When I worked with team members and mentees who were emerging leaders, I would tell them that I wanted them to be leaders that others would want to follow. Now, in my organization, and perhaps in yours, neither leaders nor team members often got to pick who they work with. But I wanted those emerging leaders to be the type of leaders that people would want to work for if they had the chance. I was always overjoyed when I got to work with an individual more than once, and I was blessed to work with a few people three and four different times.
When I talk about a leader worth following, what I am describing is level 2, or “Permission” in John Maxwell’s “Five Levels of Leadership”. A description of the level 2 is:
“Level 2 is based on relationship. At this level, people choose to follow because they want to. In other words, they give the leader Permission to lead them. To grow at this level, leaders work on getting to know their people and connecting with them. Level 2 is where solid, lasting relationships are built that create the foundation for the next level”.
Why is it important to be a leader who others want to follow? Marcus Buckingham has said that “People don’t leave bad companies, they leave bad managers”. Maxwell says that “People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision”. Continue reading
Tag Archives: servant leadership
Servant Leadership: Leading Like Jesus, Part 1
I’m a huge proponent of servant leadership. It’s the way I try to lead, and I believe it is the best leadership model. I’ve read many good books on the topic, with the first, and best, being Lead Like Jesus: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges. In this two-part series on servant leadership, I’ll first look at takeaways from that book, and in part two, I’ll look at what I’ve earned from a few other books on the subject.
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- The world is in desperate need of a different leadership role model. Many leaders act as if the sheep are there only for the benefit of the shepherd. The good news is that there is a better way. There is one perfect leadership role model you can trust, and His name is Jesus.
- Self-promotion (pride) and self-protection (fear) are the reigning motivations that dominate the leadership landscape today. But Jesus is clear about how He wants us to lead: He asks us to make a difference in our world by being effective servant leaders. For followers of Jesus, servant leadership isn’t an option; it’s a mandate.
5 Best Books I Recommend on Servant Leadership
I’m a strong proponent of servant leadership. I’ve previously shared four reasons why I aspire to be a servant leader. You can read that article here.
I’ve read many books about leadership over the years, and several about servant leadership in particular. Below are 5 books on servant leadership, plus a bonus chapter, that I recommend you read if you would like to find out more about the topic.
Continue reading
BOOK REVIEW: “BET ON TALENT” BY DEE ANN TURNER
Bet on Talent: How to Create a Remarkable Culture That Wins the Hearts of Customers by Dee Ann Turner. Baker Books. 213 pages. 2019
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I have often said that there is no organizational culture that I respect more than that of Chick Fil-A. Over her thirty years at Chick Fil-A, Dee Ann Turner had a lot to do with their remarkable culture. In this helpful book, Turner shares both principles and stories. She shares the principles she learned, practiced, and taught about creating and growing a remarkable culture and selecting and developing extraordinary talent in her role as vice president of human resources and later vice president of Talent at Chick-fil-A. She shares stories about how people working in remarkable cultures can build brand loyalty by providing remarkable customer experiences, and gives you practical steps to follow to grow a remarkable culture in your organization. Continue reading
Leadership Lessons from the Life of Moses
We can learn much about leadership by studying the lives of Bible characters. Previously in our “Leadership Lessons from the Bible” series we have learned from Jesus, Joseph, Nehemiah, the Apostle Paul and David. Today, we’ll look at leadership lessons from the life of Moses. Like all leaders, Moses had success and at times faced opposition. Here are 7 leadership lessons we can learn from him.
- Leaders are called. I would consider myself a reluctant leader. As an introvert, shy and lacking in confidence, I would never have chosen leadership as my calling, but that’s exactly what God chose for me. In Exodus 3, we read about God’s calling of Moses from the burning bush. He tells Moses that He has seen the affliction of his people in Egypt and heard their cry. He knows their sufferings and has come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and bring them to a land flowing with milk and honey. (Exodus 3: 7-8). And, God has chosen Moses to lead his people.
Leadership Lessons from the Life of David
We can learn much about leadership by studying the lives of Bible characters. Previously in our “Leadership Lessons from the Bible” series we have learned from Jesus , Joseph, Nehemiah and the Apostle Paul. Today, we’ll look at leadership lessons from the life of David.
