The 1st Habit of Servant Leaders: Solitude

We live in a frenetic, fast-paced world. From the time we get up in the morning until the time we rest our heads upon our pillows for a well deserved sleep, we are tugged in dozens of directions, many of which threaten to drive us off course from our mission and vision. It’s often been said we live in a rat race. Comedienne Lily Tomlin once said, “The problem with a rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat.” The first habit of highly effective servant leaders is making time for daily solitude. This is the time we spend alone with God, feeding upon our source of spiritual nourishment and refreshment, helping us to focus on the tasks ahead and to discover His plan for our life by listening for His “still small voice.” (1 Kings 19:12)

Solitude is countercultural. Almost every waking moment is bombarded by the media, social networking, text messaging, email, cell phones, putting out the fires that arise in our lives and the interruptions from those competing for our time. This is not a new problem. Jesus suffered from the same time demands we face in life. The methods by which those demands were delivered are different, but the demands themselves are the same. He ensured solitude was a key habit in His life for a variety of reasons. As the role model for serious servant leaders, we need to take our cues from Him.

• When preparing for the tests of leadership and public ministry, Jesus spent 40 days alone in the desert (Matt. 4:1-11)
• Before choosing His twelve apostles, Jesus spent the entire night alone in the desert hills (Luke 6:12-13)
• When He received the news of the death of John the Baptist, Jesus withdrew in a boat to a lonely place (Matt. 14:13)
• After the miraculous feeding of the 5,000, Jesus went up into the hills by Himself (Matt. 14:23)

Whether He was preparing Himself for leadership, making important decisions, mourning the passing of a dearly beloved friend or dealing with the tasks of His daily walk, He found time for solitude. It kept Him in tune with His mission and vision for His life here on Earth.

What is it that keeps us from spending time alone with God? What are we afraid of? Why is it so difficult to make Him a priority in our lives? What changes do we have to make in our daily routines to make time for solitude? What activities stand between us and our alone time with God?

Here’s a challenge for you. Spend 30 minutes alone with God today. Turn off all the distractions, no electronics, cell phones, PDAs, radios, televisions, etc. Don’t even talk to anyone during the 30 minutes. Close your eyes and think about the things that excite you and concern you. Place them ceremonially at the feet of Jesus, then turn your attention to Him. Think of the attributes of God such as His Holiness, His love, His mercy, His kindness, and His great gift of salvation. Listen in your heart for His still small voice directing and guiding you. It could be the most difficult 30 minutes you’ll ever spend in your life, but it could also be the most rewarding. To develop a habit, it has to first become a discipline. To become a discipline, it has to first be accomplished as a task. Are you will to take the challenge?

The 5 Habits of Highly Successful Servant Leaders

Most everyone who has ever begun a study in leadership has probably heard of Stephen Covey’s “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” first published in 1989. Each chapter of his book is about one of the seven habits which are:

1. Be Proactive
2. Begin with the End in Mind
3. Put First Things First
4. Think Win/Win
5. Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood
6. Synergize
7. Sharpening the Saw

The first three of Covey’s habits are about self-mastery and moving from dependence to independence. The second three are about working with others or interdependence. The last habit is about self-rejuvenation. As interesting and popular as the seven habits are, they fall short in terms of guiding the habits of Servant Leaders. Servant Leaders have a higher calling and must develop vastly different habits to be successful on a daily basis. We live in a rat race and as we move through our season of leadership, we are under constant pressure and temptation to be drawn off course by the failings of our friends, our families, our enemies and ourselves.

The role model for our servant leadership, Jesus Christ, was under the same pressures as we are as He walked the Earth. Through it all, He modeled 5 key habits to help Him stay on track with His mission and vision. These habits are the primary antidote He applied to counter the opposing forces in His life:

1. Solitude
2. Prayer
3. Knowledge and Application of Scripture
4. Accepting and Responding to God’s Unconditional Love
5. Maintaining Accountability Relationships

Adopting these habits is essential for the Servant Leader. The greatest role model for Servant Leadership didn’t try to lead without them and neither should we. Each of the next five blog posts will be dedicated to one of the habits. Please look forward to them and prayerfully seek the guidance you need to adopt them.

