Living the ethos of servant leadership (I)

Leadership is required in a multitude of situations, particularly, when human beings and resources are involved. The imperative of having a leader is expressed in the Hadiths of the holy prophet (S.A.W) which says that “whenever three of you are travelling, you should select one as your leader.”It is no surprise therefore, that today we […]

Leadership is required in a multitude of situations, particularly, when human beings and resources are involved. The imperative of having a leader is expressed in the Hadiths of the holy prophet (S.A.W) which says that “whenever three of you are travelling, you should select one as your leader.”
It is no surprise therefore, that today we have leaders at different levels and strata of the society. A man is a leader of the house; a woman is a leader over the children; Imams and Pastors are leaders over the people they lead; the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of a company is a leader over the people that he has authority over; the Governor is a leader over the people of his state; the President is a leader of the people of the country etc.
Irrespective of the level at which you find your -self as a leader, the unique thing is that being in a position of leadership is a test from the Almighty God and on the day of judgment, you will surely be asked to give account of your stewardship. How well have you utilized the resources entrusted in your care? What have you done to develop and improve the lives of people you lead? Are you the type of a leader who believe to be served by the people rather than serving them?
To be able to navigate the above questions and many more with the keenness of a seasoned sailor, how then should a leader behave and relate with the people he leads? The concept of Servant Leadership becomes relevant here. The philosophy and concept of leadership being a serving function rather than one that is served, is very old indeed and found in ancient civilizations and religious writings.
Servant Leadership is best defined by Prophet Isa (A.S.W) who said “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – Just as the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many’’
Unfortunately, many of our leaders today tend to invert this principle as their idiosyncrasies, activities and practices are antithetical to the ethos of Servant Leadership. They consider merely that the leader must be served by the people and see leadership as an opportunity to take, to acquire personal status, advantage, gain etc., at the expense of others. This is highly erroneous as leadership provides the opportunity to dream or create a vision, actualize the vision, touch the lives of the people and leave an indelible mark of development and prosperity on the sand of history.
Also, few of our leaders today proclaim to be Servant Leaders without doing enough to merit that nomenclature. They are merely making a mockery of this noble concept as being a servant leader is something that should be seen and apparent to the people rather than being turned into a song by the claimant. The activities of a leader will reveal whether or not he is a servant leader not through slogans or self praising. According to Mollie Marti, ‘A noble leader answers not trumpet calls of self promotion, but to the hushed whispers of necessity’
The best test to evaluate whether or not a leader is a servant leader is to find out if the people he leads grow as persons. Do the followers become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous and prosperous? And what is the effect of governance on the least privileged in the society. Have they benefited from the so called dividend of democracy or are they further deprived?
A true servant leader understands that service is not about them but about working through others to accomplish dreams and growth in others and their areas of jurisdiction. Servant Leaders are not easy to find because they are very humble, they don’t step forward and declare, “Iam a servant leader.
Anybody who desires to be called a servant leader must pay attention to the following attributes:
Firstly, Service to others is a prerequisite of servant leadership. This begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, and then one’s conscience aspires one to lead.
Given the activities of our politicians, one begins to wonder if they seek political offices because they are primarily motivated by the desire to serve the people rather than themselves. A person who wants to genuinely serve his people will not make politics a do or die affair. They will never think of hurting, blackmailing or completely annihilating their political opponents. They will readily accept the verdict of the people they want to serve after an electoral process. Anybody who manipulates and subverts the electoral process and the will of the people to clinch power is not likely to be a servant leader.
Secondly, servant leaders create an environment in which people are encouraged to challenge the status quo and the people know that their ideas will be considered and that the leader is not surrounded by yes people. Most of our leaders today both at the political and corporate levels view anybody with contrary views and perceptions to their own as an antagonist and must be subdued forthwith.
To be concluded next week