Edward DeAngelis, CEO of EDA Contractors, advocates for servant leadership that focuses on emotional intelligence and psychological safety within the workplace. Servant leaders prioritize the needs of their employees, listen actively, and aim to bring out the best in their workforce through empathy and mentorship. They understand the importance of generating trust within their teams to improve performance and organizational outcomes.
One key trait that all successful servant leaders share is humility. Humility, defined as freedom from pride or arrogance, is essential for effective servant leadership. A humble leader puts their ego aside and focuses on inspiring collaboration and community within their workforce. They make time to listen to their employees, champion team development, and prioritize ethical conduct and constructive collaboration. By embodying core principles such as empathy, trust, and commitment, humble servant leaders inspire their teams to focus on serving rather than individual rewards.
Creating a positive work culture that fosters growth and builds trust requires servant leaders to connect with their teams as equals, rather than superiors. By practicing humility, leaders can cultivate an intentional, collaborative, and respectful work environment. Leaders who inspire and energize their workforce by sharing their energy and giving their best effort tend to see increased productivity and employee satisfaction. Happy employees who feel appreciated and recognized are more likely to perform better, highlighting the importance of creating a humble and transparent work environment.
DeAngelis emphasizes the importance of adopting humility as a leadership quality to create a more effective and compassionate work environment. Throughout his experience leading companies and advocating for emotional intelligence, he has found that workforces led by humble leaders tend to perform better. By focusing on humility, leaders can inspire collaboration, trust, and commitment within their teams, leading to improved performance and organizational outcomes. DeAngelis encourages business leaders to embrace humility to create a more positive and productive work environment for all.
