Someone asked me recently what kind of qualities I want to see in a leader. Of course I rattled off things like humility, decisiveness, being teachable and being approachable. There are so many qualities that great leaders have, but one has really stood out to me over the last couple of weeks.

I have worked and served under many different leaders in many different areas of my life. The ones who have earned the most respect and had the best workers underneath them though… were servant leaders. There’s something about seeing your leader come out of their office, pick up a shovel and get down in the ditch and help you dig that builds a level of respect and trust that is truly admirable.

My oldest just started kindergarten. I had already heard so many great things about the principal at his school. On the first day of school, the principal was standing at the front entrance of the school greeting children and families as they came in. She stands right out there in the afternoons too – not overseeing carpool – but helping run it. She waves cars through the line and opens doors for kids. I’ve seen her standing out in the rain plugging in carpool numbers on her laptop as parents pulled into the school. That is a servant leader, my friends. It would have been so much easier for her to stay warm and dry inside her office and focus on the administrative part of her job. And she would have been totally justified asking others to do the dirty work. But she didn’t do that. She’s not just standing out there with her staff, she’s serving with her staff. She is working the line and seeing firsthand what is involved, what is or is not working and how they can improve. And I guarantee you, she’s got some of the best and hardest working staff in the county. I have thought to myself multiple times, “I want to be like her.”

It seems to me, that if there’s genuine servanthood starting at the top, it will trickle down into every other aspect of the organization. I think this goes for ministry in the church as well as the secular work place. I’ve worked for managers and leaders who sat in their office or stood over my shoulder and barked orders at me about how to do a job they understood very little about. My enthusiasm for my work suffered because of that. I’ve also worked for managers and leaders who came over, put some gloves on and said “show me how I can help.” Those are the leaders that I wanted to work harder and better for. A servant leader is going to make decisions that will benefit the team and help the team be successful. They are not nearly as concerned with self-promotion as they are with the welfare of their team.

There is great benefit that comes from getting a formal education and having that diploma hanging on the wall. Training in leadership and administrative skills is valuable. God can give understanding, discernment and direction through prayer and His word. If you really want perspective though, there’s nothing that can replace getting up out of the office and joining the work of your team. It is hard to respect decisions made for us by someone who has little to no understanding of the work we do and isn’t interested in finding out. Trust is built when we see that our leader has true concern, passion and a desire to move forward and improve the work. We tend to value someone’s opinion or decision more when we see them actively involved in the work. It’s hard to let someone speak into our life or our area of service who is not willing to serve with us.

It’s important for a believer to remember that whether in a secular job or church work, we are ultimately serving God and Him alone. However, a leader who can look past the numbers, the dollar signs and spread sheets and see the people, join the work and offer encouragement… are the leaders that people will follow.  Those are the kind of leaders that people will work hard for and give it their all for every day. That’s the kind of leader I want to work under and the kind of leader I want to learn to become.