Posts tagged inspiration
A Greater Victory (originally published with Lead Change Group)
Aug 6th
Earlier this week, Mike Henry graciously published this post on the Lead Change Group blog. Comments to date have been fabulous! You can find it, and the wonderful comments, here.
For the benefit of those unable to visit the Lead Change Group, “a peer-based open-source leadership community dedicated to applying character-based leadership around the globe to make a positive difference,” I take this opportunity to republish the post in its entirety.
~Pam Knox, Head Coach, Western Oregon
We all know leadership when we see it. The problem for most of us is this: we expect leadership greatness to look something like a CEO, the Chairman of the Board, or the President. We have somehow come to a place where leadership is commensurate with graybeards waxing long on the wisdom of the ages.
You are invited to view a clip that’s proof positive leadership is anything but old people (mostly men) telling everyone else what to do. You see, leadership never was about power, position, perks, prestige, or privilege. Instead, it’s always been about people, and it has always manifested itself as someone of character. Anne Frank said, “Human greatness does not lie in wealth or power, but in character and goodness.”
Mallory Holtman, the conference home run king, embodies this goodness. Her Central Washington softball team is behind in the second game of a double-header in a quest for the conference championship. As you may guess, there’s a lot at stake. Every decision matters, especially with their opponent at bat. On the second pitch in the top of the second inning of the second game with two runners on, Western Oregon senior Sara Tucholsky hits her first career home run. But there’s a problem. Only a true leader will do what Mallory does next.
Mallory and her Central Washington team went on to lose the game that day. But what they found will carry them — and all of the graybeards who realize just how much they have to learn from young & emerging leaders like Mallory — through a lifetime: leadership is love.
The next time we go looking for leadership, let us remember leadership without love is no leadership at all.
The Time to Nurture a Servant’s Heart is Now
Nov 18th
Today, I dropped by Mike Henry’s site, Lead Change Group, where I was immediately drawn to Mike’s latest post, 6 Facets of the Servant Leadership Diamond. I am a life-long student of leadership and staunch believer in the amazing difference servant leadership makes in the lives of so many! Contemporary examples include India’s Mahatma Gandhi, South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, and our very own Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. Each of these towering men of strength—and forgiveness—in their service to humanity has become a symbol of love and, by extension, the quintessential figures of a servant’s heart. So inspired, it seems to me it is incumbent upon us to continue the legacy of these courageous men with an indefatigable spirit in the redolent hope we transcend the limits imposed by boundaries and unite the hearts of people the world over as one community, one people who value others before self.
Clearly, principled leadership holds global application and appeal. So much so the world yearns for a giving leadership; not the glitzy, glossy, gives-good-press veneer that often passes for leadership in the public eye but, rather, the humble, soft-spoken kind of leadership that invites folks to listen, to trust, and to follow. We yearn for an authentic leadership—a true leadership—always undertaken as a service to the greater good. Such has been the case for millennia. Indeed, for more than a quarter century, the problem of our age has been described as “a crisis in leadership.” “One of the most universal cravings of our time,” suggests James McGregor Burns, “is a hunger for compelling and creative leadership.” I propose this craving is due, in large part, to the absence of our collective will to establish a firm foundation upon which to raise a new generation of leadership, a shepherding kind of leadership we find in the examples of Gandhi, King, Mandela, Corrie ten Boom, Jesus, Native American leaders such as Sitting Bull, and others to satisfy a great and universal yearning to matter, to be loved.
Mike, it’s my sense many understand the need for authentic leaders, but too few know how to respond thinking, perhaps, leading is something one does rather than something one becomes. The truth is leadership gives people, not power, a place to rest—it’s the outward manifestation of a caring heart, passionately concerned for the universal good of all people. A true leader is a source of strength for those who follow. Indeed, the “signs of outstanding leadership,” Max DePree asserts, “are found among the followers.” But let us remember such a role is not reserved exclusively for the few. Martin Luther King, Jr., a personal hero and source of great inspiration for me, taught, “If you want to be important—Wonderful! If you want to be recognized—Wonderful! If you want to be great—Wonderful! But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness … Everybody can be great because everybody can serve … you only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love and you can be that servant.” By extension, WE can then be that leader.
