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Servant Leaders Bring out the Best in Others
By Steve Sjogren | July 17, 2006
As a big believer in Servant Leadership I am also an avid reader of books on the subject. I have to admit that I have read, if not all, most of the books on this subject over the past several years. Most of the material is pretty good, although maybe it is a bit theoretical.
In researching the authors of most of these books I have found that, in most cases, they have been out of the leadership role for a few years. Maybe they have been writing books, or maybe they have been on the speaking circuit. When, and if, I write a book on Servant Leadership I plan to have it be the outflow of my daily leadership activities.
Servant Leaders want to bring out the best in others, those who work for them, contacts in daily life, maybe even their competitors. To be a “celebrater of people,” a “coach who really cares,” or a “mentor who wants others to get ahead,” we have to overcome our natural human tendency to live in a scarcity mentality.
Most of us live as though the gifts we have, our time, our talents, our contacts, our rolodex, are a limited resource. We have to hang on to them so we will have enough to make it through life. Contrast this idea with an abundance mentality, where we are generous with our time, our talents, maybe even our rolodex because we have learned that if we give what we have away, there will more where that came from.
One big idea for today? If you want to bring out the best of others, learn to live in abundance and to overcome scarcity thinking.
Topics: Generosity, Servant Leadership, Mentoring |
July 17th, 2006 at 10:37 pm
Well said Steve!
Trevor