I was trying to think of how could I attract your attention, much is going through my mind these days and much wisdom is also poured out on me and how can I share all this and ensure I have succeeded in getting this across?
As a child, I grew up in an environment where we had ‘servants‘ at home and I recall how my parents would tell me ‘go tell the servant‘ or ‘can you please ask the servant to get you the milk’ and ‘the servant can clean that mess, just ring the bell’.
By now, some of you must be frowning and shaking your head in disgust.
What am I getting at?
As we walk our life journey, we are guided and taught and we discover how to live life. As a child, I had dreams to be famous, as I began to understand and see my dad, I said I want o be a great leader like him, I was later independent and said I will not be like this and I will not follow his example. With age and maturity, I began to understand humility, I began to understand God, i began to see why I needed to serve others more than be served, as the conviction is, Jesus came to serve.
Britannica.com defines a servant quite nicely (https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/servant) and this helped me:
- : a person who is hired to do household or personal duties such as cleaning and cooking
- domestic/household servants
- — see also civil servant, public servant
- : a person who is devoted to or guided by something — often + of
- a servant of the truth
- She is a servant of her religion.
Life is a journey. I am today in a new journey with my work. Suddenly everything is a ‘blur’. I feel I am ‘dumb’, I see so much knowledge around me, so many smart people around me and I feel I am nobody. New environments bring about questions to be answered. New environments require me to have genuine willingness and a true commitment to lead others to achieve ‘a common vision and goals’ which is new to me.
I taught others to serve and lead teams to serve. Today I must take a deep breath, step back and seek knowledge – listen, watch the waves, accept changes and remind myself that i must stay focused to serve – as we carry forward our purpose and calling.
I was inspired by hearing this last night, “Leadership is Influence, nothing more, nothing less.” John C. Maxwell said this and I spent time reading more about THE HEART OF LEADERSHIP – Becoming a Servant Leader (https://johnmaxwellteam.com/the-heart-of-leadership/) and I encourage you to check this out if you feel in the same boat as me! I already know how my attitude is changing!
King Solomon was known as the wisest and richest man. He said something beautiful:
‘The Teacher was wise. He gave knowledge to people. He tried out many proverbs. He thought about them carefully. Then he wrote them down in order. He did his best to find just the right words. And what he wrote was honest and true. The sayings of those who are wise move people to take action. Their collected sayings are like nails pounded in firm and deep. These sayings are given to us by one shepherd. My son, be careful not to pay attention to anything added to them. Books will never stop being written. Too much studying makes people tired. Everything has now been heard. And here’s the final thing I want to say. Have respect for God and obey his commandments. This is what he expects of all human beings. God will judge everything people do. That includes everything they try to hide. He’ll judge everything, whether it’s good or evil.’
Ecclesiastes 12:9-14
https://my.bible.com/bible/110/ECC.12.9-14
I ask myself if I am being a true leader, whether or not I am influencing anyone. Obviously there is a lot of work related questions in my mind and I ask this question from my leadership role at work, however, it surely is also for my leadership role as a father, as a leader outside my work too.
The answer to this question is visible, of course! If it is my workplace, the first place you’ll see that is in the people I lead. At home, it is my immediate family.
An organization or my immediate family or friends are only as great as its people (Organization), family members and friends. If the people, family and friends aren’t following, then, as a leader, I am not leading.
Too often leaders get too focused on the bottom line financial results instead of growing their people and the company or their immediate family and friends.
John Maxwell (with some additions)
My wish is to be able to succeed in overcoming what I am feeling and experiencing, I must stand as a leader and influence the influencers. My leader is my God, I need to understand clearly His commandments and obey them.
INSPIRE 