Articles - Bulletin
Servant-Leadership
I recently attended a leadership conference with a few of the men from our congregation down in Fruitland Park. The name of the conference is Leaders4Him put on by Jody Broyles of the Central Church of Christ in Ocala. The focus of course is seen in the name; becoming better leaders for Him. Each year there are a variety of speakers who are not only proven leaders but more importantly Christians. I’d like to share with you some thoughts that Bill D’Aiuto shared with us when talking of Male Leadership in the Home. While it was geared toward that objective I think we can all see that it applies to everyone in leading others to Him.
The Ten Principles of Servant Leadership
1. Listening. Leaders are seen as those who make the decisions. Servants are seen as those who follow the decisions of the leader. Servant-leaders seek to identify and clarify the will of the group and/or the individual.
2. Empathy. Servant-leaders strive to understand and empathize with others.
3. Healing. Healing brings about transformation and integration. Greenleaf writes, in The Servant as Leader, “There is something subtle communicated to one who is being served and led if, implicit in the [agreement] between the servant-leader and [one being] led is the understanding that the search for wholeness is something that they have.”
4. Awareness. You must be aware of the people, situations, feelings, strengths, and weaknesses of those around you. You must be aware of all of those things about yourself. You can fail when you ignore your own weaknesses or exploit/ignore the weaknesses of others.
5. Persuasion. This particular element offers the clearest distinction between the traditional authoritarian leader and that of servant-leadership. Persuasion shouldn’t be viewed as a bad word, either. Servant-leaders seek to convince others and build consensus within the group.
6. Conceptualization. Move beyond the thoughts of “what needs to be done for today” and start thinking about “where could we be in five years from now?” Let yourself dream of what could be.
7. Foresight. Learn from the past, consider the reality of the present, and think of the consequences of upcoming decisions.
8. Stewardship. Stewardship is defined as the ethic that embodies the responsible planning and the management of resources. This could be stewarding the team as well caring for the equipment and related finances.
9. Commitment to the Growth of People. Growth is not just technical in nature. Consider their personal growth and spiritual growth as well.
10. Building community. A team of people work together to accomplish a goal. A community of people work together to accomplish a goal while inspiring, motivating, and aiding others within the community.
Let’s all strive to lead others to Him by putting these principles to use.
--E