As I brought my comment to a close on Mike’s post, I suggested the time is now for us to take up the cause to nurture a servant’s heart within a new generation who are determined to make a difference among those who have chosen to follow. The time is now to set out with all gusto to help leaders, young and old, discern how to do what’s right. The time is now to bring “ancient paths” (Jeremiah 6:16) within reach of those whose hearts seek to walk in the steps of the greatest leadership role models of all time—servant leaders.
Thank you for a great post, Mike, and thank you for this opportunity to share a few thoughts about a deeply personal passion, servant leadership.
The efficacy of self-leadership for servant leaders
Sep 22nd
It was such a delight to visit Amy Bryant’s site, iPlayBIG, and read one of her most recent posts, Self-Leadership. I really loved her post; it strikes such a harmonious chord! As many of you may already know, everything I do at the moment is geared to helping young and emerging leaders reimagine leadership in a world of “we” rather than a world of “me.”
The plain truth is they will have to do more than simply reimagine it. Taking great care not to get lost thinking about tomorrow’s leadership on today’s terms, they will have to walk the talk in ways that make talking unnecessary. The days of imitating the autocratic, hierarchical—even arrogant—“leadership” of a bygone era have slipped with the sun over the horizon. A new dawn rises.
With the new day comes an appreciation for leadership that matters. From my vantage point, the way to look to our future is to carefully consider our past. In so doing, we find ourselves face to face with an astounding realization: great leaders—true leaders—have blazed the trail. We need only to find and follow the signs they left behind. We must look beyond the distractions—the buzz words and philosophies of the day. Keeping our heads above the fray will let us remain alert to the dangers (the snares and temptations that lure us away) on our journey.
Tomorrow’s leader will look nothing like the leader of today. In fact, tomorrow’s leader will look nothing like a leader! Nor will they busy themselves producing other leaders (as Ralph Nader and others suggest) because that “tomorrow” is today. Something more is required. As Amy suggests, tomorrow’s leaders must possess an incredible amount of courage and self-awareness. They will be very comfortable with who they are. So much so, tomorrow’s leaders will not delight in their own success but, rather, in the successes of those who have chosen to be counted among them. Tomorrow’s leaders will be hard to find as they spend their time behind and beneath those who have chosen them to lead—they will be busy lifting others within reach of their own dreams.
The “self-leadership” of tomorrow’s leaders that Amy describes, to borrow a phrase from a Twitter colleague, Monica Diaz , reminds me of “other esteem!” Why? We live in a day when leadership principles hold worldwide application and appeal. The world yearns for leadership; not the glitzy, glossy, gives-good-press veneer that often passes for leadership in the public eye but, rather, a vulnerable, humble, soft-spoken kind of leadership that invites folks to listen, to trust, and to follow; self-leadership. Ironically, leaders of this caliber are not going to refer to themselves as leaders. In fact, they are not likely to speak of themselves at all. As a shepherd knows his sheep, tomorrow’s leader will know her “tribe.” Tomorrow’s leaders will speak highly (and often) of those they love, and those they wish to see succeed. They will understand what it is to sacrifice and do so willingly.
Truth is, tomorrow’s leaders will busy themselves serving others, not being served by them. As the focus of an organization undergoes a metamorphosis, of sorts, under this form of self-leadership to realign itself with the people rather than the bottom line, the organization, as Amy suggests, may go through a period of chaos and uncertainty. As the dust settles, what will emerge is the fresh scent of a leader who smells like their sheep. When that happens on a wide-scale level, the perception of the American public is sure to change.
