Serving to Lead

“The willingness to serve always precedes the opportunity to lead.” –Leadershipology.com

A man once shared with me his personal story of becoming a Servant Leader. He said:

Early in my life and marriage, I have to admit that my life was all about me. I didn’t particularly mean to be egocentric—I just was. My job was all about my work, my goals, my position, my advancement. My non-work hours were spent doing what I wanted to do, whether working out at the gym or playing softball with my guy friends. My wife was pretty much home alone.

 Then I learned about Servant Leadership, and for the first time in my life, I made a decision that I was going to lead by serving. It was an 180-degree turnaround for me. The emphasis was on serving, not on being served, on giving more than on receiving, on extending myself toward others more than expecting others to put themselves out for me. Who benefited? Everybody! At work, at home, and at our church, including me.

Servant Leadership is not about being in the position of leader. It is about developing a disposition of serving. Leadership is a by-product of the serving.

I realize that such a perspective is completely opposite to what seems rational. In the traditional sense, leaders demand output and obedience. In Servant Leadership, a leader seeks to out-give everybody on his team. In so doing, he becomes the best leader possible in terms of morale, cooperation, respect, admiration, and loyalty. A leader who has the heart to serve so others benefit is worth following.

It is a fact that people are not equal in their talents and abilities, their intellects, or in any of a large number of other attributes, but everyone can lead themselves better. Even though we are 99% alike in our genetic makeup, we are far from 99% alike in our intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and physical CAPACITY. We can increase our leadership capacity by serving others more. We work at different rates, employ different skills, have different dreams, and have different personalities, propensities, and potential, but we can all become Servant Leaders.

Share with me how Servant Leadership has changed your life!

Adapted from my book, Your Divine Fingerprint. For more information, click here.
For additional personal growth and development resources, click here.
For daily, inspirational leadership quotes, click here.