Like all leaders, David experienced highs and lows, successes and failures. Here are 9 leadership lessons we can learn from the life of David:
- Leaders demonstrate courage. In 1 Samuel 17:37, we read that David, a youth, and the youngest son of Jesse, courageously tells Saul “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” He then killed the giant Goliath with just a sling and with a stone. Today, good leaders need to demonstrate leadership courage. While not including killing a giant, leaders will need to be able to do such things as make bold decisions, take risks, deliver unpopular messages to their teams, and honestly provide feedback and evaluate performance.
Leadership Lessons from the Apostle Paul
We can learn much about leadership by studying the lives of Bible characters. Previously in our series we have learned from Jesus, Joseph, and Nehemiah. Today, we’ll look at leadership lessons from the Apostle Paul. I recently re-read John MacArthur’s book Called to Lead: 26 Leadership Lessons from the Life of the Apostle Paul, in which he wrote “If you want a human model of leadership, I don’t think you’ll ever find a better model than Paul. Paul is my hero as a leader”.
There are many leadership lessons we can learn from Paul. But, since Paul wrote 13 books, or about 28 percent of the New Testament, coming up with just a few leadership lessons from him will be a challenge. We could easily fill books with those lessons, but I’ll give it a try. Here are 8 leadership lessons we can learn from the Apostle Paul:
- God can use anyone to carry out His mission. The first time we encounter Paul, then known as Saul of Tarsus, in the Book of Acts, it was during the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7. We are told in Acts 8:1 that Saul approved of Stephen’s execution Later, we are told that Saul then ravaged the church (Acts 8:3). But Jesus saves Saul as he was on his way to Damascus, and chose him, the one who was persecuting Jesus and the church, to be the one to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. This is a good lesson for us. We may not have the best grades, most degrees or experience, speaking ability or charisma, but God can still use us for his purposes as leaders.
Leadership Lessons from Nehemiah
We can learn much about leadership by studying the lives of Bible characters. Previously in our series we have learned from Jesus and Joseph. Today, we’ll look at leadership lessons from Nehemiah.
Hand Me Another Brick, written by Charles Swindoll, was one of the books about Nehemiah I read as an early believer. Recently, I re-read Dave Kraft’s book Learning Leadership from Nehemiah, from which much of this article is indebted.
In chapter 1 of the book of Nehemiah, we are introduced to Nehemiah who was taken captive and was serving the king of Persia as his cupbearer. After hearing that the wall of Jerusalem had been broken down, and its gates had been destroyed by fire, we find him weeping, mourning, fasting and praying to the God of heaven for many days. He confessed the sin of his people and himself and asked God to bring him success in rebuilding the wall. Continue reading
Leadership Lessons from the Life of Joseph
Joseph is one of my favorite characters in the Bible. Alistair Begg writes in The Hand of God that his story is a tale of jealousy, deceit, slavery, misrepresentation, injustice, lust, rivalry, and forgiveness. It is also a wonderful example of how God worked in Joseph’s life through all of its ups and downs. Alistair Begg tells us that Joseph was a life-sized illustration of Romans 8:28.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
We are introduced to Joseph in Genesis 37:2 when he was only 17 years old. His father Jacob favored Joseph more than his other sons. Because of this, and poor judgement by Joseph in sharing a dream he had about his brothers bowing down to him, his brothers were jealous of him and hated him. This resulted in them selling him into slavery (Genesis 37:28).
Begg tells us that there is no ideal place to serve God except the place in which He has set you down. Continue reading
Jesus: The Ultimate Servant Leader
The greatest leadership model of all time was Jesus of Nazareth. I believe that the best way to lead is through servant leadership, which was demonstrated by Jesus. That’s how I’ve tried to lead in the business world, non-profit organizations and the church. Briefly, I can summarize leadership as:
- Casting a compelling vision of a better future.
- Getting people to believe in that vision enough to follow the leader
- Developing and multiplying leaders.
- Effectively executing on the vision.
In complete agreement with the Father and Holy Spirit, Jesus came to us with a purpose, which we read about in Luke 4:17-21:
And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus’ purpose in coming to us was to:
- Proclaim good news to the poor
- Proclaim freedom for prisoners
- Recover sight to the blind
- Set the oppressed free
- Proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor