"True leadership is servanthood. Put the interests of others at the center of your decisions."
The quote got me thinking. What is "servant leadership" and has this term been misused to create bad leaders?
I have witnessed to many times leaders not leading and failing to do what is best for their people and organization in the name of "servant leadership". They are so consumed with serving those they lead that they loose the ability to lead them. Many times leadership must take people someplace they, initially, don't want to go. Leadership takes people into the unknown and plots a path, a leader brings vision. If someone is not doing these things they might be in charge, but they are merely a manager, not a leader.
Th quote is right, servant leadership does need to put the interest of others in their decision but to lead means that it's possible what is best can not be seen unless you are seeing a bigger picture. When leading people you have been given a responsibility to give direction and unify your community around a call to strengthen and grow your community or organization. A leader sees the future and sees what will, in the longterm, hurt or hinder the organization as a whole and then must lead so as to not fall into those traps. But if the voice of the people wins out over the needed change then you are NOT leading, in fact the people are now leading you.
Sadly I see this many times in our churches today. Churches are dying off and it is not due to failing followers, it is due to failing leaders, allowing this "servant leadership" idea applied wrong to kill the churches until they implode and die from lack of growth or change. Basically they a dying because of lack of leadership.
I was thinking about this idea and looking at many of the great spiritual leaders in the Bible. Many of them where not popular with the masses that God had called them to lead. Not because they where bad leaders, but because they were leading in a direction people did not want to go BUT it was a direction God wanted to go. If those leaders of God would have lead like many pastors today they would have stopped the change they were calling for and lived to "serve" the people and make them happy. In fact they would have been serving men over God.
I think the best description of "Servant Leadership" means: To faithfully serve God first and foremost more then those you are called to lead BUT love those you lead unconditionally as God loves them. In loving them you will be caring for them and serving them while also leading them as God calls us to; into the place God is leading us. It seems that this a healthier and wiser approach to Biblical and Spiritual "servant leadership."