For more than a quarter century, the problem of our age has been described as “a crisis in leadership.” The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, for example, reports “the American public perceives a crisis of leadership in our nation. Major public and private institutions increasingly appear incapable of dealing constructively with an ever-expanding list of social and economic problems, and individuals are becoming more cynical about government.” We hear the outcry for “a new generation of leaders who can bring about positive change in local, national, and international affairs.” “One of the most universal cravings of our time,” suggests James McGregor Burns, “is a hunger for compelling and creative leadership.” This is the self-leadership Amy brings to our attention. It is what I refer to as servant leadership.
As many of us are learning, leading is not something one does; it is something one becomes. Tomorrow’s leadership is about people, not power. It is the outward manifestation of a caring heart, passionately concerned for the preservation of justice, equity, and the universal good of the people. Tomorrow’s leaders will gently, yet decisively, move the masses through inspiration and vision. “The signs of outstanding leadership,” Max DePree asserts, “are found among the followers.” Such is the nature of servant leadership. On a very basic, pragmatic level, servant leadership works. It is the stuff dreams are made of, especially the dreams of those who follow great leaders—tomorrow’s leaders.
A great leader is first seen as a servant to others. Leadership literature includes a number of diverse listings of character traits as practiced by great leaders. I am particularly drawn to Warren Bennis’ short list as mentioned in his book, On Becoming a Leader, in which he identifies vision, inspiration, empathy, and trustworthiness as key characteristics of effective leaders. Ten characteristics of servant leaders typically stand out: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, and building community.
Servant leaders recognize they have an opportunity to help make whole those with whom they come in contact. In his essay, The Servant as Leader, Greenleaf writes, “There is something subtle communicated to one who is being served and led if, implicit in the compact between servant leader and led, is the understanding that the search for wholeness is something they share.” This general awareness and, more specifically, the leader’s self-awareness, strengthens one’s understanding of ethics, power, and values while lending itself to a more integrated, holistic position on pertinent matters of concern. As Greenleaf observed, “Awareness is not a giver of solace—it is just the opposite. It is a disturber and an awakener. Able leaders are usually sharply awake and reasonably disturbed. They are not seekers after solace. They have their own inner serenity.”
Servant leadership undeniably offers great hope for the future in creating better, more caring, organizations—organizations that realize all leadership is essentially self-leadership. What an exciting time awaits us!
Thank you, Amy, for a wonderful post. In closing, please permit me to leave you with a taste of Greenleaf’s servant leader philosophy:
- “People can and should work together to grow a company. If an organization is to live up to its basic values and vision‚ a key ingredient will be leadership from a very large number of us.
- … Simply and plainly defined‚ leaders are people who have followers. They have earned recognition and respect.
- … Leaders are first a servant of those they lead. They are a teacher‚ a source of information and knowledge‚ and a standard setter‚ more than a giver of directions and a disciplinarian.
- … Leaders see things through the eyes of their followers. They put themselves in others’ shoes and help them make their dreams come true.
- … Leaders do not say‚ “Get going.” Instead‚ they say‚ “Let’s go!” and lead the way. They do not walk behind with a whip; they are out in front with a banner.
- … Leaders assume that their followers are working with them. They consider others as partners in the work and see to it that they share in the rewards. They glorify the team spirit.
- … Leaders are people builders. They help those under them to grow big because the leader realizes the more big people an organization has‚ the stronger it will become.
- … Leaders do not hold people down… they lift them up.
- … Leaders have faith in people. They believe in them. They have found that others rise to their high expectations.
- … Leaders use their heart as well as their head.
- … Leaders keep their eyes on high goals. They are self-starters. They create plans and set them in motion. They are persons of thought and persons of action — both dreamers and doers.
- … Leaders have a sense of humor; they are not stuffed shirts. They can laugh at themselves. They have a humble spirit.
- … Leaders can be led. They are not interested in having their own way‚ but in finding the best way. They have an open mind.”
