The Paradox of Leadership

Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. Matthew 20:26 In his outstanding book, “Good to Great”, Jim Collins describes a mistake many companies make when they hire a CEO. Too often, they try to get a charismatic leader who becomes, in Collins’ phrase, “a genius with a thousand helpers.” This person demands to be the center of attention and receive all the praise. Others in the company are 2nd class citizens, just helpers who deserve no recognition. Some leaders who are Christians make the opposite mistake. They confuse humility with passivity and meekness with weakness. Their leadership style is to take little to no active role in positively influencing and impacting others. This is also not a biblical role. Scripture shows us Jesus arguing with the religious leaders and over-turning tables in the temple. His followers stood boldly for the truth, even to the point of tortuous deaths. Collins observed that most successful companies have leaders who are “humble visionaries”. They lead with passion, but are happy to give plenty of credit to anyone and everyone else. Collins’ observations fit perfectly with Jesus leadership strategy. In reaction to the natural, normal style of most leaders to demand to be the center of attention, Jesus told His followers to show their greatness by serving. He then dispelled any misconceptions of what it means to be a servant by picking up a towel and washing the dirty feet of the men at the table, the job of the lowest servant in the home. What does it meant to be servants of those under us in our families and on the organizational chart? If we follow Jesus example, we take time to do the most humble tasks: washing dishes, cleaning, sweeping, helping an intern with a task, or stopping to talk to an employee in the shipping department to ask about her family. In business we call this “management by walking about” or “capturing the heart before we ask for a hand”. Said another way, people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care (about them). You have to establish trust before you can lead – and trust is built upon your investment in relationships with your followers. The same analogies can be made for the home/family environment. The bottom line is that a shepherd knows the condition of his flocks because he stays close to them. Are you too busy for things like that? Don’t be – for such is true servant leadership – one who goes before all others, sets the example for us to follow, serving the needs of his followers ahead of his own. What impact do “geniuses with a thousand helpers” have on those under them? What impact do “humble visionaries” have on people? What do you need to start doing today to be a servant leader to those around you? I’d love to talk to you personally. For more on help I can provide and how you can reach me, check out… http://truthatlife.com/ or email me directly at curtis.songer@gmail.com