266 | Why Today's Young Leaders Need a New Approach to Servant Leadership

In this episode, we’re diving into the inspiring journey of Kent Schlichtemeier from Concordia University Irvine. Get ready to explore the the empowering impact of servant leadership and how it can create a ripple effect in the lives of those around us. Kent shares his own leadership awakening—complete with the highs, lows, and all the lessons learned along the way. He emphasizes that being an effective leader is an adventure filled with continuous learning and mentorship. So, grab your favorite drink and join us for a lively conversation that will spark your passion for servant leadership and help you unlock your full potential! Let’s go!

cui.edu/sli

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Transcript

Jenni Catron 
Well, Kent, I have been looking forward to this conversation. You and I got to connect, gosh, quite a few months ago, and then I was able to join you out at Concordia University in Irvine. And it was just so fun to connect with you, your heart for leadership. So I thought it's time to have you on the podcast. So thanks for joining me today.

Kent Schlichtemeier (00:47.968)
Well, thank you so much, Jenni, for the invitation. I know there are a lot of people you could invite from around the country to talk about leadership. So it's a real honor for me to share a few ideas today with your listeners. And we're still receiving rave reviews about your presentation here at Concordia last February. So thanks so much.

Jenni Catron (01:20.575)
Wow.

Yeah, it was such a, your team, it's funny because we're talking about the subject of servant leadership and your team just modeled that so beautifully. You know, when I got to come on campus and participate, just fun to see what you preach, so to speak, about servant leadership in action and just see it reflected in your team. So well done. That's super fun. So I think it'd be fun because you have been in education pretty much your entire career, right?

Kent Schlichtemeier (01:23.936)
Thank you.

Kent Schlichtemeier (01:28.8)
Thank you very much.

Kent Schlichtemeier (01:36.448)
I have.

Kent Schlichtemeier (01:43.712)
Yeah, I would just have to say that I always enjoyed going to school, kindergarten through 12th grade. I had great friends. I had wonderful teachers. I enjoyed some reasonably good success academically, athletically, and in the activities I participated in. So school was always a fun place for me to go. I enjoyed being in school.

Jenni Catron (01:53.023)
So I'd love to hear why education, why did you choose that as a profession? Give us a little backstory on your journey.

Kent Schlichtemeier (02:08.032)
But my great motivation, I think, the primary motivation for me to become a teacher and a coach was my high school baseball coach who was so respected and for his humility, his honesty, his wisdom, and the way he treated.

the students. I looked at him and he had such an impact in my life as a young, traumatized adolescent trying to find my calling in life. And I thought if I could live my life in a way that would resemble what my baseball coach, how he lived his life, that would be a noble calling. So I really credit my high school baseball coach for inspiring me to pursue teaching after I graduated from high school.

Jenni Catron (03:14.111)
That's, I didn't know that part of your story and I always find it fascinating when I talk to leaders that I really admire and respect that there's often somebody in their life early on who modeled what I would say is extraordinary leadership, servant leadership. And that's the, that influence that that individual had is just so exponentially great in.

Kent Schlichtemeier (03:28.0)
I really don't remember many of the words that he said to me in four years, but I remember the way he made me feel as a valued, appreciated adolescent. And it just is something that I'll never forget. And I've tried to do that in my teaching and coaching career throughout my career.

Jenni Catron (03:39.711)
in their stories. And so that sounds like that's what was true for you with your high school baseball coach.

Jenni Catron (03:51.807)
Sure.

Kent Schlichtemeier (03:56.608)
Yep.

Jenni Catron (04:03.551)
Yeah, yeah, that's so powerful, right? Just to have that example. And I think a lot of us can also have the opposite experience, right? Of maybe somebody early in our life in our story who did not model those things and the impact of that as well. And so, so significant. Was that like, I'd be curious when leadership became important to you? Like maybe, like was that the impetus? Was that coach or when did when was leadership like a thing for you?

