🎙️ Lead with Service, Win with Impact: How Servant Leadership Transforms Your Coaching Business 🚀

Are you ready to lead your coaching business in a way that not only transforms your clients but also sets you apart in a crowded market?

In my latest episode of the Lifestyle Business Quest Podcast, I dive deep into Servant Leadership—the secret to building a thriving, purpose-driven coaching business.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

🚀 What it truly means to be a servant leader in coaching

🚀 How leading with service transforms your clients AND your business

🚀 Real stories from coaches like Susan, Paula, and Rick, who shifted their businesses by adopting this mindset

🚀 3 practical steps you can start using TODAY to become a servant leader and make a bigger impact

It’s time to stop chasing clients and start attracting them by serving at the highest level.

🎧 Listen now!

- Travis

To Learn more about growing a Thriving Lifestyle Coaching Business, grab your FREE Masterclass Training Today! www.LifestyleBusinessQuest.com

Transcript

I want you to think about the last time you truly felt connected to your purpose as a coach. I mean, not just going through the motions, but deeply connected—where you could feel that your work was making a difference in someone’s life. Now, let me ask you this: How much of your focus is on serving your clients, versus focusing on outcomes, growing your business, or hitting that next milestone?

Here’s a truth I’ve discovered after working with over 5,000 clients: When you shift your focus from what you can get to how you can serve, everything changes. You see, coaching isn’t just about helping your clients achieve their goals—it’s about showing up as a servant leader, fully present, willing to put their needs ahead of your own. And when you do this, not only will your clients transform, but so will your business.

Welcome to the Lifestyle Business Quest Podcast! I'm Travis Greenlee, your host and today, we’re going deep—really deep—into a subject that has transformed not only my business but my life: servant leadership. If you’ve ever felt like something is missing in your coaching practice, or maybe you’re doing all the right things but aren’t seeing the results you want, I invite you to stay with me for this conversation.

This isn’t going to be one of those quick-fix, “here’s how to get more clients” episodes. Instead, we’re going to explore what it truly means to serve your clients on the deepest level possible. By the end of today’s episode, you’ll understand why adopting servant leadership is the key to not only building a thriving coaching business but also creating meaningful, lasting change in the lives of your clients.

We’ll also explore some stories from coaches like Susan, who went from feeling overwhelmed and disconnected to building a thriving business that’s rooted in service. And Rick—his journey is all about discovering that by letting go of control and focusing on empowering his clients, he created the kind of business he had always dreamed of. Plus, I’ll be pulling in lessons from leadership experts like Robert Greenleaf and Simon Sinek to help us get to the heart of what it means to lead with service.

This is going to be an episode that challenges you, inspires you, and hopefully, shifts how you approach your work as a coach. So, let’s get started.

Let’s begin with understanding what servant leadership really means. The concept was introduced by Robert Greenleaf in his essay The Servant as Leader, and it’s profoundly simple but deeply impactful. Greenleaf said, “The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.”

Think about that for a moment. True leadership, according to Greenleaf, isn’t about being in control or having authority over others. It’s about serving first—about making the needs and growth of others your primary focus. In coaching, this means that your number one priority isn’t getting clients, hitting revenue targets, or building your brand. Your priority is to *serve* your clients deeply, to help them become the best versions of themselves, and to lead them with care, empathy, and humility.

I want to share a story with you about one of my clients, Susan. When Susan first came to me, she was struggling. She had been in the coaching business for years, but she was tired. She was working long hours, constantly hustling for new clients, and feeling disconnected from her original purpose. Sound familiar? Susan had lost sight of why she became a coach in the first place—her passion for helping people live better lives had been replaced by the grind of running a business.

When we started working together, the first thing I asked her was, “What would it look like if you focused less on growing your business and more on serving your clients?” That question stopped her in her tracks. It was like she hadn’t even considered that possibility anymore—her mind had become so focused on the mechanics of scaling that she had forgotten the heart of her work.

Over the next few months, we worked on shifting Susan’s mindset to one of service. She began showing up for her clients in a new way—listening more deeply, being more present, and truly serving them in every interaction. And you know what happened? Her clients felt the difference. They started referring her to others, not because of her marketing, but because of the experience of being served at the highest level. Susan wasn’t just coaching them—she was leading them by serving first. And as a result, her business grew organically, in a way that felt aligned with her values.

This is what servant leadership is all about—it’s leading with a focus on serving others, and the results follow naturally.

Now, let’s talk about why the world needs more servant leaders—especially in coaching. We live in a culture that glorifies the hustle, where success is often measured by how much we can achieve, how much money we can make, or how many clients we can get. But that kind of leadership is unsustainable, both for you as a coach and for your clients. It’s transactional, surface-level, and it doesn’t create the kind of deep, meaningful transformation that both you and your clients are craving.

