You're leading a team with diverse backgrounds. How can you cultivate collaboration under servant leadership?

Having people from diverse backgrounds can be a massive advantage for your team if you embrace the diversity. Different backgrounds could mean different ways of thinking, different ideas, different approaches. Building synergies around these can create a huge talent pool for ideas and skills that can serve the team well.

To cultivate collaboration in a diverse team under servant leadership, focus on active listening, empathy, and inclusivity. Begin by understanding each team member's unique strengths, perspectives, and needs. Foster an open environment where everyone feels valued and heard by encouraging transparent communication and regular feedback. Promote shared goals that align with individual motivations, ensuring everyone sees the team's success as their own. Empower team members by providing opportunities for growth and recognizing their contributions. Lead by example, demonstrating humility, and prioritizing the team's well-being, which builds trust and a strong, cohesive unit.

"Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance." - Verna Myers Embracing diversity isn't just about tolerance... it's about actively celebrating differences. In servant leadership, this means creating an environment where each team member's unique background is seen as an asset. Encourage sharing of diverse perspectives in meetings, implement cross-cultural training and ensure your team's composition reflects the diversity you seek. Remember, a mosaic is more beautiful and resilient than a single tile. By valuing diversity, you're not just building a team... you're crafting a vibrant tapestry of innovation and resilience.

Giving your attention fully and sincerely to someone is such a simple, but effective way to demonstrate integrity and make them feel heard. Listening to understand and not just to speak when they finish will enrich any interactions and encourage continuous participation. Don't forget your body language when listening, stop what you are doing and turn to face the person talking to you, it's not just your ears you listen with!

If you are a manager of managers in a more senior role, weekly 121's give your subordinates clarity on what you expect and an opportunity to talk about their challenges to achieve said outcomes. Coaching questions such as 'When can you complete this task?' 'What are the actions needed to move forward?' facilitate the individual to solve their own problems, but in a supported and 'safe' environment. Remember to also ask 'What support can I give you?'

Empowering others is about lighting fires, not filling vessels. As Lao Tzu said, "A leader is best when people barely know he exists...When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves." In practice, this means delegating not just tasks, but authority. Provide your team with the resources, information and support they need to make decisions. Create a "safe to fail" environment where taking initiative is rewarded, regardless of the outcome. By empowering your team, you're not just distributing work... you're cultivating future leaders and fostering a culture of ownership and innovation.

When you embrace diversity and are open and responsive to different inputs, you lead by example. People usually model their leaders’ attitudes and behaviour. So when you are open to diversity and collaboration and celebrate the differences within your team, you inspire others to do the same. That creates a healthy space for collaboration.

Send out in to the world what you want to receive back! You can never expect someone to be respectful to you or anyone else if you don't demonstrate these behaviours. A leader sets the tone for the whole team and a high level of emoitional intelligence is a key contributor to a harmonious work environment.

Encouraging growth is about seeing the potential in every team member and nurturing it relentlessly. As Ken Blanchard said, "The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority." Create individual development plans with each team member. Offer stretch assignments that push them out of their comfort zones. Implement a mentorship program. Celebrate learning as much as achieving. Remember, when you invest in your team's growth, you're not just building skills... you're fostering loyalty, engagement and a culture of continuous improvement. Your team's growth is your growth, and ultimately, the organization's growth.