The Simplicity of Servant Leadership

Reader, can I ask you a question?

What is true servant leadership and how do you recognize a true servant leader?

Ok, that was two questions. But I am curious. I am curious because I claim to be a servant leader. I write about it as if I am an expert - a thought leader. I espouse it to my colleagues as the only way to lead in today's business world. I believe in my heart that servant leadership offers a business and its employees the best possible environment to grow, to earn profit, and to give back to their communities. But what is true servant leadership?

I ask this question because I am concerned. I am concerned that false leaders are using the mantle to lead people astray. Paul warned us of it, though he was actually talking about Christ. But that's how the Bible works, right? God's Word teaches us lessons that we can apply to life today as adeptly as they applied to life in the days of the Apostles. In 2 Corinthians, Paul worries that Christ's church will be led astray by false teachings - false prophets - false deities.

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it! (2 Cor 11:3-4, NKJV)

So, to avoid putting up with false servant leaders who draw us away only to discover their true serpentine nature, can we agree on a few baseline premises in the vane of the simplicity of Christ?

1. Servant Leaders place others above themselves. That's right, the "Golden Rule" is truly golden in a servant leader's eyes. Someone who claims to be a servant leader will put your needs above their own.

2. Servant Leaders take pride in others' successes. True servant leaders rejoice as much or more so when you gain, when you win, when you get promoted as when they do. Your growth truly resonates as their success.

3. Servant Leaders seek to benefit those in their charge. Sometimes that means sacrificing their own goals or time to help others grow. Sometimes that means taking on extra work so that an employee can have a break. Sometimes it means absorbing the heat, not just deflecting it elsewhere.

As you go about your day today, keep these simple tenets in mind. If you strive to be a servant leader like I do, place others first, celebrate their successes, and help them grow. But don't sit back and revel in their success...find the next opportunity to serve. And if a false servant leader shows his hand?

Don't just put up with it. Show him what true servant leadership is.

Ken - thinking of you and your family. Travel safe.