How to Cultivate Servant Leadership with Howard Behar

The Business of Being Human

In this episode, Wendy Horng Brawer speaks with Howard Behar. Howard Behar's career in business spans over 50 years, all in consumer oriented businesses covering several industries. He retired from Starbucks Coffee after 21 years where he led both the domestic business, as President of North America, and was the founding President of Starbucks International. During his tenure, he participated in the growth of the company from 28 stores to over 15,000 stores spanning five continents. He served on the Starbucks Board of Directors for 12 years before retiring. Mr. Behar is committed to the development and education of our future leaders and has been a longtime advocate of the Servant Leadership Model. He has also authored two books on leadership titled It's Not About the Coffee and The Magic Cup.

Wendy and Howard focus their conversation specifically on the Servant Leader Model that Howard cultivated during his tenure at Starbucks. Howard defines what servant leadership is and how he first encountered it. Wendy and Howard discuss how companies can adapt and develop this people first model in any iteration of the business while sharing personal experiences.

They also discuss how the emerging workforce shaped their social emotional skills through their educational experiences. With expectations for a people first approach growing amongst the workforce, the time is ripe for leaders to value the perspective that they are first and foremost in the people business over being in business. It’s evident that employee retention, productivity, and the overall health of the company increase when Servant Leadership is in the DNA of the business.

To learn more about Howard’s work at howardbehar.com.

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