3 Traits Of A Servant Leader
Jesus Christ, one of the greatest leaders who ever lived, once said “he, who desires to be a leader amongst his peers, should first of all serve them.”
The father of servant leadership, as many have called him, Robert K. Greenleaf saw a servant leader as one who is committed to helping others grow.
It therefore proves that leadership is not the position you occupy, but the impact you have made on others using your influence.
Greenleaf’s philosophy of servant leadership is that the servant-leader is a servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve first.
A person who aspires to serve first, is very different from the one who is a leader first, he said.
The one who is first a servant will make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served.
It is important to add here, that to be able to effectively serve their people, leaders have to master themselves first.
Servant leadership is not about acting like a slave or debasing yourself as a leader.
It is about leaving the people or organisation better than they met you.
Some successful leaders who have committed themselves to the life-long philosophy of servant leadership exhibit these 3 traits in common.
1. They have nothing to prove: They do not seek to hold on to power or desire to be in the limelight.
They never fight to project their self-worth. Rather, they project the people who they lead.
2. They have nothing to lose: There is no personal agenda tied to any effort put in place to help people. They have emptied themselves into the lives of others.
They are people with healthy self-esteem who are not afraid of losing their position or worth.
3. They have nothing to hide. These set of people delight themselves in teaching their followers all they know.
They create room for their team members to grow and become like them, or even better. Their desire is to develop, not to envelope and control.
People do not care how much you know, they only want to know how much you care.
Thank you for finding time to read.