Performance Coaching, the Work of a Servant Leader

So far we’ve taken a look at the heart and mind of a servant leader and talked about Leadership EGO. Today, we’re going to discuss the work of a Servant Leader. Are you a Self-serving Leader or a Servant Leader? One of the greatest distinctions between a self-serving leader and a servant leader is the fact that servant leaders thrive in their care for people and their desire to help them succeed in their unique purpose and calling. Self-serving leaders thrive in their care for themselves and focus on their own success, pointing failure on anyone but themselves.

As servant leaders, one of the key activities we must engage in is performance coaching. Performance coaching is the most important servant leadership element in helping others achieve their goals. As performance coaches we need to recognize where those we lead are at a task level and alter our leadership style to meet their needs to help them succeed.

If you have children, have you ever sat down with them to help them study to get an “A” on an exam? I don’t know many parents who haven’t. We pour our hearts and souls into our children to make sure they have the opportunities and successes in life that we didn’t. This is servant leadership performance coaching in action. As servant leaders we want to help those we influence achieve all “As” on their exams.

There are three parts to becoming a performance coach: performance planning, day-to-day coaching and performance evaluation. Performance planning is you setting the goals. Day-to-day coaching is observing people’s performance, praising progress and redirecting efforts when they get off track. Performance evaluation is looking back on the effort someone expended to achieve a goal. If there isn’t clear communication of what a good job looks like, either you or those you influence will become frustrated and eventually fail.

One of the greatest examples we can set as leaders is to demonstrate our commitment to the success of our leadership vision by investing our time and energy into day-to-day coaching and reinforcing our values. Yes, it is time consuming, but when you care enough for the people you influence to make a positive difference in their lives, the payback is enormous. This is the legacy of a servant leader. It’s not about what we do for ourselves. It’s all about what we do for others. How do you want your leadership to be remembered by your coworkers, at home, in your church and in your community? What is your leadership legacy?

Leadership EGO is Not What You Think

This past week’s lesson in leadership for the teen group was based on Leadership EGO from the Lead Like Jesus program by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges. Leadership EGO is not what you think it is. EGO is in all capital letters because it is an acronym. What the acronym means depends on what type of leader you are. Are you a self-serving leader or a servant leader? For self-serving leaders, it means Edging God Out. For servant leaders, it means Exalting God Only.

Self-serving leaders Edge God Out for the two primary causes of pride and fear. Pride is an overly high opinion of yourself. It is an exaggerated esteem of yourself which manifests as haughtiness and arrogance. This stands in stark contrast to the servant leader who manifests Romans 12:3 (KJV), “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think;” and Philippians 2:3 (KJV), “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”

Fear is a God given mechanism that can either be live-giving or life-threatening. Life-giving fear leads to a worshipful attitude toward our Creator and a gratitude for what we’ve been given in life. King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, concluded the book of Ecclesiastes with these words: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”

Life-threatening fear is toxic fear. As with pride, toxic fear leads to separation from God, separation from others and even separation from ourselves. Toxic fear is steeped in the fear of man. Proverbs 29:25 (KJV) says, “The fear of man bringeth a snare: But whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.”

Self-serving leaders always separate themselves from God, other people and themselves. They always compare themselves to others on a material basis and are never happy with where they find themselves. Self-serving leaders always distort the truth into a false sense of security or fear. Separating ourselves from God and other people is self-explanatory. If you are a self-serving leader, you know this is happening in your life. Separating yourself from you takes a little explanation. We separate ourselves from self when we are too sensitive to other people’s opinions to listen to our own heart. We’re too busy fixing other people’s problems to recognize the mess in our own lives. We make too many excuses and spend too little time turning from our bad behaviors. We are too full of our own agendas to wait for God’s answer.

