Developing the Leader within Ch: 7

Servant Leadership

• The author, a former senior pastor, reflects on their journey from a hierarchical approach to leadership to a servant leadership style.
• The turning point came after hearing Zig Ziglar speak about helping others get what they want, which led to a realization that leadership should focus on serving others, not personal gain.

Inverting the Power Pyramid

• The author began to invert the traditional "power pyramid," putting others at the top and themselves at the bottom.
• This approach is based on serving others, not oneself, and focuses on empowering others to do what the leader does.

The Bible's Influence

• A Bible passage (Ephesians 4:11-12) inspired the author to realize that their responsibility as a pastor was to equip others to do God's work, not to build their own congregation.
• This passage emphasized the importance of serving others and building up the body of Christ.

Influential Thinkers

• Robert Greenleaf's essay "The Servant as Leader" (1970) and his book Servant Leadership (1977) influenced the author's thinking on servant leadership.
• Max De Pree's book Leadership Is an Art and C. William Pollard's book The Soul of the Firm also contributed to the author's understanding of servant leadership.
• Eugene Habecker's book The Other Side of Leadership had a significant impact on the author, emphasizing the importance of adding value to others.

Key Principles of Servant Leadership

• Place the concerns of others above one's own.
• Love people unconditionally.
• Adopt the attitude of a servant leader, seeking to serve rather than be served.
• Focus on helping others succeed.
• Serve others, even when it's not convenient or comfortable.

The Power of Serving Others

• Serving others leads to personal growth, builds stronger relationships, and creates a positive work environment.
• When leaders serve others, their organizations thrive, and their people grow and flourish.
• Serving others is not limited to leaders; anyone can adopt a servant leadership mentality.

Questions for Servant Leaders

• What can I do to help people succeed?
• What do people need from me daily that they may not want to ask for?
• What can I work on to serve people better?
• How will I know that I am serving people well?

Leadership is About Serving

• Leaders live to serve, not to be served.
• Organizations exist to serve, and leaders must prioritize serving others.
• Serving others is not about being a hero; it's about quietly working to transform the world.### Serving Others
• A leader serves the people in the organization they lead and exceeds expectations by continually doing five things:
  • Staying close to understand the vision
  • Checking to ensure they are on track
  • Asking how to exceed expectations for clients and the team
  • Taking personal responsibility for delivering
  • Believing in others more than they believe in themselves

Evaluating Leadership

• As a leader, it's essential to evaluate how well you serve your people
• Questions to ask yourself:
  • What are my people's expectations of me?
  • Am I sharing my expectations clearly?
  • Am I asking questions to understand what I'm doing well and where I can improve?

Overcoming Blind Spots

• Leaders have blind spots, and it's essential to overcome them
• Questions to ask:
  • What is it like for the people who work with me?
  • What are my blind spots, and how can I improve?
• It's crucial to assume that you have blind spots and ask for feedback from others

Serving Others

• Serving others is a noble occupation that helps people succeed
• Focus on adding value to others, and personal gain will follow
• Questions to ask:
  • How can I add value to others?
  • What can I do to serve others?

Using Your Gifts

• Leaders serve others best in areas where they are most gifted
• Questions to ask:
  • What are my strengths, and how can I use them to serve others?
  • What is my background, and how can I use it to serve others?
  • What are my experiences, and how can I use them to serve others?

Setting an Example

• As a leader, it's essential to set an example for others by serving them
• Focus on inspiring others to serve by setting a good example
• Questions to ask:
  • How can I serve people in a way that will inspire them to serve others?
  • What example am I setting for my team?

Developing the Servant Within

• To become a leader who serves others, you need to focus on making changes in two areas:
  • Developing the heart of a servant
  • Developing the hands of a servant
• Questions to ask:
  • Do I genuinely care about people and want to help them be their best?
  • Do I want others to succeed at least as much as I want to succeed myself?

Servant Leadership

• The author, a former senior pastor, reflects on their journey from a hierarchical approach to leadership to a servant leadership style.
• The turning point came after hearing Zig Ziglar speak about helping others get what they want, which led to a realization that leadership should focus on serving others, not personal gain.

Inverting the Power Pyramid

• The author began to invert the traditional "power pyramid," putting others at the top and themselves at the bottom.
• This approach is based on serving others, not oneself, and focuses on empowering others to do what the leader does.

The Bible's Influence

• A Bible passage (Ephesians 4:11-12) inspired the author to realize that their responsibility as a pastor was to equip others to do God's work, not to build their own congregation.
• This passage emphasized the importance of serving others and building up the body of Christ.

Influential Thinkers

• Robert Greenleaf's essay "The Servant as Leader" (1970) and his book Servant Leadership (1977) influenced the author's thinking on servant leadership.
• Max De Pree's book Leadership Is an Art and C. William Pollard's book The Soul of the Firm also contributed to the author's understanding of servant leadership.
• Eugene Habecker's book The Other Side of Leadership had a significant impact on the author, emphasizing the importance of adding value to others.

Key Principles of Servant Leadership

• Place the concerns of others above one's own.
• Love people unconditionally.
• Adopt the attitude of a servant leader, seeking to serve rather than be served.
• Focus on helping others succeed.
• Serve others, even when it's not convenient or comfortable.

The Power of Serving Others

• Serving others leads to personal growth, builds stronger relationships, and creates a positive work environment.
• When leaders serve others, their organizations thrive, and their people grow and flourish.
• Serving others is not limited to leaders; anyone can adopt a servant leadership mentality.

Questions for Servant Leaders

• What can I do to help people succeed?
• What do people need from me daily that they may not want to ask for?
• What can I work on to serve people better?
• How will I know that I am serving people well?

Leadership is About Serving

• Leaders live to serve, not to be served.
• Organizations exist to serve, and leaders must prioritize serving others.
• Serving others is not about being a hero; it's about quietly working to transform the world.### Serving Others
• A leader serves the people in the organization they lead and exceeds expectations by continually doing five things:
  • Staying close to understand the vision
  • Checking to ensure they are on track
  • Asking how to exceed expectations for clients and the team
  • Taking personal responsibility for delivering
  • Believing in others more than they believe in themselves

Evaluating Leadership

• As a leader, it's essential to evaluate how well you serve your people
• Questions to ask yourself:
  • What are my people's expectations of me?
  • Am I sharing my expectations clearly?
  • Am I asking questions to understand what I'm doing well and where I can improve?

Overcoming Blind Spots

• Leaders have blind spots, and it's essential to overcome them
• Questions to ask:
  • What is it like for the people who work with me?
  • What are my blind spots, and how can I improve?
• It's crucial to assume that you have blind spots and ask for feedback from others

Serving Others

• Serving others is a noble occupation that helps people succeed
• Focus on adding value to others, and personal gain will follow
• Questions to ask:
  • How can I add value to others?
  • What can I do to serve others?

Using Your Gifts

• Leaders serve others best in areas where they are most gifted
• Questions to ask:
  • What are my strengths, and how can I use them to serve others?
  • What is my background, and how can I use it to serve others?
  • What are my experiences, and how can I use them to serve others?

Setting an Example

• As a leader, it's essential to set an example for others by serving them
• Focus on inspiring others to serve by setting a good example
• Questions to ask:
  • How can I serve people in a way that will inspire them to serve others?
  • What example am I setting for my team?

Developing the Servant Within

• To become a leader who serves others, you need to focus on making changes in two areas:
  • Developing the heart of a servant
  • Developing the hands of a servant
• Questions to ask:
  • Do I genuinely care about people and want to help them be their best?
  • Do I want others to succeed at least as much as I want to succeed myself?

The Author's Journey to Servant Leadership

• The author spent 26 years as a senior pastor, initially focused on personal success and recognition, but a speech by Zig Ziglar changed their perspective to servant leadership
• The author realized that their attitude towards people was wrong and began to focus on serving others, not themselves

The Heart of Leadership

• The heart of leadership is based on serving others, not oneself
• The author's responsibility as a pastor was to equip God's people to do His work, not to build their own congregation

Guidelines for Servant Leadership

• Don't rely on position or title, but earn respect by delivering on promises and serving others
• Believe in people and their potential, and care about them because it's the right thing to do
• Try to see things from the perspective of others to serve them better
• Work to create an environment of encouragement and cooperation
• Measure success by how much value is added to others

The Power of Serving Others

• Servant leadership is not limited to those with faith, but is a good business practice accessible to anyone
• It's about dedicating oneself to helping others be their best selves
• Examples of servant leaders include George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Schweitzer, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela

Shifting from Hero to Servant

• Ann McGee-Cooper and Duane Trammell suggest that leaders need to shift from heroes to servants
• Servant leaders should listen without judgment, be authentic, build community, share power, and develop people

Questions to Help You Serve People Better

• The Adding-Value Question: What can I do for people to help them succeed?

• The Everyday Question: What do people need from me daily that they may not want to ask for?

• The Improvement Question: What can I work on that will help me serve people better?

• The Evaluation Question: How will I know that I am serving people well?### The Heart of Servant Leadership

• A servant leader serves others and exceeds expectations, asks themselves five key questions:

  • Stay close to the leader to understand their vision
  • Communicate the leader's vision to the team
  • Ask how they can exceed expectations for clients and the team
  • Continually ask the team how they can exceed client expectations
  • Take personal responsibility for delivering what others need

The Blind Spot Question

• Leaders have blind spots that can hurt them
• Asking "What is it like to be on the other side of the table from me?" can help identify blind spots
• Recognizing blind spots can help leaders become self-correcting

Overcoming Blind Spots

• Leaders must assume they have blind spots that hurt them
• Leaders must recognize that others may be intimidated and not provide honest feedback
• Asking "What am I missing?" and "Can you help me?" can help overcome blind spots
• Leaders should give permission to those around them to speak truth into their life

The Respect Question

• Servant leaders focus on giving value to others while adding value to themselves
• There is no more noble occupation than assisting another human being to help them succeed (Alan Loy McGinnis)
• Serving others purifies motives and gives value to the leader

The Giftedness Question

• Leaders serve others best in areas where they are most gifted
• Using one's gifts to bring out the best in others can help them succeed
• Identifying strengths, background, experiences, opportunities, and what one loves can help determine how to serve others

The Example Question

• Leaders should inspire others to serve by serving as an example
• Senior executives should lead the charge in serving others
• Leaders should be open and vulnerable to set an example for others

Developing the Servant Within

• Servant leadership develops from the inside out
• People can sense a leader's attitude towards them
• Developing a servant's heart requires changing one's heart and actions
• Focus on making changes in two areas: develop the heart of a servant and develop the hands of a servant