The Servant: A Simple Story About the True Essence of Leadership by James C. Hunter

Author:James C. Hunter [Hunter, James C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780307453563
Publisher: The Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2008-06-09T22:00:00+00:00

EVEN BEFORE THE CLOCK began to chime for the afternoon session, the sergeant was at it again. “I understand how influence, authority, is built from serving and perhaps sacrificing for others. But how does this translate into the work world, or even into my home? What am I supposed to do, nail myself to the time clock, go on fasts every day for lunch, look for lepers in my neighborhood, and do a ‘sit-in’ at City Hall? I’m sorry, but I just don’t see how this stuff applies to the real world.”

“Thank you for admitting your struggle, Greg,” the teacher replied. “If you’re struggling, I’m sure others are as well. Before lunch, we discussed some historic instances of authority to dramatize a point. But the good news is that we build authority any time we serve and sacrifice for others. Remember, the role of leadership is to serve, that is, to identify and meet legitimate needs. In the process of meeting needs, we will often be called upon to make sacrifices for those we serve.”

“You’re right, Simeon,” the principal agreed, “it just makes sense that authority is built on service and sacrifice. It’s simply the Law of the Harvest—what any farmer knows. You reap what you sow. You serve me, I’ll serve you. You go to the wall for me, I’ll go to the wall for you. I mean, think about it, when someone does us a good turn, don’t we feel naturally indebted? There’s no rocket science or magic involved here.”

The teacher walked up to the board saying, “Does that help, Greg?”

“Let’s just keep going and we’ll see how it all fits together,” came the tart reply.

Simeon pointed to the flip chart.

“In summary, we’ve said that leadership that is going to go the distance over the long haul must be built on influence or authority. Authority is always built on serving and sacrificing for those you lead, which comes from identifying and meeting legitimate needs. So what would do you suppose service and sacrifice are built on?”

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