What kind of leader do you most want to follow? Perhaps it is a leader who is a brilliant strategist and who has laid out a plan for your organization to follow that will bring about certain success. Or maybe you prefer the charismatic leader who inspires all within the sound of their voice to deep commitment to a common cause or organizational mission. You may prefer a leader that provides the resources and support you need to achieve, then sets you free to go make things happen. Or maybe you want to succeed by hanging onto the coattails of a pacesetter, if you can keep up with them.
I like some of all of that. I love an energetic and inspirational leader who has a plan, is generous with resources, gives me freedom, and is willing to personally do the hard work of getting the job done. However, there is another kind of leader whom I have come to truly respect and desire to follow. It is the servant-leader, one who, though competent and determined, places their highest priority on making sure that team members are cared for. They put people first. Robert Greenleaf is wrote volumes on the topic of servant-leadership. He states, “The servant-leader is a servant first…It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead…The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant—first to make sure that other people’s highest-priority needs are being served.”
In our competitive and highly stress-filled culture, is it reasonable to even consider being a servant leader? Won’t we be lost in the dust of other organizations who commit all of their energy to the achievement of their goals and objectives if we place our focus first on taking care of the people on our team? I would argue a resounding no, for regardless of the task at hand and the objectives still to be achieved, we must never lose sight of what is truly important, people.
Every day you and I have a choice to make – task or team, ego or humility, drive or discretion. Greenleaf tells this story,
A wise old lady whom I knew many years ago ran a farm and loved horses. She once dropped the remark, “It is an art to drive hard with a light hand.” Whenever I set out to do something where I have to drive a little and push a little to get it done (and what gets done without some of this?), I try to remember this bit of wisdom. It gets done better if I can do my driving, my pushing, with a light hand.
As we lead, I believe the servant-leader will have a “light hand.” They will be able to take their team to great heights, but they will do it with gentleness, compassion, and above all, caring for their people. This is the type of leader I want to follow, I want to be. I hope you do too.
Lead well.