As we get rolling into the New Year, I encourage you to think about your top priorities as a leader. What will insure your success in leading your team?

Servant leadership requires a unique set of priorities; you must think first and foremost about the greater good of others, specifically of those you are leading (serving). So how do you set your priorities to reflect this focus?

Top 3 Servant Leadership Priorities

Look to Jesus for guidance and help.

This could be the over-arching and most important element needed for your servant leadership success. We are wired by default to think about ourselves. It is through His help that we are able to put our selfishness aside and focus on the greater good of others. Therefore, what does your daily schedule look like for spending time with Jesus? Prayer time? Study of God’s Word? Journaling about what you are hearing?

Stay connected with others.

Consistent communication enables you to build relationships which will lead to energy, engagement, and high performance. Become intentional about stepping into each day curious about what you can learn from others. This won’t happen by spending a significant amount of time each day in your office. It requires you to get out of the office, enter into discussions with people, and LISTEN. Every day!!

• With Team Members – There is no substitute for staying in close personal contact with your team. You will quickly lose touch with your people if you are not intentional about consistent connection. Set up times throughout your day when you walk around and talk with people. Put it in your schedule!

• With Customers / Industry / Market – If you isolate yourself from these key stakeholders you can quickly become out of touch with their needs and your decisions will reflect it. There is no substitute for visits to your customers, attending trade association meetings, and discussions with market and industry leaders to stay sharp on what you as an individual and an organization need to be delivering to your customers. Establish a cadence on a monthly and annual basis for these key visits. Staying connected here allows you to fully understand the needs to be met, and by serving them well, you will become a provider of choice.

Focus on Personal Development.

You will best serve others by being the very best you can be as a leader. Challenge yourself to carve out specific time for enhancing your personal servant leadership skills. The greatest of leaders lead by example. A focus on developing others starts with you modeling the way of personal development for yourself first. From there, you are then able to enhance the skills of your team to help them become their best.

These 3 priorities are “table steaks” for a high-performing servant leader. A consistent focus in these areas will lead you to becoming a leader people want to follow!

How are you setting up your schedule in 2017 to insure they are a part of your regular cadence?

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25