Servant Leadership

Leading like Jesus

Jesus is the best example of how to be a servant leader. He had no selfish ambition or end goal; His goal was to love and serve people. The best leaders to work with are the ones that lead like Him. Jesus always taught through His actions. Everything that He asked of the disciples He was already doing Himself. He was continually serving others, as well. He never stopped serving the people around Him because He knew leadership was about the people.

Mark 10:45: “ Even the son of man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the title of your position and you can get prideful. It’s so important to constantly check your heart and realign it with God. Leadership is all about the people. In order to lead well, you have to be able to put others first, just as Jesus did.

Col 3:22–25 (Message): Servants, do what you’re told by your earthly masters. And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work.

Here are some thoughts on how we can all be more servant-minded.

Never give someone a task that you yourself won’t do

If you don’t want to do the task, then why would anyone else want to do it? It’s not inspiring to be handed tasks that no one wants to do. It’s important to give tasks that give ownership to someone, and the best way to do that is to let them know that it’s not above you to do the task, either.

Be intentional

Constantly be looking for something you can take off someone’s plate. This not only helps the other person by helping them get things done, but it shows initiative and creates a standard for others.

Stay humble

It’s important as a leader to stay humble in the season that God has you in. So always stay faithful in what you have now; then you will be granted more. If you stay humble with the small tasks, it’ll be easier to stay humble with bigger tasks.

Be selfless

Always put others before yourself. Constantly thinking of ways you can serve people makes such an impact on them. People love to work with someone who is selfless.

Be a problem solver

Servant leaders always try to see the good in every situation and if something needs to change, they will try to come up with solutions rather than complain. If you see a problem, think of some solutions before you take it to your own leader.

Be teachable

Being teachable is a HUGE way to be a leader. There are always things you can work on and improve upon. The best leaders are the ones that never stop learning.

Have a positive attitude

Stay positive even in the hard times. Sometimes there are things that you can’t avoid and problems arise, but if you stay positive then it prevents bad attitudes and creates a better environment.

Follow through

Make sure that you are always following through with what you are given. It shows your leader that you are dependable and they can count on you to get things done.

Being a leader is an honor given to us by God. So remember to have fun, stay humble, and inspire those around you.