Servant Leadership: No Greater Love

Welcome back! Over the last few years, this blog has shifted focus. Depending on the spiritual season it has offered my view of everyday events and consequently my interpretation of scripture in response to them. I have, at times, attempted to entertain you with spiritual fiction in the form of Gabriel’s Story. This season, I find the pull of Servant Leadership irresistible. Not knowing how long this season will last, I am eager to dive right in. I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I do, because I know that God’s love provides where hate otherwise divides, and servant leadership is exemplary of God’s love.

The Bible tells us that love is God’s great commandment. John, chapter 15, verses 12-14 say:

The Living Bible: “I demand that you love each other as much as I love you. And here is how to measure it – the greatest love is shown when a person lays down his life for his friends; and you are my friends if you obey me.”

New International Version: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.”

John is clear, loving others requires sacrifice on our part. But it’s not a pain filled sacrifice where we pine over what we’ve lost; rather, it is a sacrifice freely given, joyfully imparted.

In business we call this, servant leadership.

Don’t get me wrong, servant leadership isn’t the instantaneous response to Christianity in the workplace. It takes work. Even the “strongest” Christian has days where she would rather throw gasoline on the fire and watch the whole place burn to the ground than spend extra hours fixing someone else’s mess. It suffers failures. The most well-meaning Christian often finds himself on the floor trying to figure out how, even after his best efforts, everything fell apart and everyone started pointing fingers, the Christian included.

Know this. We, wearing these flawed bags of flesh, can succeed in becoming servant leaders even in the places of business where we have previously failed. Just because we looked and acted like everyone else in the past doesn’t preclude us from becoming who God wants us to be in the present. Because I think God’s trinity model is perfect, I’ll offer three ways a servant leader can “lay down his life” at work.

Servant leaders impart wisdom where chaos reigns. In business, workers don’t always receive clear guidance and are expected to wade through the confusion and deliver the right result anyway. This can take sacrifice, long hours, risk. Servant leaders take what they are given and deliver what is needed, despite what was actually asked for. It won’t often garner thanks, but “friends” in John’s parlance don’t require gratitude.

Servant leaders listen to co-workers’ and supervisors’ needs and fill them. “It’s not my job,” is a common refrain, even in non-union shops. Instead of protecting their turf, servant leaders ask “how can I help?” Jesus didn’t say, Father, they knew what they were getting into when they ignored my advice. No, He said, “not what I will, but what You will.” (Mark 14:36, NKJV) Jesus looked at humanity and asked, how can I help?

Servant leaders don’t avoid weakness, they break them down and build strengths in their place. The key to servant leadership is to not separate one from the other – to lead while serving, or to serve while leading. When we take responsibility for a project, a team, or a product, we have a responsibility to lead that effort, and those people, to success. A leader is most effective when she focuses her team where they are strong, and develops them where they are weak. They take time out of their busy schedule to teach or to train. They serve their workers by leading them, and lead their workers by serving them.

In essence, servant leaders lay down their lives for their co-workers, supervisors, even visiting vendors. It’s what God would do.

It’s what Jesus already did.

(Photo: Arkansasmoneyandpolitics.com)