Leadership Lessons from Jesus: Serve to Lead

Picture it.

Two thousand years ago. The dusty walled city of Jerusalem.

A man fills a basin of water and taking a towel walks in where several men sit. He kneels at the feet of one of them and starts to undo his sandals.

“What do you think you’re doing?” the man asked.

“I’m going to wash your feet,” came the explanation.

“No, you’re not. I should be washing yours! You’re our leader”

The man ignored the comment, continued unlacing the sandals and said, “You want to be a good leader? Start by being a good servant.”

The kneeling man was of course Jesus.

What a lot of people miss about being a leader is it’s not about imposing your will. It’s about serving the followers.

I learned that lesson in the military. I had the rank but that didn’t mean my people had to follow me. I had to give them a reason beyond mere rank. Part of that is watching out for them. They have a problem, you’re there to help. You’re not there to force them to do a job. You never will.

You’re there to turn them into leaders themselves. That means you lead by example. You communicate. You have to walk the talk.

That way after you’re gone, they become the good leaders.