Servant Leadership or Saviour Complex: Leadership Under a Microscope
Details
Leadership is under the spotlight now more than ever—whether in the workplace, the community, or the political arena. We’ve witnessed inspiring examples of leadership that empowers and uplifts—and we’ve also seen the pitfalls of control, burnout, and over-functioning.
In this session, we’ll dig into the tension between servant leadership and the Saviour complex—a subtle but critical distinction that impacts team dynamics, psychological safety, and long-term agility.
We’ll explore four key contrasts to spark fresh insights and honest reflection:
- Empowerment vs. Control
- Enabling Commitment vs. Carrying the Load Yourself
- Supportive Challenge vs. Protective Intervention
- Facilitating Alignment vs. Being the Answer
Whether you're a Scrum Master, Product Owner, Developer, or in a completely different role like HR, this session is for anyone passionate about building resilient, empowered teams—and rethinking what real leadership looks like.
Panel:
Gabriela Faria is a proud mother of two bold and beautiful girls. She is the Founder & CEO of the Lisbon Project, a non-profit organisation that supports migrant and refugees. Together with her husband, she is also the lead Pastor of Riverside Lisbon Church. She is passionate about inspiring and mobilising people to add value to the lives of those around her. Gabriela is concerned about protecting the human dignity of people on the move around the world and is committed to transforming borders into paths. She dreams and implements, while contributing to a more just and equitable world.
Claudia Moreira is the Director of People and Organisation (P&O), Diconium Portugal. For over 20 year she had the privilege of being a “Change” enabler, influencing organisations and converting them into agile structures, ready to scale and face new challenges, making sure real talent is preserved and developed while keeping strong engagement from the team.
There Sheehy is an American expat and multi-passionate creative—wife, traveler, foodie, pastor’s daughter, painter, dog-mom, reader, lifelong learner, analyst, designer, leader, catalyst, and writer. Her software career began in 1981 and spanned over 40 years, during which she worked as a business and data analyst, project manager, agile coach, scrum master, and leader. In 2017, she added mentoring and life coaching to her path.
Now retired, Thene focuses on one-on-one coaching, specialising in the Science of Happiness, Positive Psychology, purpose-driven living, creativity, confidence-building, and Deep Joy Living. She’s also preparing to offer somatic and art-based coaching.
Host & Interviewer: Rachel Joseph, Advanced Scrum Master, Diconium PT.
Agenda:
18:00 – Welcome
18:15 – Diconium presentation
18:30 – Panel Discussion & QnA
19:30 - Pizza & Beer + Networking
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Within the framework of the requirements of the GDPR, we would like to point out that photos and sound recordings will be made during the event. These recordings are used for diconium communication purposes (e.g. internal streaming, and social media communication). By attending the event, you agree to the recording and use of the material. You can exercise your right of objection at any time and revoke your consent for the future. You may also request that your personal recording be deleted. For more information please take a look at this link.
The opinions expressed by the speakers in this talk are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or beliefs of the organizing committee or any affiliated individuals or organizations.