The Risk of Servant Leadership

First, let me say that I can't believe I'm writing a post on leadership. I think I've had my fill of leadership stuff and need a break for awhile. I've read so many books on leadership it makes my head hurt. I really worry that I'm going to hurt someone's feelings if they ask me if I've read some book on leadership that they happen to be into because I know my disgust will probably show through. It's not that leadership isn't important, it's just that 75% of the stuff written about it is crap, another 24.99% percent has already been written about by someone else, and only .01% is actually new and useful.

One of the best books on leadership is the Bible. It is so good that a lot of writers have even used it to find leadership principles in it that aren't really there. For my money it is pretty simple though. To lead you must serve.

A lot of writers have run with this little tidbit of wisdom too. But in the end I always feel like they've found a way to weasel about the most basic element of the formula, serving. "Yeah, but you serve by making good decisions in your office, not by actually sweeping the floor."

That's what makes the story about Jesus washing the feet of his disciples so amazing. I know there are plenty of theologians out there who have pulled meaning after meaning out of that passage but to me the amazing thing is that he actually did it. He actually served in a direct tangible way.

Last April I wrote a post about Holbein's painting of the Last Supper called The Ugly Feet. The feet under the table are ugly and seem to be exaggerated. This wasn't something that would have been fun. It was gross.

Being a servant leader sounds good but it is risky. Some people lose respect for you because it doesn't fit the model they had in mind. It is easy to get crushed by people who lead by power. It is can frustrate people who want you to serve their wants instead of their needs.

The thing about it is that for it to work you have to go all in. Being a power leader and throwing in a few servant moments just won't cut it. You have to be committed to it all the way. That's frightening because you feel like you're on a tightrope without a net.

I guess the good thing about it is that it forces you to trust God. And if you can't trust Him who can you trust.