Leadership and Service

Leadership and Service

©Scott D. Wilson 2014

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"To lead the people, walk behind them." — Lao Tzu {Tao Te Ching}

"And he sat down, and called the twelve, and said to them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all." — Mark 9:35

Leadership has been defined many ways but technically leadership simply occurs once one has followers. By this simple definition virtually everyone is a leader in some fashion. If you are a parent then your children follow your example. At work, no matter how humble the career, we become leaders as we grow in experience and expertise. Even in public, people tend to watch in daily interactions and will often follow the lead of even complete strangers if it seems to their advantage.

So having established that we are all leaders in some way or another then raises the question that begs asking, namely "What constitutes good or great leadership?" It seems evident to me that the best leaders are those who serve the ones that are following them. I believe strongly that this idea is what Lao Tzu and Jesus are expressing in the above quotations.

Too many leaders today seem to be focused on their party's or company’s priorities or in achieving some important goal. These people often think that they are doing good for mankind but they have nonetheless lost sight of those that they serve.

Still other leaders seem to be focused on exploiting their leadership by selling to those who follow them. So few prominent people in positions of leadership seem to remember that it is the ‘little’ people who gave them their popularity and position. How rarely do they seem to ask simply "What can I do to help those who look up to and support me?"

I wonder to myself: How do I handle responsibility? What leaders do I follow? Have I turned around to see those behind me and wondered how can I make their lives just a little better? This should be everyone's duty to their fellow man and foremost in the thoughts of those who would be leaders.

"We must be silent before we can listen. We must listen before we can learn. We must learn before we can prepare. We must prepare before we can serve. We must serve before we can lead." — William Arthur Ward