When faced with a decision to lead without reward, to serve without
the hurrah, would you do it anyway? What you want done, gets done when you put
your people first. They’ll reward the sacrifice you make for them by making
your reality theirs. Start with a vision. Execute with a purpose. Yield the right
of way.
The spirit of an effective leader is tattooed with the mark of a
servant. So, relinquish your need for power and control, and you’ll win
the battle for influence.
Ignite great potential in others by changing your mission’s
aim and its execution to be about them, not you.
Great leaders are first humble servants.
Because the lives of servant leaders radiate others-oriented sacrifice, they become
life-changing influences. Their thoughts and actions are never self-serving. They
transform others from the inside out. Unity of vision and mission, not force,
transforms people. If you try to force people, you destroy their spirit and neutralize
their passion and purpose. To buy in, people need development time, and involvement.
Seek balance to offset the tyranny of the urgency. You can’t
use an axe to carve a sculpture, nor can you turn a tree trunk into a table, in
a hurry. If you do, you’ll overlook the wood’s inherent elegance.
Likewise, uncovering a person’s potential involves time.
Maximum influence ensues smoothly and naturally when there’s
time to peel layers that hide the inner core. The trunk of a tree has many rings.
Some layers are rigid, some are soft. To reveal its best qualities, you must study
what you have and envision the end-product. Transforming the wood needs to be
done patiently. It’s the same process to win over and empower your people.
People don’t care how much you know until they know how much
you care. Influence others by removing self-interest. Make sure what you share
with them is edifying. Ask: “What did you hear me say?” “How
do you see me helping you accomplish this?”
If you seek first to understand and be a role model for others in
your service to them, your message becomes a powerful leadership development tool.
So, earn the trust and respect of your people.
Remember: To serve you must sacrifice; to teach you must be taught;
to influence you must be influenced. People become what you want them to be—if
you allow them to be who they are. Stop striving to be on top. You won’t
lose your identity by yielding; you’ll find it—finally. PE
