If you are a leader, then you have an opportunity to impact the lives of people in a unique and wonderful way, by serving them. What do I mean by serving? In Merriam Webster Dictionary the word serve means: “to be of use”. There are several ways leaders can be of use by serving others, first, by asking God for help. We see a great example of this in 1 Kings 3:4-15, although Solomon was king, he was humble enough to ask God for help, he recognized that he didn’t know how to govern God’s people or how to judge correctly, so he asked God for wisdom and a discerning heart. I believe Solomon didn’t take the responsibility of being a leader and doing right by the people lightly.
A second way leaders can be of use, is by listening and taking the time to understand. There is a well-known quote that says, “Most people don’t listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply”. Listening to understand is called active listening. During active listening, we are listening more than speaking, listening to understand emotion, feelings and with empathy. When we strive to understand people it sends a clear message that they and what they say matters, that creates and promotes-connection. As leaders we want to create and build connection, it fosters respect and trust, two characteristics of a great leader and essential for excellent leadership.
Last but certainly not least, leaders can be of use by developing the gifts, talent, and leadership potential of those around them. My pastor once said, a good leader duplicates themself in others and creates a succession plan for their ministry, because as the leaders grows and develops and move up, they will need others to step up in their place to continue to carry out the vision. A good leader wants to see growth within their company, ministry, or organization and if leaders are casting the vision or mission correctly, then growth is inevitable. Leaders must carefully and prayerfully select successors, using various tools and assessments to identify potential leaders, then provide quality leadership trainings (that focus on character development, what it means to take responsibility, accountability, leadership styles and more). The next step would be to conduct regular skill building workshops, such as, effective communication, active listening, conflict resolution, or time management, of course these workshops and a creation of a succession plan would be tailored to your organizational needs.
Finally, don’t be afraid to develop and train others because you think they will try to take your place, remember, the plan is for the vision to grow, it is about serving and making an impact in that community, company, ministry by serving others.