Simon Sinek, in his book Leaders Eat Last, captures this beautifully. He says, “Leadership is not about being in charge. It’s about taking care of those in your charge.” This is the heart of servant leadership. It’s not about being the expert or always having the answers—it’s about creating an environment where your clients feel safe, supported, and empowered to grow.

Another one of my clients, Rick, experienced this shift firsthand. Before Rick adopted servant leadership, he was like many coaches—he was running himself ragged, trying to keep up with client demands, while also worrying about growing his business. Rick was exhausted, and honestly, he wasn’t enjoying the work anymore. He told me, “I feel like I’m just doing, doing, doing, but I’m not really making the impact I want.”

So, we worked on shifting Rick’s focus. Instead of trying to control every aspect of his clients’ journeys, Rick started showing up as a servant leader. He started empowering his clients to take ownership of their growth while being fully present to guide and support them. This wasn’t about Rick being in charge—it was about him creating the conditions for his clients to thrive.

Rick’s clients responded immediately. They felt more empowered, more confident, and more connected to their own growth. And as Rick’s clients started achieving more success, his business grew in ways he never expected. The stress, the hustle, the grind—it all faded. Because Rick was no longer trying to do everything—he was serving first, and letting his clients lead their own transformation.

This shift is something Simon Sinek talks about often—when leaders prioritize taking care of their people, the results take care of themselves. And this couldn’t be truer in coaching.

Now, there’s another key element to servant leadership that I want to talk about, and that’s vulnerability. Brené Brown, in her book Dare to Lead, says, “Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome.” This idea is *crucial* to servant leadership.

As a coach, being a servant leader means being vulnerable. It means showing up fully for your clients, even when you don’t have all the answers. It means being willing to share your own struggles and challenges, to be human with your clients. When you lead from a place of vulnerability, you build trust. And trust is the foundation of any successful coaching relationship.

One of my clients, Paula, learned this lesson the hard way. When Paula first came to me, she was struggling to connect with her clients on a deeper level. She was doing all the right things—following the right processes, using the right tools—but something wasn’t clicking. Her clients weren’t fully engaging, and she couldn’t figure out why.

After some reflection, we realized that Paula wasn’t showing up with vulnerability. She was trying so hard to be the perfect coach—the one with all the answers—that she was creating a barrier between herself and her clients. Her clients didn’t feel like they could relate to her because she wasn’t sharing her own challenges and experiences.

When Paula started showing up as her authentic self—vulnerable, real, and human—everything changed. Her clients started opening up more, the conversations deepened, and the transformations became more profound. Paula’s business started to grow, not because she was doing more, but because she was leading with service and vulnerability. Her clients felt safe with her, and that trust led to greater results.

This is the power of vulnerability in servant leadership. It allows your clients to see you not just as their coach but as a partner in their journey.

Now, I want to leave you with three practical steps you can take to start practicing servant leadership in your own coaching business today:

Step 1. Practice Deep Listening. One of the core principles of servant leadership is listening—really listening. Robert Greenleaf said that listening is the foundation of all great leadership. In your next coaching session, challenge yourself to listen more than you speak. Ask open-ended questions like, “What’s really going on for you right now?” and then, be fully present. Don’t rush to offer advice. Just listen. When your clients feel truly heard, they trust you more, and that trust is the foundation for deep transformation.

Step 2. Empower, Don’t Control. As Simon Sinek teaches, leaders create the conditions for success—they don’t force success to happen. In coaching, this means empowering your clients to take ownership of their growth. Instead of giving them the answers, guide them toward discovering their own solutions. Ask, “What do you think is the next best step for you?” or “What would help you feel more confident moving forward?” When your clients feel empowered, they become more invested in their own progress.

And finally, step 3. Lead with Vulnerability. Brené Brown reminds us that vulnerability creates connection. Be willing to share your own challenges with your clients. Let them know that you’re on a journey too. This doesn’t make you less of a leader—it makes you more relatable, more human, and more trustworthy. When you lead with vulnerability, you create a safe space for your clients to be open and honest, which leads to deeper transformation.

Servant leadership is about so much more than just helping your clients achieve their goals. It’s about how you show up for them, how you lead, how you listen, and how you empower them to grow. When you lead with service, when you listen deeply and show up with vulnerability, you create an environment where real, lasting transformation can happen.

So, if you’re ready to step into your role as a servant leader and take your coaching business to the next level, I invite you to join my free masterclass at lifestylebusinessquest.com. In the masterclass, we’ll go even deeper into these concepts, and I’ll show you exactly how to build a thriving coaching business that’s rooted in service.

Thank you so much for joining me today on the Lifestyle Business Quest Podcast. I hope this episode challenged you, inspired you, and gave you a new perspective on what it means to lead as a coach. If you found value in today’s conversation, I’d love for you to leave a review and share this episode with other coaches who need to hear this message.

Remember, the world needs more servant leaders—and you have everything you need to step into that role. Keep serving, keep leading, and keep making a difference. I’ll see you in the next episode!