Servant leaders measure success in terms of how well they are following God’s plan for their life. They build community and fellowship; are content and generous with their material blessings and time; trust God and the truth of His Word; and are inspirational and committed. The good news is that if your are a self-serving leader today, you can become a servant leader of tomorrow if you commit to altering your Leadership EGO. Here’s how to go about it.

Embrace an eternal perspective of the here and now in light of the then and there. Seek to lead for a higher purpose in life. This means to seek to lead beyond success or significance. Seek to lead to obedience and surrendered service to God.  Feedback is always a gift. Conscientiously assess your level of trust and surrender to what you believe about God, His Kingdom and His claim on your life and leadership. And seek the promised guidance of life’s ultimate coach, the Holy Spirit. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 (KJV), “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” My prayer for you today is that you develop into the leader God means you to be.

The Mind of a Servant Leader

Servant leadership begins with the motivation and intent of the heart. Motivation and intent drive a leader’s belief system and role perspective. A common point of interest among all great leaders is that they have a specific leadership point of view that defines how they see themselves in their roles as leaders and how they influence and teach those with whom they’ve developed relationships. Servant leaders view themselves as having two roles. The first is that of a visionary. The second is that of an implementer.

By now, we should understand that leadership is a process of influence, but what is it that we are influencing? Leadership is a process of influence that leads to some destination. The destination is the picture painted by the leader’s vision. Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) says in part, “Where there is no vision, the people perish:”

According to Ken Blanchard and Jesse Stoner in their book, “Full Steam Ahead: The Power of Vision,” a compelling vision has three parts:

1. Your purpose. What “business” are you in? Where are you going and why? In terms of your family, what is your family all about? Where is your family going and why?
2. Yoru picture of the future. What will your future look like if you are accomplishing your purpose?
3. Your values. What do you stand for? On what principles will you make on-going decisions?

By creating a compelling vision, the leader tells those within their sphere of influence who they are, where they are going and what guides their journey. Once the followers clearly understand the leader’s vision, the leader takes on the role of implementer, in effect becoming a servant to the vision. The servant leader equips and motivates those they lead to succeed in accomplishing the goals of the vision. A self-serving leader believes the sheep are there to serve the shepherd, which is quite the opposite of servant leadership. This is where many organizations get into trouble with their leadership.

Leaders are either going to energize their followers or sap their strength. With self-serving leadership, the energy of the followers flows upward to satisfy the demands of the leader. When the energy flows upward, it is drawn away from the customers. With less energy to serve the customers’ demands, a business struggles. Servant leaders get the energy flowing in the right direction. By energizing their people, the energy flows outward to the customers which leads to greater results and success.

The Heart of a Servant Leader

One of the greatest issues with servant leadership is that most believe it is about behaviors, style and techniques that can be taught as with other leadership styles. In fact, most of the books you’ll read on the subject of servant leadership focus only on those topics. Servant leadership requires a change in the heart of the practitioner; and a heart motivated by self-interest is the greatest barrier to becoming a successful servant leader.

People are inherently self-focused and self-centered. It is the nature with which we are born. As we grow and mature into adults, we learn that life is not so much about what we can get, but rather, what we can give to others.  In Philippians 2:1-4 (KJV), the Apostle Paul counsels us to look to the interests of others and not to focus on our selves.

“If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”

Leaders motivated by self-interest place their agendas, safety, status and gratification above those of the people they influence by their thoughts and actions. Are you a self-serving leader or a serving leader? Why not take a little test to find out? Answer the following three questions:

1. Do you believe negative feedback is a gift or a criticism and threat?
2. Do you plan for your successor?
3. Who leads and who follows in your life?