Kent Schlichtemeier (04:18.972)
That's a great question. And if I were to be honest in my reflection, I would have to say that I never considered myself to be a leader in junior high, high school, or college. I never saw myself as a leader until that September 7th, 1978.

Kent Schlichtemeier (04:40.832)
When I was standing in front of my first sixth grade class of 25 students and the bell went off, the students returned to their seats and it was dead quiet in the classroom and all those eyes were looking at me.

And I realized for the first time that I was called to be a leader. These kids were depending on me to educate them, mentor them into successful people of strong character. And I just felt as though, wow, now is the time I'm called to be a leader. And I've got to tell you, I struggled. And I thought I was ready to be a leader. But it took me about two days in my career to realize I didn't know how to manage behavior.

And it became a very frustrating experience being a leader. And I realized I had a lot to learn. So I was very fortunate to have very positive mentors around me who I desperately watched and sought information on how to be a successful leader. So that was really the first time that I realized that when people are depending on you,

for your performance to guide them, you better learn about being a strong leader and develop some effectiveness.

Kent Schlichtemeier (00:25.502)
Okay.

Kent Schlichtemeier (00:35.87)
Yep. Yep, yep. I thought this was going to be kind of an easy career because they were dead silent, all eyes are watching. I thought, boy, I must be pretty good. But it took them about 30 minutes before they started to test my leadership abilities. And I realized I have a lot to learn. So, yep.

Jenni Catron (00:44.245)
There we go. Okay. Kent, I love that picture. Like as soon as you started telling that story of that sixth grade class of students just staring you in the face and you're like, no, I'm the, I'm the only one in charge, right?

Jenni Catron (01:12.597)
-huh. that's awesome. You talked about the, like, you know, just how to actually lead or manage in that environment and the mentors that were critical for you. Can you give us, what were some practical things that you learned or you did early on to start to sharpen your leadership skills? Like, what did that look like? Was it just studying and reading or observing? What were some of the things you did to say, okay, I've got to learn?

Kent Schlichtemeier (01:24.126)
Yeah, you know, I think that a real essential ingredient in becoming a better leader is to first of all realize that you can get better.

every one of us can get better and humble ourselves to ask questions of very effective leaders. One of the things that I've had the pleasure of doing throughout my career is spending time with successful leaders. I was a basketball coach for many years, so I spent time with some of the best basketball coaches in the country and watched them practice and ask them questions.

Jenni Catron (01:42.165)
something about this leadership thing.

Jenni Catron (01:54.517)
that's good.

Kent Schlichtemeier (01:58.27)
Before I became the Dean of the School of Education at Concordia, I went out and interviewed seven different deans of respected universities in Southern California, spent time in their offices, and saw how they arranged their offices, how they interacted with their staff, and I asked them questions.

And I learned that a lot of leaders lack the humility and the confidence needed to spend time with other leaders and get better. I think if we realize that every single one of us can get better, it sets a stage that it's OK to reach out to people that you respect and spend time with them in order to get better.

And what I found is that leaders love to share tips with other people. I've never had anybody say, no, I don't have time for you, or what are you doing bothering me? They welcome me into their offices or the gymnasiums.

The other thing, good leaders are readers, right? The most intelligent people I know are prolific readers. And so I think it's very, very important to just continue to be a lifelong learner and look for opportunities to learn through reading and asking questions of successful people.

Jenni Catron (03:10.869)
Right?

Kent Schlichtemeier (03:18.558)
So yeah, and then a lot of trial and error and being patient with yourself as you bump the, you know, make some mistakes, experience some adversity. Every time you experience some adversity, have the chance to bounce back and develop more resilience. Nelson Mandela said, I never lost. I either won or I learned.

Jenni Catron (03:20.245)
Mm -hmm.

Jenni Catron (03:37.621)
That's good.

