Servant Leadership – More than a Tagline

We’ve all had that job.

We’ve all had that company.

We’ve all had that leadership.

You know, the one that promises you this time it will be different. That you will be seen and valued. That your efforts will finally be rewarded.

You walk into the office on Day 1, hopeful and optimistic that they weren’t lying or misrepresenting the situation. By Day 5, at the end of the week, you realize you were misled, accepted too little money for the job, and find yourself disappointed to be on the same hamster wheel—just in a different office.

However, this office is different. It’s filled with great people—friendly people, people you connect with.

Corporate entities thrive on that type of connection. They count on employees bonding with each other so that when things get tough, they won’t want to let each other down. They know that if your work friends become family, you’ll stick around longer, accept less than you’re worth, do the work of at least two people, and keep their business—and profits—flowing.

They say things like "We believe in servant leadership" or "Family first, always" or "Our core values are..."

They throw in words like integrity, respect, selflessness, personal relationships, and continuous improvement. They talk about using SWOT analysis to make things better and more efficient, yet nothing ever gets implemented.

They often reference the top 30%, middle 40%, and bottom 30% principles but fail to see that they focus all their attention on the bottom 30% while depending on the top 30% to carry the weight.

Where are the top 30%’ers? I’m here—because I am a recovering top 30%’er.

You know what being a top 30%’er got me?

Being unheard, unseen, undervalued, and underpaid—basically taken for granted.

I also got kicked around a lot.

I played the game. I said what I was supposed to say. I played by the rules, and it got me nowhere. When I spoke up, I was labeled a complainer, a troublemaker, a gossip, untrustworthy, and conveniently unproductive. I had to fight for every penny I earned.

It’s exhausting to constantly try to prove your worth. It bleeds into your personal life. Because if you are undervalued in one situation, chances are you’re in multiple situations just like it. And why? Because while you think you know your worth, deep down, you still allow outside influences to define it for you.

I truly believe that most businesses, big or small, don’t realize the damage they do when they throw around terms like servant leadership without action to back them up. The level of disappointment and dejection an employee feels when they realize it’s all lip service? It’s a morale killer.

Because you can say "servant leadership" all day long, but if there’s no action behind it—if you’re not truly supporting your employees, uplifting them, investing in their growth, or actually caring about their well-being—then you aren’t leading at all.

You're simply exploiting them.

Leaders focus on the bottom 30% because they are low-hanging fruit. They are easier to manipulate.

Sure, they take more effort to keep productive, but let’s be honest "leadership" isn’t dealing with them. The manager is. The top 30% is. And your top 30%? They’re beating their heads against their desks in sheer frustration—with no results.

I once sat in a department meeting where we were discussing an issue with a bottom 30%’er.

The owner stopped the conversation and asked, "Why is this the first I’m hearing of this?" As we all politely pointed out that it wasn’t, his immediate follow-up was: "Why didn’t you bring it to my attention again? I’m very busy."

:::bangs head on conference room table:::

Then he said, "Who will take on the responsibility of keeping track of the errors and reporting them to me? This meeting will not move forward until someone does."

I immediately spoke up and said, "I will."

Mind you, this wasn’t my job. It wasn’t even my responsibility. But I knew all he wanted was to hear someone take the fall—to have a top 30%’er to blame.

The meeting moved forward. I never brought it up again. And neither did he.

After the meeting, a coworker asked me why I took it on. I said, "He won’t follow up. I just wanted the meeting to be over with. It was a complete waste of time."

And I was right. He never followed up. The bottom 30%’er was never disciplined. In fact, he was promoted. He passed all of his bad habits onto his assistant, then left for a better job. His assistant, another bottom 30%’er, was promoted and consistently clashed with the staff until she left for another job as well. She was even worse.

I repeatedly requested that they both be written up, providing clear evidence of multiple issues. Nothing. Crickets. Never addressed.

Now that is what some companies call "servant leadership."

Corporate leaders, do better. The people you rely on most? They’re watching. They’re tired. And soon—they’ll leave. When they do, good luck keeping your business afloat with just the bottom 30%.

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