The Servant: A Simple Story About the True Essence of Leadership

by James C. Hunter

Think of the qualities of a great leader: humility, respect, self-control, honesty, commitment, determination, gratitude, communication skills.

Leadership is simply character in action.

“You are either green and growing or you are ripe and rotting.” Pick one, because nothing living stays the same. Even if you think you are the same as you were last year, the world is moving by at such a high rate of speed that by definition you are going backwards!

You manage your inventory, your checkbook, your resources. You can even manage yourself. But you do not manage other human beings. You manage things, you lead people.”

Leadership: The skill of influencing people to work enthusiastically toward goals identified as being for the common good.

Power: The ability to force or coerce someone to do your will, even if they would choose not to, because of your position or your might.

Authority: The skill of getting people to willingly do your will because of your personal influence.

The key then to leadership is accomplishing the tasks at hand while building relationships.”

Number one, by cutting me off you obviously have not been listening to me very well if you’ve already formulated your response in your head; two, you do not value me or my opinion because you refuse to take the time to hear me out; and finally, you must believe that what you’ve got to say is much more important than what I’ve got to say. John, these are disrespectful messages you just can’t afford to send as the leader.”

“Almost everyone buys into the idea of continuous improvement but by definition it is impossible to improve unless we change.

“Unfortunately, too many managers spend their careers getting in the way instead of getting the obstacles out of the way. In my previous life we used to call supervisors who spent their days getting in the way ‘seagull managers.’ A seagull manager is one who periodically flies into the area, makes a lot of noise, dumps on people, maybe eats their lunch, and flies away. I think we’ve all known a few managers like that in our time.”

to lead you must serve.”

Slaves do what others want, servants do what others need

“A want,” the teacher explained, “is simply a wish or desire without any regard for the physical or psychological consequences. A need, on the other hand, is a legitimate physical or psychological requirement for the well-being of a human being.”

the lower-level needs must first be met before the higher-level needs become motivators. So on the lowest tier, I suppose paying a fair wage and benefit would sufficiently meet the food, water, and shelter needs. The second-tier needs would include safety and security needs, which at work could mean a safe work environment along with providing boundaries and setting the standards as Simeon said earlier. This in turn provides consistency and predictability—which,

we should never treat people differently from the way we would want to be treated.

love is as love does’?”

When we serve and sacrifice for others, we build authority or influence, the ‘Law of the Harvest,’

when we build authority with people, then we have earned the right to be called leader.”

AUTHORITY AND LEADERSHIP AGAPÉ LOVE • Honest, trustworthy • Patience • Good role model • Kindness • Caring • Humility • Committed • Respectfulness • Good listener • Selflessness • Held people accountable • Forgiveness • Treated people with respect • Honesty • Gave people encouragement • Commitment • Positive, enthusiastic attitude

Patience—showing self-control

Kindness—giving attention, appreciation, and encouragement

Why would the work of giving attention to others be an important character quality for a leader?” “Because of what we learned from the Hawthorne Effect,” I surprised myself by answering.

I have come to believe that far and away the greatest opportunity we have to pay attention to people is by actively listening to them.”

we refer to empathy as being fully present with the patient. And by being fully present, we don’t just mean physically but mentally and emotionally as well.

The fact that you are willing to set aside all distractions, even mental distractions, sends a very powerful message to the speaker that you care. That he or she is an important person.

One of the primary works of love is paying attention to people.”

Humility—being authentic and without pretense or arrogance

Humility to me is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking about yourself less.”

The ‘lie’ of rugged individualism that is so prevalent in this country creates an illusion that we are not and should not be dependent upon other people.

Humbleness is nothing more than a true knowing of yourself and your limitations. Those who see themselves as they truly are would surely be humble indeed.’

Respectfulness—treating others as important people

You’re saying that you know how to be respectful and appreciative, you know how to kiss butt, but you’re only willing to do it for those people you see as important. So you’re capable of the behaviors but very selective of the recipients for your attention.”

Leaders must make the choice about whether or not they are willing to extend themselves for those they lead.”

shouldn’t someone get ‘respect points’ just for being a human being?

Selflessness—meeting the needs of others

Forgiveness—giving up resentment when wronged

That would not be leading with integrity. Forgiveness is not about pretending bad things didn’t happen or not dealing with things as they arise. To the contrary, we must practice assertive behavior with others, not passive doormat behavior or aggressive behavior that violates the rights of others. Assertive behavior is being open, honest, and direct with others but is always done in a respectful manner. Forgiving behavior is dealing with situations as they arise in an assertive manner and then letting go of any lingering resentment. As the leader, if you are not able to let go of the resentment, it will consume you and render you ineffective.”

Honesty—being free from deception

Commitment—sticking to your choices

LOVE AND LEADERSHIP Patience Showing Self-Control Kindness Giving Attention, Appreciation, and Encouragement Humility Being Authentic and Without Pretense or Arrogance Respectfulness Treating Others as Important People Selflessness Meeting the Needs of Others Forgiveness Giving Up Resentment when Wronged Honesty Being Free from Deception Commitment Sticking to Your Choices Results: Service and Sacrifice Setting Aside Your Own Wants and Needs; Seeking the Greatest Good for Others Again, love is not about how you feel toward others but how you behave toward others.” The nurse summed up with, “So what I’m hearing you say, Simeon, is that love—the verb—could be defined as the act or acts of extending yourself for others by identifying and meeting their legitimate needs. Would

we are quick to love ourselves but not so quick to love others.”

When we publicly punish someone, we obviously have embarrassed them in front of their peers and that is a huge withdrawal out of our account with them. But in addition to that, when you publicly humiliate people, you also make a withdrawal out of your relational accounts with everyone watching because public floggings are horrible to witness and people wonder, ‘When will my turn come?’ So I guess if your intent is to make lots of relational withdrawals, publicly punishing people is certainly an efficient way to use your time.”

Fully 85 percent of the general public see themselves as ‘above average.’ Asked about their ‘ability to get along with others,’ 100 percent put themselves in the top half of the population, 60 percent rate themselves in the top 10 percent, and fully 25 percent rated themselves in the top 1 percent of the population. Asked about their ‘leadership ability,’ 70 percent rated themselves in the top quartile and only 2 percent rated themselves as below average. And check out the men. When males were asked about their ‘athletic ability compared to other males,’ 60 percent rated themselves in the top quartile and only 6 percent said they were below average athletically.”