Personal CRMs & Servant Leadership: Leading by Putting People First
Servant leadership is the philosophy of leading by serving – focusing on the growth and capacity of others, whether they are employees, colleagues, or community members.
At first glance, you might wonder, what does a contact management tool have to do with leadership style?
In practice, a personal CRM can be a subtle yet powerful aid for a servant leader, because it helps you demonstrate that you truly care about people’s development and lives over the long term.
Think about great bosses or mentors you’ve had. What made them stand out? Chances are, they remembered the little things and followed up on them. Maybe a manager once remembered your marriage anniversary and sent a note of congratulations. Or a mentor recalled that you were taking night classes and later asked how your course went.
Those gestures leave an imprint. They say, “you matter to me beyond just your output.”
Using a personal CRM, a servant leader can scale this kind of attentiveness. Here are a few ways:
Track Individual Goals and Aspirations
If you’re leading a team (or even if you’re in a peer leadership role), you likely discuss people’s goals in one-on-ones.
Don’t let those insights vanish in a closed notebook or in the fog of memory. Log them.
For example, “Chris wants to transition to a data science role eventually,” or “Morgan’s personal goal this year is to improve work-life balance to spend time with her new baby.”
Set a periodic reminder to check in on those specific things.
The next time you meet, you can say, “Last time we chatted, you mentioned you’d like more client-facing experience. I’ve been keeping an eye out – there’s a new project starting that might be a fit to get you that experience, shall we explore it?”
The look on your team member’s face will be one of pleasant surprise: you not only remembered, you took action to help. This builds immense trust. It shows you’re not just extracting work from them; you’re investing in their growth.
Remember the Human Details
Servant leadership isn’t only about career goals; it’s also about valuing the whole person.
Jotting down personal tidbits (with appropriate sensitivity) can be very impactful.
If someone mentions their spouse’s name, or that they love a certain sports team, or that they’re dealing with an ailing parent – these are things a caring leader keeps track of. It doesn’t mean prying; it means if they’ve shared it with you, it’s important to them, so you honor that by recalling it.
A personal CRM can prompt you: “Ask Ron how his mother’s recovery is going” or “Congratulate Sam on his 5-year work anniversary next week.”
These aren’t about work at all, but they are the fibers that build loyalty and a sense of being valued. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care, as the saying goes. By systematically remembering personal milestones or challenges, you demonstrate real empathy.
Maintain Relationships With Alumni and Mentees
Servant leaders don’t stop serving people just because paths diverge.
Let’s say a great employee moves on to a new company – a typical boss might say goodbye and rarely talk again. A servant leader, by contrast, often continues to advise, assist, and cheer on that person’s success.
Your personal CRM can keep a directory of these “alumni” and prompt you occasionally to reach out.
Even a yearly check-in (“How’s the new role going? You’ve been there a year now, congrats!”) can mean a lot.
And practically, those ex-employees can become valuable parts of your network in new organizations – forging partnerships, referring business, or even boomeranging back to work with you again. Because you treated them well and kept in touch, you have a lifelong ally.
In my own practice, I have a habit of keeping notes on past team members’ career ambitions and checking in on their birthday or work anniversaries.
Decades on, I’ve seen those small acts turn into big opportunities – like a former employee I coached 10+ years ago who later became an SVP and ended up hiring my firm for a project, saying, “You always looked out for me, so I knew I could trust you with this job.” That came from servant leadership cemented by consistent relationship maintenance.
Foster Community and Connection
A servant leader often acts as a hub connecting others (very much in line with netweaving).
Using the CRM, you might identify opportunities where two people you know could benefit from each other.
For example, a current team member wants to develop a skill that a former colleague of yours has in spades. Why not introduce them for a casual chat or mentorship?
By keeping track of everyone’s strengths and needs, you can play matchmaker in a way that elevates the whole community.
When done inside an organization, this breaks silos and builds a culture of support. When done across your broader network, it amplifies the positive influence you have beyond your immediate circle.
Examples of Pay-it-forward Leadership in Action
A concrete example from a servant leader’s playbook: I once had an employee, Erika, who was passionate about eventually starting her own business. While she was still working for me, I noted this and gave her stretch assignments to learn entrepreneurial skills.
After a couple years, she did leave to launch a startup. Because I had kept detailed notes of her interests and we stayed in touch (facilitated by my CRM reminders to check in every few months), I was able to send relevant resources her way – an accelerator program I came across, a potential client lead, etc.
At one point, I introduced her to another founder in my network for advice. That introduction turned into a partnership that benefited her business greatly.
Years later, Erika often credits our ongoing mentor-mentee relationship as a key to her growth. From my perspective, I was just following a servant leader mindset, doing what one what I wish I could do for all – and using a system to keep it organized.
The bonus: her startup eventually became a customer of my company in a different context, and she’s referred other clients to me. The goodwill I invested came full circle commercially, though that wasn’t the intent.
Doing More With Less
To be clear, you don’t need a personal CRM to be a servant leader – heart and intent come first. But the CRM is a leveraging tool: it helps a well-intentioned leader to multiply their impact by ensuring no one is forgotten or slips off the radar. In large networks, it’s easy for even a caring person to lose track; the CRM prevents that by extending your memory.
In summary, combining servant leadership with a personal CRM means every interaction can be a little more thoughtful. You follow up when you say you will. You remember and celebrate others’ milestones. You notice when someone’s gone quiet and might need support. These behaviors build a loyal tribe around you. People are drawn to leaders who make them feel seen and supported. And in an age where genuine empathy can be rare in corporate settings, this absolutely makes you stand out.
With so much technology (AI, automation, mass outreach tools) flooding the networking landscape, using a personal CRM to maintain a human touch might just be your competitive differentiator.
Want a deeper dive into the future of personal CRMs and why adopting one now positions you ahead of the curve? Read my guide Never Lose Touch: How Personal CRMs Can Supercharge Your Network and Career in Just 15 Minutes Per Week.
Additional reading on the topics of personal CRMs:
- Get the full guide on Personal CRMs – Never Lose Touch: How Personal CRMs Can Supercharge Your Network and Career in Just 15 Minutes Per Week
- Personal CRMs & Netweaving: Networking as a “Pay It Forward” Practice
Kurt is a globally-recognized 10x marketer, operator, and speaker. He has built and run early-stage companies as well as those over $1B in annual revenue, assembled teams across six continents, been part of the small team leading an IPO ($880M), and participated in dozens of acquisitions. His unique experience being inside hundreds of high-growth companies with the opportunity to analyze, scale, make changes of leadership, and oversee operations has labeled him “the king of scaling companies”. This has enabled him to advise thousands of leaders, from startup founders to the President of the United States.