Jenni Catron (03:42.581)
Hehehehehe

Kent Schlichtemeier (03:42.622)
And I think that's a great quote. I never lost. I either won or I learned. And so that's an attitude we have to embrace, I think, as leaders. Because I lost a lot in those first years of classroom management and as a coach.

Jenni Catron (03:53.653)
That's right. Yeah.

Jenni Catron (04:02.665)
that's good. Yep.

Jenni Catron (04:07.701)
learned. Yep.

Jenni Catron (04:12.501)
Yeah, that's so good. Well, and sixth graders are not terribly forgiving, right? Like, I mean, that is a leadership crucible right there because they are not going to give you a lot of grace or accommodation, right, for your growth curve. You know, there's pressures on, pressures on with that age group. That's awesome. That's good.

Kent Schlichtemeier (04:15.006)
That's right. That's right.

Jenni Catron (04:38.517)
Okay, I want to have you share a little bit about the difference between leadership and servant leadership. You know, you, the servant leadership piece is such a key part of who you are and what you lead at Concordia. But I'd like, I'd love to hear some of your distinctions around leadership and versus servant leadership.

Kent Schlichtemeier (04:40.446)
Okay. You know, I define leadership as the ability to cause positive change by influencing others to their maximum performance. The ability to cause positive change by influencing others to their maximum performance. And I applaud anybody who enters a leadership position.

to pursue that kind of goal, to cause positive change by influencing others to their maximum performance. I think that's a most worthy call. I see leadership as being a privilege rather than a burden. It's a wonderful thing if you are in a position where somebody says, we want you to lead.

And so I think it's something that, first of all, I applaud anybody who enters positions of leadership because we need good leaders. We need people to step out from the pack and be bold with some courage to take the lead in our society and organizations and in families and in groups around the country. But servant leadership, I believe that leadership works best.

Jenni Catron (05:36.085)
Mm.

Kent Schlichtemeier (05:57.598)
when there is service to others. And leadership works best when there is service to others. It's just that little extra perspective, that little different perspective on being a leader versus a servant leader that makes all the difference. Servant leadership, in my opinion, is an oxymoron. Those two words, servant and leadership,

Jenni Catron (06:19.893)
Mmm, yeah.

Kent Schlichtemeier (06:25.15)
Those are incongruous terms in our society today. There is tension between those terms. Because a servant is someone who is seen at the bottom helping others up the hill, helping others reach success. Society pictures a leader as being the top dog.

a life of privilege, of being catered to. And so there's some tension. It's a little bit of a tough sell to ask young people and just leaders in general to think of themselves at the bottom, pushing others up towards success. But if we do, leadership will work better if we see that kind of posture, that it's about serving others above self.

Jenni Catron (06:49.333)
Mm -hmm. Yeah.

Jenni Catron (07:06.485)
Yeah.

Jenni Catron (07:13.909)
-huh.

Kent Schlichtemeier (07:15.358)
And so that's how I distinguish the difference. Leadership causing maximum improvement, positive change, maximum performance. But servant leadership, just a little extra perspective, a little different nuance of helping others up first is how I see the difference.

Kent Schlichtemeier (07:39.582)
It is.

Kent Schlichtemeier (08:55.006)
You know, servant leadership begins with a conscious desire or conscious decision to serve others first. And none of us.

does that perfectly every day, obviously, because we are me -oriented creatures. We are very quick to think about ourselves before others. So it really is like turning the switch on on a regular basis. It's a decision we have to wrestle with on a daily.

I would even posit an hourly basis that we are here in our organization to serve others and we have to remind ourselves and if we are serving others, leadership is going to be more effective.

Kent Schlichtemeier (10:04.638)
Hmm.

Yeah, yeah, I'll go back to my baseball coach and I saw authentic servant leadership the day that I struck out at the bottom of the seventh inning. Huge, huge game at home. I was the last guy to bat. We lost the game by one run.

