Leaders Should Be Servants

I had the privilege today to be part of a small, select group of individuals that participated in a workshop presented by a world-class speaker/trainer/named Ed (The Rainmaker) Robinson. In this workshop, he outlined the steps necessary to create a successful speaking business.  His presentation confirmed my belief that in order to be truly successful we must first seek to help and be a benefit to others. No more than 5 min. into the workshop Mr. Robinson had us perform an exercise that identified obstacles to our business growth. He then spent the remainder of his presentation ensuring that each and every one of our obstacles was addressed.

In my opinion, this makes The Rainmaker a true servant leader. A servant leader is one who accomplishes their goals or purpose by helping the members of his team to reach their full potential and therefore perform at their best. It doesn't matter who is on the team or where the game is played because in some way shape or form we’re all leaders. Our team can be located on the job, in the home, in our social organizations, in our places of worship, or anywhere we are asked to solve a problem or give an opinion. Robert K. Greenleaf developed the concept of servant leadership in his book titled “Servant Leadership”.

A servant leader is not a “me first” leader. He doesn't accomplish his purpose first and then see how he can help the other members of this team. A true servant leader will first determine the needs of his team and use his intellectual nature to figure out a way to assist them prior to accomplishing his purpose. Now I'm not saying that we will solve others problems or even our own on the 1st try.  Many problems are difficult and may have us pulling our hair out. My advice is not to quit but to hang in there because it’s part of our maturing process.

You see, my friend, problems are the stepping-stones on the road to success. And if you have read or seen my earlier posts, I never said success was easy. However, if we are passionate about what we’re doing then each problem we encounter will lead to an opportunity. These opportunities will then lead to breakthroughs. These breakthroughs will be a blessing in our lives and the lives of others. We can stay connected to our passion and our purpose by constantly revisiting our spiritual nature (Mentor) and allowing it to provide direction to our intellectual nature (Coach) during turbulent times.

Servant Leaders are made and not born. We need more of them in our businesses, organizations and homes. We can build/rebuild strong organizations, institutions, societies and countries by putting the needs of others before our own.  Just take a look at what a man named Jesus accomplished using this model of leadership.

I hope that you enjoyed this post and until next time here’s hoping that you live today and every day passionately and with purpose. Thank you and God Bless!

Roving Leadership

Last week, while driving during rush hour on a congested Houston freeway one of the young men whom I mentor made the following comment: “Mr. Al, it would be easier and quicker to get to my house if you turn left up ahead instead of going straight.” After I thought about what he said, I came to the realization that his directions would save me at least 10 to 15 minutes of driving time. I asked him why he did not tell me this information any of the previous times that I took him home. He replied that he was not sure how I would take the fact that he was giving me directions. I told him: “Son, with the price of gas nowadays, any time that you save me driving would be truly appreciated.”

I thanked him for the information because it was truly beneficial for both of us. The benefit being that I saved gas and he got home quicker. I was happy that, after two mentoring sessions, he felt comfortable enough to speak up when he thought it was necessary. I wonder how many people do not speak up in businesses or other organizations because they feel that they would hurt the leader’s ego/feelings. We all know or have heard of certain people who will sit by and watch an organization deteriorate rather than provide a beneficial suggestion that they know will work and benefit everyone. I am not a psychologist and therefore unable to tell you why these individuals act the way they do. However, I do know that if situations like these are not changed then the organization will die a slow and painful death.

In his book titled “Servant Leadership”, Robert Greenleaf discusses a concept called “Roving Leadership”. By using this concept the leader/person in charge recognizes that he/she may not know all there is to know about the job or task at hand. Therefore he/she creates an environment where team members feel empowered to speak-up and use their expertise to help solve their mutual problem. The beauty of this “Roving Leadership” concept is that anyone can use it in their office, home or personal relationships because it fosters an environment of cooperation and teamwork. This type of environment allows everyone to contribute mutually to the success of everyone else and the team as a whole.

In one way or another we are all leaders. Being a leader does not necessarily mean that we are the head of an organization, business or military unit. Many times we find ourselves becoming “leaders by default”. We can be a single parent raising a family alone or the De facto leader of a social organization. A leader is simply someone who leads and/or has influence over another/others. My point is that we can all improve our business, home or relationships by not feeling threatened when others “step up” to solve a mutual problem. Are you willing to give it a try?