Let me tell you a true story, one that I personally experienced. My wife and I were out to dinner with a young couple. We were at a wonderful Mexican restaurant overlooking the beach in southern California. We talked for hours while we tried a variety of salsas, from mild to nuclear heat levels, and enjoyed not only each other’s company, but a great meal. Soon after we were served our entrees, I noticed that the young man with us sliced his extra large burrito in two, eating only one half and wrapping up the second. I figured it was his way of stretching his food budget and that he would enjoy it the next day. I thought no more of it until later when we decided to take an after-dinner walk on the beach right next to the pier.
Before too long I noticed that our guest was looking around as if he was looking for something in particular, which I soon realized was exactly the case. Sitting up against one of the pilings under the pier was a member of the beach’s homeless community, and my guest was on his way to speak with him and give him the second half of his dinner. Awesome, I thought; what a great thing to do. His girlfriend then proceeded to tell us that he does this all the time and that she never gets to take leftovers home! It turns out that he had split his burrito at dinner specifically for this purpose. He had a sincere desire to help those who have less than he, and this was his personal mission field. Again, awesome. What a wonderful example!
I tell you this story for two reasons. One is obvious – we should all be willing to share what have with those who are less fortunate than we are. The person under the pier was hungry, we were not, we had the rest of a huge burrito and they didn’t. It doesn’t take much to figure out that the compassionate thing to do was to share. The second point is that this was an excellent example of how a servant and selfless leader functions with their people. Often the leader possesses things and has privileges that their followers do not have, so it is to everyone’s advantage for the leader to share their time, energy and resources to help out. The main point is that servant and selfless leaders make it a priority to put the needs of others above their own. They don’t have to think about whether or not they are going to help others; they do it automatically. It is part of their DNA. If someone on their team has a need, they immediately jump into action trying to meet that need, be it emotional, relational, financial, spiritual or otherwise. Servant and selfless leaders do just as our friend from the beach did, plan ahead to make sure they can help others and share what they have.
The next time you are leading your team, think about whether you are willing to put aside some of what is yours (time, resources, etc) and be a blessing to those around you. Are you looking for an opportunity to go above and beyond your position? Will you put the good of others above your own? Will you walk out on the beach and share the other half of your burrito? Servant and selfless leaders do.
Lead well.