Betsy and I went to school conferences and discovered that our youngest son has been staying after school—by his own choice—to help his teacher tidy up the classroom. Are you kidding me?! This is the first I had heard of this. Wow, am I one proud Dad!
I’m not sure if he knows this verse or not, but Brandon is living out what Jesus said:
Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.
He’s serving just because he wants to serve. I didn’t know about it, but his Heavenly Father did. Thank you, Brandon, for giving me this wonderful example of servant leadership!
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As King Solomon’s son Rehoboam was ascending the throne, he received some wise counsel:
If you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.
I also like the way The Message paraphrases this same verse:
If you will be a servant to this people, be considerate of their needs and respond with compassion, work things out with them, they’ll end up doing anything for you.
In other words: the more you serve, the better you will lead. Unfortunately, Rehoboam chose to reject this counsel, and his leadership disintegrated.
If you will be a servant [position] and serve [attitude] they will serve you.
This Hebrew word for serve is used quite a bit in the Old Testament. Interestingly, the first five times it is used are all in the agricultural sense: farming the land, tending to the plants, working, waiting, and ultimately harvesting. Leadership is never developed quickly. Servant leaders must be in it for the long haul.
But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.
Bottom line: The more you serve others, the better you will lead others.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
I have a friend who has a photo album on Facebook called “Me.” The description says, “Sometimes it is just all about me.” And, sure enough, all of the pictures in that album are just her. I know her well enough to know that this is tongue-in-cheek, because she is not a self-absorbed prima donna.
Sadly, some Christian leaders exhibit the It’s-All-About-Me attitude. This really irks me, especially because we see the exact opposite characteristic in Jesus.
Let me key in on just one example from His public ministry. John the baptizer has just been martyred by King Herod. John was Jesus’ cousin. I’m not sure if you’ve ever had a loved one martyred or even murdered, but I’m sure we’ve all lost a loved one at some point. It might be a little easier to take if we saw it coming, but the sudden deaths always jar us the most. We have to have time to grieve our loss.
Jesus had all of the same emotional responses that you and I have, and He wanted some time away to grieve. He got into a boat with His disciples and headed to a remote place on the other side of the lake. Looking for a little time alone to grieve the death of His cousin, Jesus was met by a huge crowd. He would have been perfectly justified in saying, “Not today.” Or even in saying, “I’m going to let My disciples pray with you today.” Instead,Jesus put the needs of others first.
Jesus healed all who were sick
He taught them
Then He provided food for the nearly 10,000 people who were there
After the meal, Jesus sent His disciples (who also needed some grieving time) back across the lake without Him
Jesus stayed behind and dismissed the entire crowd. I sort of imagine Him hugging people, shaking hands, and continuing to listen to the questions and concerns of everyone
It was onlyafter this that Jesus went up into the hills to spend some time alone in prayer.
I unpack this idea in even great detail in my book Shepherd Leadership. If you want to be used as a leader, you must allow the Holy Spirit to cultivate this others-first attitude in you.
I’ve always been fascinated by the leadership of Israel’s second king: David. There are so many leadership lessons to be learned from his life. A few things I’ve noted about his leadership that I am always trying to implement in my life as well.
Respect—David treated everyone (even his enemies) with respect.
Shrewdness—David used his wits exceptionally well. He knew how to shower gifts on the right people, show recognition to those who needed their ego stroked, be gracious to those who were uncertain, and even flex his muscles with show-offs who got out of line.
Prayer—David was a man of prayer. He prayed for direction, he asked God for strategies, he prayed for deliverance. He prayed for everything.
Confident humility—I know it sounds like an oxymoron (how can someone be both confident and humble?), but David really got this. Check out this commentary:
And David became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him. … And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.
Man of the people—David didn’t closet himself away; he lived and led in full sight of everyone.
All the people took note and were pleased; indeed, everything the king did pleased them.
I want to lead like David led!
What about you? Are there other areas of David’s leadership that you admire or want to imitate?
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Bringing correction is one of the toughest jobs for those in leadership, but it’s a responsibility that cannot be delegated or ignored. In order for correction to be effective, it must not be too light or too heavy. Unfortunately, many of us have experienced far too many ineffective forms of leadership correction.
I read a great example of how to properly correct in the life of Samuel. In 1 Samuel 12, the people had gotten off track, and Samuel lovingly and effectively brought them back into line. Here’s what his example teaches us on how to correct followers:
1. Shared history (v. 2). Samuel reminded them of what had happened in their history, and even what they had experienced together. “Newbie” leaders need to be cautious about bringing correction that violates an organization’s established culture.
2. Integrity (v. 3). Samuel’s words and lifestyle lined up. That doesn’t mean he never made a mistake, but it does mean that he was willing to acknowledge and repair his mistakes. Nothing is worse than a leader who says, “Do as I say, not as I do!”
3. Common ground (vv. 6-11). A leader needs to get everyone on the same page. Find something somewhere on which everyone can agree, and then move forward from there.
4. Just say it (vv. 12-13). Don’t beat around the bush; don’t try to bring correction through a parable; don’t soften the blow. Just say it: “This is where I believe you made a mistake.” Far too many leaders talk too much and leave their followers saying, “Huh?” If you are going to bring correction, make sure your followers know exactly what it is you are correcting.
