Servant Leadership in Light of Faith: Finding Joy in Service

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men (NKJV)

Colossians 3:23

One of the most exciting professional roles to fill can be the privilege of serving a leader who serves others. With the questions, Is that role a calling? Is it a personal goal? Is it a ministry? come a variety of answers unique to the individual responding.

In his book, Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work, Timothy Keller captures the essence: “If the God of the Bible exists (and we believe He does) then every good endeavor, even the simplest ones, pursued to God’s calling can matter forever.”[1]

This article is a collection of observations from a personal perspective based on a combination of preparation and experience. They are not from an academic perspective but from a practitioner’s point of view. The ideas may be very simple, but they can be important lessons in learning to serve. So, let’s begin with one basic principle—preparation to serve is as important as the place to serve.

Ready for the Task

Becoming competent for the task simply involves having adequate abilities or qualities to reach a goal. An interesting term that is important to every good endeavor is learning agility. Learning agility is more than flexibility; it is the ability to know what to do when you do not know what to do. Although that may sound confusing, especially with difficult or unfamiliar projects, there are basic elements that remain important and recognizable. Opportunities will vary, but lessons to learn from the servant leader are always present. Recognizing and gathering those lessons for future use are free, available, and valuable.

The Glass and the Cup

Once, at a particularly challenging time, there seemed to be an impossible resolution of differences between two staff members. While both members had excellent skills and brought value to the team, their performance styles were totally different. The supervisor was expecting both to adapt to the same methods to accomplish the common goal. In a private conversation, the servant leader shared with the supervisor the glass and cup illustration pointing out the similarities and differences in the two objects. Both are containers for liquid. Both are essential. Both can be used on a table setting. Both have a designated use. The glass will never be a cup nor will the cup ever be a glass. The differences do not make them conflicting or unimportant. If both make a positive contribution to the project, differences in styles should not be frustrating. Identify the strengths of each and optimize them.

Going the Extra Mile

There are many learned skills that are essential to serve—technical skills, people skills, and communication skills to name a few. While these are all very important, it is the complementary intangible skills that often play a larger role—the desire to please, the willingness to go beyond what is required to complete a task, a desire to solve problems, rising above to excel in challenges, and the ability to anticipate the next steps.

The term servant leader is so familiar it is easy to forget its importance. While books and articles on leadership are plentiful, people often fall into the trap of writing about leadership rather than actually doing it. When one is privileged to serve someone who genuinely serves others, the fulfillment that comes with supporting the good work being done can often become the greatest reward at the end of a hectic day. Contributing personal skills that allow leaders to do their best work is often challenging and sometimes frustrating, but when success is the result, the effort is more than repaid.

Who Is Driving This Train, Anyway?

While the term “boss” sometimes carries a negative connotation, it is important to remember that everyone has someone to serve—someone to whom they report and to whom they are responsible. However, our behaviors and actions are accountable to God first, then to others. That is the ultimate success. According to Keller, it is the connection between daily work and divine calling. It has been said that the only constant in life is change. Some changes are more subtle than others. Circumstances change. Human beings change. Responsibilities change. Change is inevitable. So, who is driving this train? Who is in control? God is in control, and He is the only One who is truly unchangeable.

The New Norm

What would I have done differently if I knew then what I know now? What steps could have been more beneficial? What other details would have been helpful? While circumstances change, roles change, and sometimes people change, a visionary leader not only reads the circumstances as they change but anticipates unexpected changes. Altering the ways and adjusting the means to address the changing times has become essential. Servant leaders who care for those they lead find new and creative ways to engage.

A Few Things Learned from Servant Leaders

Those who serve servant leaders have a unique opportunity to learn from creative, dedicated, and focused supervisors. Here are only a few tips…whether serving the servant leader or practicing servant leadership, these are lessons well learned!

• Listen more than you speak.
• Desirable traits can be learned.
• Clear communication produces good outcomes.
• Self-awareness fosters understanding others.
• Consider all perspectives.
• Few things are rocket science.

The Journey

A Chinese proverb states, “Even the longest journey begins with a single step”. A goal is never achieved if the project is never initiated. Choices made by servant leaders each day must move projects toward the desired goal. While adjustments for the journey may be needed along the way, a passion for the process can serve to keep focus on the goal. Being dedicated and diligent for the daily tasks often becomes the responsibility of the supporting staff. An assistant to a servant-leader steers the daily office routine so the servant-leader can concentrate on leadership responsibilities. These day-to-day tasks are the needed underpinning of the journey toward the goal. Since there are significantly more days of the journey than destinations reached, the well-known maxim of Ralph Waldo Emerson becomes systemic: “Life is a journey, not a destination.” Fall in love with the journey and there will be many more opportunities for joy along the way.

This article was extracted from Advance, a Church of God publication. Register for the Advance Online event and get a free book courtesy of Advance!