Transformational Leadership: The Give Step
/A True mark of great leadership is to not be served but to serve others.
A true mark of outstanding leadership is not to be served but to serve others. Build up your family, team, friends, and enemies; in turn, you will be built up. The leaders who are loved and are remembered with honor inspire others to do great things.
Steve Jobs said, “My job is to not be easy on others but to make them better.”
Great leadership doesn’t promote yourself. Great leadership promotes others. It’s not enough for the butterfly to change from the caterpillar to the butterfly. No, that’s just the step to prepare it to start changing the world. It starts pollinating plants, bringing life, beauty, and oxygen to the world. People, employees, and even coworkers will strive harder to work for servant leaders. They will have a joy in their work. They will have passion. They will naturally give their all. Others may search for what and how much they can take. They may search for how they can force others to do their work.
A genuine leader searches for what he can give; he can contribute. They inspire and encourage others.
Relationships, not bossing others, are the keys to breakthrough. I remember working in a retail job once, and I had a manager who demonstrated many of the characteristics I’m sharing with you. He was thoughtful and relatable and treated his employees like people. The store manager, however, treated us like subjects and talked to us like he was reading off of a business script. Guess what? Of the two managers, the assistant manager and the store manager, we were happy and worked harder for the first manager rather than the store manager.
How can you empower your people?
I have a few closing characteristics that a servant leader must exhibit. These seem paradoxical to the normal view of a strong leader. But they couldn’t be more accurate.
Be moldable and teachable. When you are open to learning something, even after you “know everything,” you can begin to grow and change the world.
Be willing to admit when you are wrong. Then, change from your wrongdoing. People aren’t stupid; the last thing they want is a leader who is acting in the wrong and won’t admit it or change course. The problem with idolizing people is that people will always let you down.
Be gentle. Firm gentleness will yield greater fruit than being a bully and harsh on others. There may be a time for firmness and showing who the boss is, but that can still be done through gentleness. How you walk with the broken speaks more of you than how you sit with the great.
Be hungry for worth, not finances. People seeking finances may find them, but will it bring them happiness when their character is destroyed, their family is destroyed, and their friends leave them?
Be merciful. If you sow the seeds of mercy into others, you will be shown mercy when you make a mistake. Don’t take revenge on your enemy. Show them mercy, and you will gain another friend. Someone asked me why I should be nice. Must you have a reason?
Be pure in heart. Be real with people, and don’t put on a mask. Don’t put on a false face. Don’t be fake. Be trustworthy. Be honest. Be real with people.
Be a peacemaker. Peacemakers don’t lord. They are not selfish. They extend a hand of generosity, the hand of compassion. They are willing to sit down and talk about our differences.
-One of the biggest problems today is dividing ourselves into groups. I won’t take to him because he________. She’s in this group, so I can’t associate with her. Communicate. Be a person who brings unity and peace. Genuine and longer-lasting transformation is only possible through servant leadership.