It is a “dog eat dog” world out there!! People are taught to climb the ladder of success even before they could define success. They are taught to be competitive, to put self-interest above the interest of others. This dichotomy of self-serving leaders vis-à-vis truly serving leaders is  one of the major reasons for enterprises’ failure. This is also the reason behind much strife in the world today!

So what is the solution? Actually many thousands of years ago a group of advisors to a newly coroneted King advised the new King that “If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” We know the story. That King chose to go by the traditional Power and Authority Model of Leadership and chose to heap more sufferings on the people.

On the contrary, Jesus chose the Servant Leadership model. He demonstrated that it is all about others!! As Jesus embodied this Value and demonstrated the “full extent of His love” with the act and message of servant hood He also gained the trust of His followers by simply putting others first. We serve that leader who taught us that to conquer, you have to stoop down, that to lead you have to serve.

I studied the prevalence of Servant Leadership characteristics in Indian NGOs for my doctoral work. It brought up an interesting fact that even in NGOs, the attribute of Putting others first scores the least amongst all the other Servant Leadership Characteristics.

You can learn more about my research on Servant Leadership in Indian NGOs by clicking here

It is interesting to study some examples (positive and negative) about putting others first. Please follow my thoughts on the topic of It is about others by clicking here.

This can be applied to ministry too. A study of Priscilla will tell us how. Please follow my thoughts on the topic of  Priscilla – A study on Ministry and Leadership clicking here.

What are your thoughts on the topic? Do you have any stories to share on the topic of Leadership? We would love to hear from you if you have stories to share. Please contact us or reply to this mail with your comments and stories. Let us keep the discussion going!!