Last week I had a leader who I respect, tell me that servant leadership would not be well received or even accepted where he works. Interesting!

As a servant leader heading into 2015, how would you answer if someone asks you “So What”? In other words, they challenged you about your focus on serving as a leader.

After all we certainly know that leading from a standpoint of command and control, or positional authority is much easier. Just give people their orders and demand performance.

I think it is good to think about what your response would be to this question. Your answer just might add passion to your purpose as a leader in the upcoming year.

Here is my “So What”, on why I choose to continually work on developing as a servant leader:

  1. I believe Jesus provided the ultimate model of leadership, as He made it clear He came to serve God’s purpose for him, and serve mankind. Therefore I choose to allow Jesus to work through me in an effort to emulate that focus on service in leadership.
  2. I think Jesus purpose for my life is for me to do everything I can to help people to understand the power available to them through Jesus and lead from a focus of serving others.
  3. I have seen enough good models of servant leadership in history and today’s time that made a significant impact on the world, to know that servant leadership is the secret to effective leadership. (Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, Colleen Barrett)
  4. I have seen enough good examples of companies that have built a culture of servant leadership that are leaders in their industries to know that people respond positively to servant leadership and lead companies to extremely high performance. (Southwest Airlines, Toro, Starbucks, Ritz Carlton)
  5. Nothing drives me more than helping others to achieve their God-given potential and their goals for their life.
  6. I love winning as a team, and servant leaders understand that all of us are always smarter than any one of us. It is fun to build a high performing TEAM, and win together.
  7. I want to be remembered as someone who cared about people at the core, and illustrated that by my actions not just my words.

Are you ready with your answer when you are challenged as to your focus on servant leadership when they say “So What?”

Mark

“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” 

 Mark 10:43-45