)great)it)would)be)to)be)nice)to)
people)for)a)change…”!
Adams,!D.!The)Hitchhiker’s)Guide)To)The)Galaxy.!

21. “A)leader)is)best)when)people)barely)
know)that)he)exists,)not)so)good)when)
people)obey)and)acclaim)him,)worst)
when)they)despise)him.)Fail)to)honor)
people,)they)fail)to)honor)you.)But)of)a)
good)leader,)who)talks)lifle,)when)his)
work)is)done,)his)aims)fulfilled,)they)will)
all)say,)‘We)did)this)ourselves.’”!
Lao=tzu!

22. gez@bunnypicnic.co.uk!
!
bunnypicnic.co.uk/videos!
!
@thebunnypicnic!