I had the great honor of participating as a speaker for an Executive and Entrepreneurial Leadership Forum at Alexandria Technical College this week. It’s always a joy for me to speak into the lives of young leaders who have their entire life in front of them to make a significant impact on the world.

I fielded an outstanding question from a student that I thought might be beneficial to share. She asked me, “How do you keep servant leadership at the front of your mind and actions on a daily basis?”

 What a great question! At this young age she recognized the challenge that people face in changing the human nature aspect of self-centeredness, to a heart and passion for serving others. This is a true battle for all of us, and it truly takes a plan of intentionality to be a servant leader.

Everyone is different and servant leadership might come easier for some than others. For me it is always challenging and comes down to two words:

  • Focus
  • Commitment

I have to keep a daily focus on my personal purpose, values, and behaviors and I have to stay committed to the behaviors that I have outlined for my values.

For example my personal values are:

  • Spirituality
  • Mutual Respect & Trust
  • Commitment to Excellence
  • Well-being – Body / Mind / Spirit

Some of my behaviors that I have outlined for myself that help me in my quest to be a servant leader would include:

  • I will spend the start of every morning in solitude and devotion, reading scripture and listening to what God has to say to me that day.
  • I will look to encourage anyone I come into contact with on a daily basis
  • I will never be satisfied with the status quo, and will always look for how I can improve the value I provide
  • I will take care of myself by exercising 4 days a week, and eating 2100 or less calories per day so that I can feel good and effectively serve others
  • I will look for ways to get feedback on my performance to provide insights on where I need to improve

Daily focus and commitment on servant leader behaviors will help you develop into the servant leader you want to be!

Mark Deterding

 And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us – Hebrews 12:1