What Jesus Teaches Us About Servant Leadership

This may be surprising to some of you, but ascending to a level of leadership can become one of the loneliest positions you will ever have. When everyone is looking for you to guide them, you may feel like you have no one to turn to for wise counsel. In times of stress, challenges, or big decisions, being a leader can be lonely because you have a sense of tremendous accountability to and responsibility for the people on your team, and yet you have nobody you feel you can talk to as you think through various possible solutions and approaches before addressing your team or your boss (or Board of Directors). 

I think everyone in leadership needs a coach/mentor. I also believe every Christian needs a spiritual coach/leader. Even Jesus, who is God, sought out and followed the instructions of God the Father. Jesus tells us, “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing because whatever the Father does the Son also does” (John 5:19, NIV). So, even Jesus continually sought the will of God and only did what God showed Him to do.  

If you don’t have a mentor, pray and seek out someone who would be willing to serve as a mentor to you. I was blessed to have a business mentor and spiritual mentor throughout my business career, and I always was thankful they were there, not to give me the answers, but to ask the right questions that helped me think through issues from a different perspective, and consider things that I had not thought about. I always thought they were placing my interests first, pouring themselves into me to help me improve and be the best leader I could be. I always appreciated that it was a safe environment and I could seek their counsel without worrying about what their own agenda might be, as they were there with the sole purpose to just help me.  

We are to do the same in our role as servant leaders. The apostle Paul tells us, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:5-7). 

Jesus, who is God, did not come to earth to be served by man, but rather He came to earth to seek and carry out the will of God the Father and serve others. Jesus held Himself accountable to do the will of the Father and did what the Father showed Him to do. He constantly served others, and ultimately gave His life as an innocent man to pay the debt for our sins to enable us as Christians to reconcile with God and have peace knowing that our sins are forgiven and we will have eternal life with Him. 

The typical leadership model used today is the top-down leadership model. We all know that model. The leader at the top believes everyone under them is there to serve them and help them achieve their goals and ambitions. The servant leadership model that Jesus lived and taught us is at the exact opposite end of the leadership model spectrum. The servant leader is there to serve those on their team, placing the interests of others first, and helping them grow in their careers and perform at their best, with God as the leader. 

Throughout his 33 years on earth, including the three years of ministry that led up to his crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus displayed total submission to God’s authority while serving others. It was out of this submission to authority and love for others that we as Christians have been redeemed from the curse of sin. 

I believe leaders who have been under authority make better leaders than those who have not, because they know what it means to submit to authority. As Christians, we are to be committed to being under God’s authority. It is management waste (waste of the opportunities God has given you) to be placed into a position of authority and then not be willing to submit to God’s authority and follow His design of servant leadership in that position of authority by dedicating yourself to serving those on your team. 

Have you ever tried to help a friend or a child by telling them how to avoid a problem you’ve experienced in your life, but then they just ignore you? How does that make you feel? Just think how God must feel when we refuse to follow his teachings in the Bible or we fail to learn what He’s teaching us through our trials. Thankfully, God never gives up on us. He says, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). 

For Christian leaders, authority arises not only from a position you hold, but from a growing intimacy with God. When those you’re leading see you placing their interests ahead of your own and serving them, they will see you are a different type of leader, and will want to follow you. And as they begin to see your servant leadership style, they will begin to understand that you are trusting God to speak to you and guide you. I have found that utilizing servant leadership with your team will create many opportunities for you to speak to issues of the heart or other areas that are outside of the mission or business task (such as sharing your faith or helping colleagues through their own difficulties) as you gain their trust and respect by the way you lead, submitting to God’s authority and serving others. 

Even Jesus never claimed God’s authority over others. He submitted to God’s will. “For I have come down from Heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38). In our roles as Christian leaders, we should continually seek out the will of God, recognizing that it’s God who has put us in our roles to serve others and to help others see what a personal relationship with Jesus Christ truly looks like. We must be accountable to God’s authority rather than relying on ourselves, or we will surely fail as leaders. We must never forget that as Christians, we are here to serve as ambassadors for Jesus Christ, and to represent Him to others in everything we do.  

It doesn’t matter what type of leader you have been up until now. Today is a new day, and today you can take that first step to becoming the servant leader that God intends you to be—God as your leader and you serving others. Just try it! I can assure you that it will make a huge difference with your team! It led to some of the highest performing teams I ever served on during my business career.   

And if you are interested in learning more about servant leadership, pick up a copy of my book Management Waste-Five Steps To Clean Up The Mess And Lead With Purpose, available in print, eBook, and Audiobook at Amazon.com. All proceeds I receive go to charity. I will give you real-life examples of my failures, what I learned, and where I saw servant leadership work during my business career.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN LISTENING TO OR SIGNING UP TO RECEIVE A LINK TO MY WEEKLY BIBLE STUDY PODCAST, GO TO MY WEBSITE AT WWW.LARRYODONNELL.COM UNDER THE PODCAST TAB.