And I was one of the last guys out of the locker room and I was sitting in the parking lot, very dejected loser with my girlfriend at the time. And my baseball coach came out of the locker room, got in his car and then drove to the street to go home. But then for some reason, he decided to make a U -turn and come back to where the loser was sitting. And he got out of his car.

And he came up to me, left his car running, he came up, he stuck out his hand and he said, Slick, tomorrow's another day. Keep smiling, Smiley. He shook my hand, patted me on the shoulder, he got back in his car and he went home. That was a decision that he made. I mean, he lost the game. It would have been his hundredth victory.

And I struck out. But he thought enough about others to make that U -turn to come back and tell the 17 -year -old adolescent with acne that I was OK. And because of that, again, I was inspired to become a teacher. And that's the ripple effect.

Kent Schlichtemeier (11:37.182)
that servant leadership has throughout generations. Because servant leadership is transformational. It's rare and it's unforgettable when you see it. So that would be an example where I saw, and there are countless others, but that's the first story that comes to my mind.

Kent Schlichtemeier (12:20.318)
You know, servant leadership, one of the truisms I embrace on servant leadership is that servant leadership, it works. If people change their focus to serving others above self, it works. Robert Greenleaf developed the servant leadership theory in 1970. He was a retired AT &T business executive, and he developed the servant leadership theory.

And that theory is taught in business schools all over the country. Why? Because it works. Organizations like Chick -fil -A, In -N -Out Burger, Ritz -Carlton, Southwest Airlines, those organizations are very reputable organizations because they embrace the servant leadership theory.

We at Concordia believe that servant leadership began a few thousand years before Robert Greenleaf. On the night in which Jesus was betrayed, he got down on his knees and he washed the feet of those disciples. Jesus Christ was the last person in that room that should have been on his knees washing feet. But he was the first guy and the only guy to get on his knees and wash those feet.

And those disciples were so inspired, so motivated, and so committed to that servant leadership posture that they saw in Jesus Christ that they went around the world and spread the news of that servant leader to the point of today we have roughly 2 .4 billion Christians in our world today. Why? Because servant leadership works.

It's transformational, unforgettable, and unfortunately, it's too rare in our society today.

Kent Schlichtemeier (14:29.141)
Jenni, Jenni, I'll tell you, it's harder and harder to find authentic servant leaders.

We have a lot of people doing things, nice things to position themselves for advancements, right? Or to get votes in our country instead of just doing the right thing of serving those people around them. So it's getting rare, it's getting more rare. It's hard to find servant leaders in professional sports, in Hollywood, in politics.

But boy, when you see them, again, it's unforgettable. I was at the United States Air Force Academy for a leadership conference in February of this year. And I was attending one of the sessions. And we had a little time to kill before the first session began. And there was this young female cadet sitting in front of me in her camouflage suit. And I started a conversation. I said, good morning. And of course, she says, good morning, sir.

And I asked her, where are you from? And she told me, and I said, I asked her this question. Tell me, how did you pick the Air Force Academy to be the place you wanted to attend and to be the experience you wanted to participate in? And then she said these words that I'll never forget. She said, sir, I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself. So it was so refreshing to see this young 18 -year -old adolescent

eager to serve, even to the point of giving her life for our country someday. And so you get glimpses of that servant leadership mentality out there, and it's refreshing, but unfortunately it's becoming more and more rare. Yeah.

Kent Schlichtemeier (17:09.758)
Absolutely, absolutely. One of the key virtues in being an effective servant leader is humility.

And humility is, again, kind of a fleeting virtue in our society. It's more about me, you know, the Instagram and make me look good. It's making me look as good as possible instead of that humble posture.

And humility is such a precursor for all the other good things that a servant leader does. Humility is a precursor for compassion, listening skills, empathy, just concern for others. Humility is a building block, I think. And again, something that is hard to see in our society. It's been my experience.

You ask about the leaders that have influenced my life, humility has always been charismatic. When you come next to a humble leader, it's charismatic. You're attracted like a magnet. Arrogance, on the other hand, is repulsive.

And when you come next to an arrogant person, all you want to do is bing. You want to escape. You want to get away. The only time someone follows an arrogant leader is when they have to. No one chooses. No one wants to follow an arrogant leader. So.

Kent Schlichtemeier (18:49.31)
So humility, how do you teach that? I think that's the root of the question here. How do we see more of that? And I think it's having the conversation with young kids about the importance. You're going to have a lot more friends if you develop a humble posture than an arrogant one. So it's a hard, hard,

hard to turn our society in that direction, but it's an important thing for us to do.

Kent Schlichtemeier (19:30.718)
That's great.

Jenni Catron
Thats powerful. When you're working with a lot of the students and leaders at Concordia. What do they tell you that they value in leaders? What do they say is important to them? 

Kent Schlichtemeier (19:34.462)
Yeah, that's really, really good. I guess I haven't ever asked that question specifically, but my observations would tell me that they value authenticity.

Kent Schlichtemeier (19:49.278)
They value leaders that know their names.

Kent Schlichtemeier (19:55.998)
They value leaders that ask some questions as opposed to just tell. I think they're so used to just being told what to do. And they've got great ideas. So authenticity, knowing their names, listening, asking questions, and genuinely listening to them. And I think.

Also, a piece that needs to be demonstrated in leaders is some joy and some enthusiasm. Because a lot of young adolescents don't aspire to be leaders because...

They have a hard time finding leaders who demonstrate joy in what they're doing. A lot of leaders are dragging themselves around and complaining about this and that. And so it behooves us as leaders, as we are concerned about raising up future servant leaders, demonstrate some joy as we serve, demonstrate some enthusiasm in what we're doing. So.

Jenni Catron
That's powerful. I love that. Yeah, the authenticity, knowing peoples names, listening and being joyful. I think that is such a big deal, right? Because its not fun to follow somebody who is grumpy or too busy or preoccupied or not living into the fruit of the spirit of joy. 

Kent Schlichtemeier (21:31.774)
Ha ha.

Jenni Catron
Kent this is so fun. I've been jotting some notes as I am sure our listeners were as well. Because I was like I want to write that down, I want to write that down. There's so many helpful and thoughtful nuggets. 

I'd love for our listeners to learn more about some of the things you're doing at Concordia University. The Leadership Learning Academy, some other events that you're doing. Some of the other projects that you're in the middle of. 

Kent Schlichtemeier (21:52.686)
Thank you so much for that question, Jenni. I currently serve as a director of the Servant Leadership Institute at Concordia University Irvine. And one of the initiatives of our Leadership Institute

is to host an educator leadership academy where we host educators on our campus for three days in May and then two days in February where they listen to a series of speakers speak about servant leadership and character. Basically effective exemplary servant leadership.

And then we also have a high school leadership academy. We just hosted 77 rising 10th through 12th grade students on our campus in June for one week. They stayed in the dorms, ate in the cafeteria, and listened to a variety of excellent speakers and participated in a variety of activities. And again, the focus is on servant leadership and character, trying to raise up more effective servant leaders for the future.

Those two academies you can learn more about on our website at Concordia University, cui.edu/sli. cui.edu/sli. And it's a real privilege to be able to be a part of those two initiatives here at Concordia. We're thrilled to see where those are going at this point in time.

Jenni Catron
Kent, I love that and again in the short time that I've gotten to know you over the last handful of months or so, just seeing how intentional you are to model servant leadership, and to help develop it in others and having done that across your career journey so far. And I can't imagine the number of students and young leaders that you've influenced. We're just so grateful! 

While our culture needs to keep shifting more towards servant leadership. I know you're doing your part in helping equip young leaders to really embrace that and that philosophy.

So, thank you for investing in so many young leaders and investing in us today. It was a privilege.  

Kent Schlichtemeier (24:06.238)
Thank you so much, Jenni for what you're doing through your writing and speaking to impact countless lives. Thank you.