How can you ensure your clients are satisfied with your Servant Leadership practices?

The first imperative with any client is to build a relationship of trust and respect. Ask questions of quality to show that you are genuinely interested in them, what their pain points and dreams are. Then actively listen. As an authority, you are able to establish your understanding by summarizing what you heard and asking for validation. If something is misunderstood, you ask for clarification. Active listening, total focus on the client or team, includes all aspects of the message - the tone, the body posture, the facial expressions, the pauses and the searching for answers. People want to be heard and understood. Active listening accomplishes that..

Once you've completed initial discovery and have their goals and needs in mind, tailor the experience to incorporate the essentials that will drive the value added benefits for this particular client. Clients sometimes think they know the problem they need solved, when often, it is a symptom of a greater problem (or opportunity). When you use the repertoire of your expertise to find a creative solution, you're less likely to hear "we've tried that". Deliver a solid explanation of the process, how your team will support their team, its intended outcomes, the innovative yet practical approach that you will use and then listen again. Involve them in the solutions oriented approach, leading the conversation to achieve a success outcome.

In working with a client, I encountered individuals who indicated that they had ideas that could reduce key variables within their work flow and thereby increase efficiencies. To date, their ideas had gone highly unrecognized. Using what if and mind mapping, which was an experience that many of these employees never had, they were able to visibly represent the outcomes they hoped to achieve. It took a creative approach to help the constituencies of the process realize what was possible. What happened as a result? They were energized, empowered, and collaboration was fostered. Other ideas were brought to the forefront. Communication increased, engagement increased and productivity levels were significantly increased.

Communication is the absolute key to any success or failure. As a servant leader, it is imperative that you remain with your finger on the pulse of how the decision makers and influencers are feeling. Don't forget body language and what is NOT being said. Again, ask questions about the progress and how are they feeling about the outcomes. Are they on-target, do they need assistance in re-evaluating or re-focusing efforts. You play an invaluable role as the objective observer. Trust and respect play a vital role here. Ir you see aspects of the project or work that are not contributing to the agreed upon success outcome. You MUST have courageous conversations to inform, discuss, deliberate and decide upon a proper course correction.

A servant leader should be able to articulate a clear and compelling vision not just for their team or organization, but also for their clients. This vision should align with the clients’ values and aspirations, and provide a roadmap that clients can believe in and rally behind. Trust is the currency of servant leadership. By consistently behaving with integrity and making decisions that are in the best interests of the client, servant leaders build a foundation of trust that is essential for long-term satisfaction and loyalty. Ensuring client satisfaction with servant leadership practices is about authentically serving their needs and a commitment to putting their interests first.

Things do not always go as planned. In that instance, to continue to foster the trust and respect; ownership is required. You commit to the project until it mirrors the success outcomes that were established in discovery and implementation. The beautiful part is, failing forward graciously opens the door for others to understand that "that didn't work how we expected, let's look at this differently and begin again". And it makes it "ok" for them to fail also. I always like to ask, "if you learned a valuable lesson from what didn't work, was it really a failure?" Shift the perspective and you shift the focus and most often, that fulfills the issues that were inhibiting success.

It's interesting in servat leadership's relationships in consumers and service providers. Great services are fantastic particularly from my Asian's background,what about price and quality of the goods/products. These 3 ingredients are the foundation of any good business which will cornerstone of our successful businesses enterprise.