Self-serving leaders see negative feedback as a criticism and threat to their leadership. They often believe that negative feedback means people don’t want them to lead any longer. Servant leaders view negative feedback as a gift because they realize someone cares enough about them to help them through a course correction.

Have you ever considered your leadership legacy? What are you going to leave behind? Servant leaders plan for others to carry on in their role when their season of influence is over. Not only do servant leaders leave behind their accomplishments, but they leave behind a legacy in the hearts and minds of those they’ve been given the opportunity to teach and to work with. In my Leadership Framework I write:

”From each of my direct reports, I request that if they’ve ever learned anything at all from me in managing and developing people, that they in turn impart what they’ve learned to their future direct reports. After all, it’s a fact of life for anyone in Information Technology that the only lasting value we bring to the table is that which we do for others. Every system we touch and every computer program we design is destined for retirement before the project begins. Only what we do for people lasts. People, and how we touch their lives, are our legacy.”

Who leads you in your life? Are you driven by pride, fear, self-promotion and self-protection? Or, are you driven by the characteristics of servant leaders: humility, confidence, community, fellowship, contentment, generosity, trust, truth, inspiration and commitment? Self-serving leaders can only be changed from the inside-out through a transformation in their heart’s attitude. It’s impossible to change a self-serving leader from the outside-in through behaviors, style and techniques. It’s like constructing a new facade on a crumbling building for curb appeal. It might look good on the outside, but inside it’s a real mess.

Servant Leadership

The balance of the youth group’s Sunday school lessons in leadership are designed to teach an appreciation of the principles of Servant Leadership. My first introduction to servant leadership took place as I was leaving the Leadership Development Program at the Center of Creative Leadership. The CCL bookstore is strategically placed near the main doorway of the building. You can’t walk in or out of the place without passing the bookstore. As I was walking through the hall, I glanced over to the store and one title on the shelf jumped out at me: “Servant Leadership.” I had to go in to find out what that meant.

Servant leadership encompasses Biblically based leadership principles. Hank McKinnell, former Chairman and CEO of Pfizer, is a strong proponent of servant leadership. He wrote several articles about the topic that were posted on the internal, employee only web site. I always found his perspectives fascinating. When I found the book at CCL, it started me on a journey of discovery that absorbed much of my learning time over the following year. By this time, I had been teaching an adult Sunday school Bible class for about 10 years. Never during that time did I study servant leadership. We discussed all kinds of other things such as doctrines and life’s lessons, but the understanding of servant leadership escaped me. Servant leadership is based in part on the teaching found in Matthew 20:25–28 (KJV) which reads:

“But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

In the New Testament, the word “Gentiles” is used to describe non-believers. To distinguish between the leadership principles of the Gentiles and His leadership principles, Jesus uses the phrase, “But it shall not be so among you.” As He goes on to teach His disciples the leadership principles we call servant leadership, He leaves no room for misunderstanding. If you are a follower of Christ, servant leadership is the right and effective leadership style to pursue. It isn’t an option, it’s a mandate. There is no plan “B.”

Servant leadership does not mean abdicating your authority and allowing the inmates to run the asylum. Remember,  leadership is a process of influence. Anytime you seek to influence the thinking, behavior, or development of people toward accomplishing a goal in their personal or professional lives you are taking on the role of a leader.

I believe that people want to succeed; my job as a servant leader is to create an environment where that can happen. As a servant leader, I fully support those entrusted to my care as they endeavor to reach their full potential. As their steward, I entirely expect that some of these people may in fact climb the career ladder faster than I will and be more successful than I am in business. That’s fine with me. My job is to help them recognize their potential and reach for their goals.

To sum it up, servant leadership is a nurturing leadership style in which the leader equips their subordinates for success. When we provide the education, tools and techniques to those we lead to help them become successful, guess who else gains success? The leader of course! Success flows upward for the servant leader.  Servant leadership when coupled with an understanding of situational leadership makes a powerful leadership one-two punch, promising an increased chance of success for its practitioners.