How many of you would identify this picture as a picture of leadership?

In this blog I want to talk about how this picture identifies the very heart of leadership. An integral part of leadership...Serving Others.

Many times we imagine a leader as one who stands out front giving direction and orders to others. Well, that is a level of leadership or a function of leadership, and at the same time, that can not be all there is to leadership. Leadership must embody so much more to be effective and successful!

Here are some quotes from John Maxwell's book, Developing the Leader In You 2.0:

 Quote #1: “When you decide to serve others as a leader, the team’s success becomes your success.”

Quote #2:  “The heart of leadership is based on serving others, not ourselves.”

Quote #3:  “True leaders are motivated by loving concern rather than personal glory…”

As you chew on these quotes, what message is coming across to you??
Here are some thoughts:

Thought #1: Leadership is about how to serve/help/empower the people connected to your leadership.

Thought #2: Leadership is not about how people can make YOU look good but about how YOU can develop people.

Thought #3: Leadership cultivates a team concept vs a boss concept.

Thought #4: Leadership opens the door for communication, creativity, and reaching out beyond the box.

So, does every person or every organization cultivate this side of leadership? No.
And at the same time, you can cultivate this type of leadership within yourself. Remember, leadership is first influence. What kind of influence are you cultivating in the lives of others?

Here are some steps to consider if you dare to venture into these waters of "Serving Others".

Step #1: Begin to see people as valuable. Not an asset to be used but a treasure to be valued.

Step #2: Move from selfishness to selflessness. Put others' well being before your own agenda.

Step #3: Ask yourself: "What do I have to give to others to help them?" (gifts, knowledge, skills, time, etc)

Step #4: Ask yourself: "What positive thing can I say or do to encourage someone?"

Step #5: Start taking time and making effort to get to know the people around you (work, neighborhood, etc.).

So, the next time you slow down long enough to hold the door open for someone vs rushing to get your errand done, remember, you are taking a positive step towards developing the leader in you!

 I use to love to hear my father in law talk about the building of their family home. It was a beautiful multi-level home built on the side of a tall hill in NW Arkansas. It was part of a new development in the mid to late 1960's. He talked about how he made sure the workers took the extra step to have extra steel rods placed in the foundation to support the house for the long haul. He knew the land in NWA and how foundations would crack and shift over time because of the terrain. He would check in on the progress regularly to make sure his instructions were being carried out. It took extra money and extra time, but he wanted the house to stand the tests of time. He didn't want the house to come tumbling down that tall hillside. And it has stood the tests of time! It remains a securely anchored home to this day...some 50 plus years later!

When we think about our leadership, we can think about it being like a home we are building in the lives of people or organizations. And as we build this structure of leadership, the foundation counts! We want our leadership to be stable. We want our leadership to last through tough times. We want our leadership to leave a legacy that others can be inspired by and empowered by. How do we build such a leadership? Well...foundation counts! What is our leadership securely founded on?

John Maxwell has some interesting points to share about this topic in his book, Developing the Leader Within You 2.0. He says that CHARACTER is the foundation of leadership. So, our good character is what provides a stable foundation to our leadership.

That's a big word to reflect on...Character. It involves an inner development vs an outward image. It involves such things as honesty, being teachable, genuineness, and grit. Wow! Not skills like: planning, time management, casting vision, gaining buy in, setting and accomplishing goals or production. These are the outward parts of leadership. Character is about building the inner man. It's just like building a house. We can put some beautiful craftsmanship in the structure of the house such as: crown molding, quartz countertops, solid oak cabinets and bookshelves, and so forth. These outward features can create a home with a magnificent image. But if we build this magnificent house on sand versus a foundation of rock, all of it's beauty will come crashing and tumbling down in the storms we encounter in leadership and life.

Developing the leader within you involves developing character within you. John Maxwell says, "The core of character boils down to three main things: embracing good values, practicing self-leadership (doing the right thing even when you don't want to), and valuing people." Start off identifying your values. Make a list. Then ask yourself what will I not negotiate on? Then take another step of showing value to other people. Do this by looking for ways to show others that you value them (acts of kindness).

Dig down deep to the rock and take the time to lay extra steel enforcement. Make the foundation immovable and solid. Your leadership is important. Your influence counts big! Make the foundation solid so your influence will last through the tests of time and remain strong for the next generations.

Adapted from: Developing the Leader Within You 2.0  John Maxwell

One of the things that I get to do in Hanoi is serve the American Center (under the US Embassy) as they provide programs to empower and enhance the skills of the Vietnamese youth and professionals.This is an avenue where I am able to use my professional skills as a social worker to impact and empower a generation and a nation.

I have recently been presenting on Leadership. And I would like to share some thoughts and lessons that I have discovered and lived around this topic.

The first major lesson of leadership is that leadership is INFLUENCE!
John Maxwell shares an interesting fact. He shares that the most introverted person will influence around 10,000 people in their lifetime. WOW!!!
He shares that leadership is a skill that everyone can develop and we need to develop. Our lives influence far more people than we realize!

Leadership goes beyond managing. Management is often part of a leadership position, but the essence of leadership embodies attributes and skills that reach beyond the management skills. Leadership embodies relationship, character, serving, and operating from the understanding that your life reaches beyond just you. To move into the higher levels of leadership, we must learn to not depend on our position to give us the right to influence or change people. People will follow our leadership as they come to know that we care about them. That means that we invest in them through relationship and development or empowerment.

One of the valuable lessons I have learned and lived through my professional life is "influence is earned". Over and over as a personal health coach, I experienced this phenomenon. It was common for me to start a coaching relationship with an employee of a company who was disgruntled that they were being asked to quit smoking or to focus on health changes. I did not focus on the expertise that I had or the position of "demanding" a change. I focused on knowing them. I wanted to first understand their story and let their story guide our journey. I saw this work over 11 years of coaching. As I listened to their story and was guided by that, people began to give me the right to influence them in their lives. They gave me the right to challenge them and guide them into new thinking and lifestyle goals.They would even open up about areas beyond their health. INFLUENCE!!! Influence is earned. Leadership is influence!

I like another statement from John Maxwell: To be a leader, you have to have followers.
Position does not automatically mean we have followers. We may have subordinates that have to answer to us, but they may not be followers. Something to think about.

John Maxwell identifies 5 Levels of Leadership. To reach our greatest effectiveness as leaders, we must learn to move beyond the first level of leadership. That means, we must develop beyond our dependence on the position that demands people's "obedience". We need to move into relationship and investment in others. This kind of shift will inspire people's desire to follow and be influenced by our leadership.

Whether you realize it or not, you are a leader. Someone is watching you. Someone is being influenced by you. Develop your leadership and decide what kind of influence you will leave on the 10,000 plus people you will influence by the end of your lifetime on this earth.