Servant leadership
One of the greatest servant leaders who ever walked this earth was Jesus Christ.
Jesus said “Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20: 26-28
Throughout the gospels we see Jesus teaching, healing, performing miracles, spending time in prayer, etc. Even to His Death, He became the ultimate sacrifice and paid for our sins so we can have eternal life. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13
Is Everyone a Leader?
Everyone is leading someone.
Whether it is in their family, school, church, organization or community.
I personally believe that everyone has the potential to be a good leader through learning, developing and practicing leadership skills.
But a successful leader, however, must have a servant’s heart.
Types of Leadership Styles.
There are four main types of leadership styles
Autocratic or Authoritarian leadership.
An autocratic leader makes all the decisions without consulting his team. He believes that because of his authority he alone can decide what is best in a given situation.
Democratic or Participative leadership.
A democratic leader consults with his team and welcomes their participation to formulate any plans and policies. He encourages participation in decision-making.
Laissez-faire or Free-rein leadership.
The laissez-faire type of leader plays only a minor role. He passes on the responsibilities and decision-making to his team. He allows the team to establish their own goals and work on problems.
Transformational leadership.
The transformational leader strengthens the morale and performance of the team through a variety of mechanisms. They are able to lift themselves and their team members to higher levels of achievement.
A servant leader is defined as someone who works to develop his or her people. Their main focus is what they can do for others.
Let us take a look at the
5 Qualities of a Servant Leader.
- Authentic
When people see that you are genuinely interested in their development they tend to trust and respect you more.
Therefore when team members are asked to do a task they tend to go above and beyond what is required of them.
When we are true to ourselves we also true to others.
2. Compassionate
It is often said people don’t care how much you know until they know how must you care.
Having knowledge is good but we must show love and respect to those we are leading. When leaders are placed in a position to show compassion they should do it.
3. Humble
Use the authority you have been given with grace. You must listen and learn from those you are leading and remain teachable. It shows you value their worth.
4. Discipline
Being disciplined helps you to have good stewardship of your time, talent, and money.
It helps the leader to set goals and objectives and achieve them.
Leaders should also be disciplined in their spiritual lives, physical lives and financial lives As this will affect how successful they would be in life.
5. Focus
The leader needs to stick to the task at hand despite whatever opposition they are facing.
As long as you are leading you will have opposition. You will feel weary at times and you will feel like giving up. So it’s very important to know your purpose and set your goals and objectives to help you stay focused.
Keep going until you achieve your goals.
A Real Leader is the Servant of all
“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”—John 13:13–17
Conclusion:
As a servant leader, you must use the authority you have been given with grace and humility.
Most of all you must serve others with love.
