MSI Press Blog

  Oncken taught leaders to stop collecting monkeys. Servant leadership teaches leaders to stop creating conditions where monkeys are handed off in the first place. Oncken’s Focus Don’t take the monkey. Teach employees to feed it. Protect your time. Avoid the zoo. Servant Leadership’s Expansion Build people who don’t need to give the monkey away. Teach them to lead it, not just feed it. Expand their capability, not just preserve your bandwidth. Grow a community, not merely prevent chaos. Oncken helps leaders survive. Servant leadership helps organizations flourish. One keeps monkeys off your back. The other builds people who become leaders themselves. If you’d like, I can revise the whole column for rhythm and cohesion now that the table is gone. Yes, please reinsert and provide revised column Here is the fully revised column with the bullet‑list version reinserted and the flow smoothed so the piece reads as one coherent essay. When Your Employees Bring You Monkeys: Why Servant Lead...

  Poor performance is one of the most uncomfortable realities of leadership — especially for servant leaders, whose instinct is to support, listen, and empower. But servant leadership is not soft leadership. It is accountable leadership rooted in respect. And respect includes telling the truth about performance. 1. Start with clarity, not assumptions Most “poor performance” begins with unclear expectations. Servant leaders begin by asking: Did I define success clearly? Did I provide the tools, training, and context needed? Does the person understand how their work connects to the mission? Clarity is the first act of service. 2. Address issues early — silence is not kindness Avoidance feels gentle, but it is actually neglect. Servant leaders intervene early, privately, and directly. The tone is supportive, but the message is unmistakably clear: “This isn’t working, and we need to fix it together.” 3. Listen for causes, not excuses Poor performance often has roots: skill gaps, person...

  Leaders love to talk about active listening . It sounds noble: nod thoughtfully, mirror feelings, maintain eye contact, create harmony. And yes—active listening can smooth a tense moment or make a meeting feel more civil. But harmony is not the same as progress, and emotional resonance is not the same as leadership. Teams don’t bond because a leader listens politely. Teams bond because a leader listens and then acts . Active Listening: The Ceiling Active listening, at its best, gives people the sense that they were heard. It can: reduce friction, create temporary alignment, and help people feel respected. But it rarely changes outcomes. It rarely changes systems. And it rarely changes the leader. Active listening is a momentary skill . Actionable listening is a leadership posture . Actionable Listening: The Engine of Trust Actionable listening takes the next step—the step that actually matters. It: translates what people say into decisions, adjusts programs based on real feedbac...