I believe the phrase “Servant
Leadership” is overrated.
Who is a servant
leader?
It usually feels
politically correct to talk about servant leadership. People throw this
statement all over, we are developing servant leaders, or some even refer to themselves as servant leaders. We have also referred to others around us, servant leaders.
What exactly do we mean by this? Do we say it because it's a good statement or
do we give it some thought?
Forgive me for this,
but it doesn't make sense, and it's overrated. Indulge me a little bit, and
hopefully, you will be influenced to think like me a little bit.
There can be no
leadership without service. Anyone calling themselves a leader and but doesn’t
serve those they are leading doesn’t understand what it means to be a leader.
They are not worthy of being called a leader. They are simply power players or
position holders or as someone may call it, “place holders.” Such a person can simply
be replaced, and life will move on. But someone who offers a service will be
missed. A leader who serves will be missed should they be absent. Every aspect
of leadership has to be demonstrated through service. Any form of leadership
that adds value and transforms lives is by serving. So referring to yourself, “a
servant leader” basically means you don’t understand what it means to be a
leader. The only way to lead is through service. When a leader serves he simply
being a genuine leader. Instead of referring to someone as a servant leader,
just refer to them as a genuine leader or a leader.
It's also important to
note that, not everyone who serves is a leader, but for every genuine
leadership to be evident, there has to be service. Leadership is an intentional
service offered with a desire to transform, add value, define culture in self,
family, a team, a group of people, organization, and community. Leadership is a
mature use of power. Power, on the other hand, is the
basic energy needed to initiate and sustain action or, to put it in another
way, the capacity to translate intentions into reality and sustain it. In other
words, Power is the ability to serve. There are all forms of power, and this provides
different ways through which we can serve. When you use the power you have to fight
for the highest possible good in the lives of those you lead, that's a wise or
mature use of power. The same applies to your own personal power. The power
inside you that you can use to fight for your highest possible good, including
those around you.
As a husband and a father, the only way I
can lead my family is to serve them. When I offer myself to serve my wife and
my two boys, my leadership is experienced more, and I gain more meaning even in
my life as a man. Serving in this context doesn't simply mean doing the
routinely menial duties in the home, which I love to do when. It is in realizing
that as the man in the house, I have more to offer as a service to my family. I
don’t have to wait for things to be handed over to me or push people around me
to get things done. Being part of the process and getting my hands dirty for the
highest possible good of all. In my experience walking the Africa Youth Leadership
Forum, AYLF, journey in Kenya, it has become very clear to me that the only way
to inspire and influence is to serve. I have met a lot of young budding leaders
with energy and wanting to take over the world for good, but unless they decide
to serve, all these are just like building castles in the air. The most
significant question we engage everyone to learn to ask more and more is “How
can I be of service to you?”, “How can I help?” This can be a counterintuitive
question depending on the matter at hand.
Asking the question properly in the right
context can open a huge opportunity to influence. Opportunity to use the power
you have for the good of all. To serve. The greatest leaders we can think of
got there by serving people around them.
Next time you use the word Servant Leader,
think twice what you mean. There is nothing like a servant leader; there is
only a genuine leader. Also, be careful to distinguish between a
leader and a power player.
If this resonates with
you, ask yourself if you are a power player or a leader. Look for a small
community of friends who you can learn to do this together with. Being accountable to a few and practising with
a few. It's about building a community of friends to share each other's journey
of genuine leaders who serve and have learned the art of using their power
wisely. You have to be deeply committed
to each other and desire to see each other grow in this journey. You have to
create a support, encouragement, and accountability platform for each other.
The community has to be as small as possible so that there is active engagement
by all involved.
Find a community
around you and see if these conversations make sense to you.
By Gabriel Achayo
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