Leadership: A Culture of Service

One of the goals I have for the Department of General Services is to achieve organizational excellence through a culture of service based on respect, trust and transparency, as well as communication and collaboration.

Achieving organizational excellence in any business is challenging and requires leadership and commitment from management. This reminds me of a book I read on the concept of servant leadership titled, The Servant, A Simple Story about the True Essence of Leadership, by James C. Hunter.

Twenty years ago, I took part in a leadership development workshop. Participants were required to read Mr. Hunter’s book, which helped all of us set our sights on the same goal by focusing on the meaning of true leadership and recognizing that a true leader chooses authority over power to motivate others to do their jobs.

“Authority is about who you are as a person, your character and the influence you’ve built with people,” the author explains. True leadership is about humility and serving and giving. Such a leader treats employees with dignity and respect and acknowledges their contributions to the success of the organization.

The inspiring words Pope Francis shared during his visit last week to the United States underscored for me the difference between authority and power. To paraphrase what he said of power: To think that power confers upon leaders the freedom to impose upon others their point of view or their line of thinking is wrong.

If DGS employees are going to advance the goal of organizational excellence, then they must first share that goal and believe it is attainable. This is achieved through the exercise of authority – not power. The same is true for Governor Hogan’s Administration. He has instilled in his frontline team not only the leadership principles necessary to change Maryland for the better but also the certainty that we can, and we will.

As public employees, we are all servants. A culture of service philosophy at DGS will get us to our goal of organizational excellence. I have encouraged my senior staff to read Mr. Hunter’s book, embrace servant leadership and share lessons learned with their staffs, so we can effectively “Change DGS for the Better.”

In closing, I leave you with a few inspirational words that I strive to incorporate into my life and job every day:

“Be honest, Work hard. Say ‘thank you’ and ‘great job’ to someone each day. Let your handshake mean more than pen and paper.”