Why do servant leaders win?

Okay I should have probably rephrased the title given that it is really about “Who” rather than “why”.  We should probably start by defining some terms and then looking at what winning is all about.

Servant leaders are individuals who choose to lead through their service. They see themselves as stewards of God’s people and His resources. Their goal therefore is to empower those under their charge to become servant leaders as well. Servant leaders do not operate on the basis of personal power but rather seek to develop their ability to influence by building  on their Emotional Intelligence and practicing characteristics such as love, vision, humility, trust, listening, empathy, conflict resolution, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people & building community. The difference with other leadership paradigms is their focus on people rather than objectives. The greatest servant leader ever, Jesus, advanced that His disciples and all who lay claim to being His disciples should aspire to put themselves squarely in the service of others, rather than bask in the glory of position, titles and authority.  Let’s look at what he told his seemingly “power hungry disciples”.

“You know that the rulers of the heathen have power over them, and the leaders have complete authority. This, however, is not the way it shall be among you. If one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest; and if one of you wants to be first, you must be the slave of the others— like the Son of Man, who did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.” Jesus (Matthew 20:25-28)

Does this make servant leadership weak? Definitely not! For the secret of the success in servant leadership is in service. The goal is to lead like Jesus. But how can position loving, title desiring, attention seeking, power hungry people like you and I humble ourselves to serve and hence unlock the wonders of servant leadership? How do we win and keep winning yet stay humble? The secret ingredient, my friend, is “Who” and this “Who” is none other than the Holy Spirit.

He makes the difference in the life of any leader who aspires to lead like Jesus. You will not have to learn how to be humble, to serve others and genuinely love and seek to empower others if you are full of God the Holy Spirit. This is the plan; God knows the deepest thoughts of every single person alive and He knows our efforts (no matter how hard we try) at being good is futile. I believe you have heard the saying that our efforts at being righteous is like filthy rags before our Holy God! (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:10). He knows our weaknesses, challenges, fears, strengths etc. but, guess what, He also knows God’s perfect will. He therefore enables the Servant Leader to lead from their heart as well as walk in discernment.  In simple terms, discernment represents the leader's ability to make good and well-informed decisions. 

A servant leader can be likened to a coach and at the same time a personal “fan club” of his people. The Holy Spirit knows what is best for the same and if you submit to Him, He can use you to fully unlock the potential of the people you serve, because He knows God’s perfect will for them and desires to see them fully max-out their potential as His stewards. You may have been struggling with results as a leader. Could it be that your focus is wrong? Are you fully submitted to the Holy Spirit? Can He use you to empower His people and unleash them? Are you willing to let go of your control and let God?

Are you ready to stop focusing on results and start focusing on people as a priority? When you focus on people, they will take care of the results. A servant leader and “servant leaders in-training” know who the true boss is, God the Father. He has requested that we serve, in whatever context we find ourselves in, as serving Him rather than man. 

“…Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” – Paul, the apostle (Colossians 3:23).

The Holy Spirit is the great enabler who can help you accomplish this. It is time we all rise as servant leaders to win and win some more by deliberating committing ourselves to being used by the Holy Spirit as people focused servant leaders who are on fire to change the world. Go win, with Him!

Prayer: Father I submit to your authority and ask that you fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may lead those you bring to me in the power of the Holy Spirit.