A Call to Servant LeadershipPrimjer

Laying the Right Foundation

Intuitively, we understand that great people make great leaders, and great leaders make great organisations. But to lay the right foundations for servant leadership in our own lives, we need to get the order right: character before title.

Many aspirational leaders don’t understand what leadership is really about. Maybe you’ve been appointed to a leadership position without really understanding what the role is about. Leadership consists of three elements: leader, followers, and situation. The implication is that leadership begins with a person, not a position. A leader isn’t just someone with rank or defined status. It’s a person who brings their values, world view, and character to bear on a situation, to bring direction and momentum. So, great organisations are born because of great leaders, and great leaders come from great people: people of strong moral fibre and clear convictions.

Leadership can be likened to a GPS. The directions you’re given by the navigation app are dependent on the location you enter into the system. Similarly, leaders need to clarify upfront where they’re going, because the intended destination will determine which voices they listen to. As a leader, it’s worth asking yourself: Have I clarified my endpoint? Has that helped me navigate my options as a leader? Who or what is validating or informing my direction?

Christian leaders are Christians before they’re leaders. And, ironically, Christian leaders are first – and always – followers, because they’re always following Jesus. As a Christ follower, leadership should be a demonstration of the character of Christ. It’s not all decision making and delegating from a position of power. It’s about living a life worth emulating. Think about what would change in your community if people started leading like this. Also, consider who is currently following you – and why.

In Matthew 20:25-28, Jesus debunked the myth that leadership is attached to a title or position, and His leadership model keeps us from the danger of being obsessed with influence and authority. His perspectives on leadership were radically different from what His disciples would have been exposed to in the culture of the day, and they’re radically different from our world’s leadership culture too. Interestingly, Jesus’ first followers and friends had no idea how influential they would end up being. They followed Jesus anyway. Perhaps you can think of leaders who shaped generations without realising at the time the indelible mark they’d make on the world, or leaders who are teachable, as the disciples were, always looking for ways to learn and improve.

Jesus is still in the business of making leaders – but are we still in the business of following Him? Let’s hold ourselves and each other accountable where we tend to follow models of leadership incompatible with the values of Christ. Let’s lay the right foundation for servant leadership, remembering that leadership flows from a person, not a position, and endeavouring to be the kind of people others are inspired to emulate.