5. Give the remedy (vv. 14-15, 20-21). Samuel pointed out the error, and he just as clearly told them how to get back on track. The remedy should be as clear and simple as possible.
6. Remove the fear (vv. 20, 22). Don’t let the corrected follower be afraid of you! Fear will never re-establish trust. Samuel couldn’t have been more clear on this. He literally said to the Israelites, “Do not be afraid.”
7. Demonstrate servant leadership (v. 23). At the close of the meeting, Samuel said he would do two things: “I will continue to pray for you, and I will continue to teach you.” In telling them this, Samuel was really saying, “Let’s walk through this together.”
If you lead your family, your church, your company, or your team, you are going to have to bring correction at some point. When you need to do this, take some time to review this list and bring correction the way Samuel did: lovingly and effectively.
P.S. You can also check out this post where the apostle Paul gives us another example of how to handle correction properly.
Disclaimer: I am a huge admirer of General George Smith Patton, Jr. So it should come as no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed Agostino Von Hassell and Ed Breslin’s biography Patton: The Pursuit Of Destiny.
It’s also no surprise that I relished reading about Patton’s military genius and his relentless preparation to be a man of destiny. What did surprise me was the candor with which the authors dealt with the shortcomings of Patton. For all of his military genius, there were areas of his life that always seemed to get the best of this general. On the battlefield, he had few equals, but away from the heat of battle, his insecurities could get the best of him. I appreciated how the authors showed Patton playing to his strengths while still struggling with his weaknesses. While many biographies show great men and women overcoming their struggles, Patton shows the general living with his struggles and still achieving greatness in spite of them.
I also learned more about Patton’s family lineage in this book that helped me understand what drove this military hero. I read about a man who was a voracious learner, highly competitive, and a man who set extraordinarily high standards for himself. His biggest weakness: he couldn’t abide those who didn’t share these same lofty goals for their own lives or profession.
If you enjoy military history, a study of a larger-than-life leadership persona, or a biography with an unflinching look at a great man’s angels and demons, you will enjoy reading Patton: The Pursuit Of Destiny.
I’m in the midst of a fascinating biography about General George S. Patton. As I wrote yesterday, I love borrowing the brains of other great men and women and adding some of their finer attributes to my life.
Years after Patton had died, his son donated his father’s books to the West Point Military Academy. It was then that a notation in Patton’s own hand was discovered on the last page of his Elements Of Strategy textbook. He wrote: “End of last lesson in Engineering. Last lesson as a Cadet, thank God.” But then on the back cover, he had also written—
Qualities of a Great General
1. Tactically aggressive (loves a fight)
2. Strength of character
3. Steadiness of purpose
4. Acceptance of responsibility
5. Energy
6. Good health and strength
George Patton
Cadet
April 29, 1909
Here’s what I love: he wrote these down years before he was ever given the command of anything! He put his goals and strategies in writing and dedicated himself wholeheartedly to achieving them. And achieve he did!
Years ago I took some time to write down a similar challenge for myself. Reading this about Patton reminded me that I haven’t reviewed my list in a while, and it was high time for me to reacquaint myself with those goals and strategies.
“We should not only use all the brains we have, but all that we can borrow.” —Woodrow Wilson
It’s so important to learn from others—to borrow their brains. I try to take something from other people’s brains every day.
Every morning I begin my day by studying the timeless truths found in the Bible.
Then I pray to ask God to give me the mind of Christ for my day.
Throughout my day I learn from the brains of other business and ministry leaders. People who have been-there-done-that and are willing to share are an invaluable source of wisdom.
I also consume a regular diet of biographies and autobiographies of past and present leaders. I try to put myself in their shoes to see why they made the decisions they made.
And I have some close friends that can give me their honest insight and critique.
One of the saddest things is to hear someone say, “I’m a self-made man” or “I’m a self-made woman.” Really?! That’s rather limited, isn’t it?
There is so much to like about Lead Like Ike by Geoff Loftus!
If you like military history, you will love the narrative of the strategies and implementation that Dwight D. Eisenhower (or “Ike”) oversaw. It is an amazing retelling of how Ike had to balance so many pressures from not only the Germans but within his own ranks as well, to lead the Allies to victory in Europe during World War II.
If you like business strategies, you will enjoy the way Loftus renames the military build-up in Europe during WWII “D-Day Inc.,” and assigns titles like Board of Directors, CEO, C-level staff, and competitors to the battles in Operation Torch, Operation Overlord, the Battle of the Bulge and others. You will see how Ike functioned as an effective CEO to lead D-Day Inc. in their head-to-head challenges with their German competition.
And if you like biographies about strong leaders, you will see the incredible leadership principles that Ike employed in his personal life and in his military career. You will see a man firmly fixed on his goal, but also a man who felt deeply about the individual soldier, sailor, and airman under his command.
Sprinkled throughout the book (and summed up nicely at the end of each chapter) are strategies for success, implementation plans, and tips for personnel management.
The only thing that disappointed me about this book was that it came to an end! I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I believe you will too. I give it five-out-of-five stars.
Betsy and I went to school conferences and discovered that our youngest son has been staying after school—by his own choice—to help his teacher tidy up the classroom. Are you kidding me?! This is the first I had heard of this. Wow, am I one proud Dad!
