Today I am working at home. To be honest it started as a way of not riding my bike to the office in the rain! I have been committed to using the day productively so began to develop more of the programme for the leadership day I am running for New Wine Cymru and what used to be known as the Flames of Fire conference (www.flamesoffire.co.uk) The purpose of the day is to prepare the young leadership team for the hectic week in August.
I have been thinking about the sort of leaders we need for this task The starting place has to be in the Bible.
Jesus taught he disciples this: "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."(Mark 10:42-45)
So, therefore it must be for us. We must be servant leaders. Approaching each person and task with the attitude,"how can I serve you?"
Our primary approach should not be to select people based on the knowledge and skills can you offer as a leader rather what is your attitude? Is it to serve or be served? In reality if our first question is how can I serve then it is possible that the call might come to take the responsibility of leadership. This is a much healthier approach than one which suggests "I am a leader not what and who can I lead!"
A lot of the great modern thinkers on this subject have been encouraged and developed by the Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership develpoped by Robert K. Greenleaf. (1904-1990)
Greenleaf after a career and AT & T believed that there was a problem with authoritarian leadership and he was right. After retirement he lectured widely on the subject and eventually committed his thinking to his seminal book, Servant Leadership. He also founded the greenleaf institute of leadership of servant leadership. Its current CEO is Kent M. Keith. He is a Christian and as a 19 year old he wrote the paradoxical commandments. They were later published in a book called "Anyway"
The Paradoxical Commandments
by Dr. Kent M. Keith
People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.
© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001
What do you think are the essential attributes of a leader?
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