Leaders as Stewards

Not too long ago, I listened to Ken Blanchard talk about leadership. He made a point about "self-serving leadership". YouDictionary defines self serving as "... serving ones own selfish interests, especially at the expense of others.”

Self-serving leadership is very likely a big part of the reason our economy is suffering as it is. Which suggests that, if we want to make a better world for our children, we had better start building leaders who are not self-serving. So, what kind of leaders do we need? What kind of leader is not self-serving? Back in 1970, Robert Greenleaf introduced the concept of Servant Leadership and since then renowned authors such as Stephen Covey, Peter Block, Peter Senge, and Margaret Wheatley have advanced the idea.

Servant-leaders achieve results by making the needs of others a priority; they practice Spiritual Intelligence, a concept Janet and I discuss in our presentations. Servant-leaders are often seen as stewards of their organization's resources (human, financial and physical).

Which leads me to the point of this blog. It seems to me that, to be an effective leader, one must be a responsible steward. Think about it ... if corporate leaders were truly stewards of the people in their organizations, they could never accept giant sums of money for business deals that cost employees their jobs and livelihoods. A steward mindset would recognize that the purpose of business enterprise includes providing livelihoods to the people who work there.

We don't have to wait until corporate leaders recognize their role as stewards. We can begin right here at home by leading where we are. When we act as stewards of our environment, our neighbors, our families, our possessions ... we are exhibiting the very leadership qualities those who lead us must adopt.

Questions to ponder:  What example do I set by the way I care for the people around me? for my possessions? for my environment? How can I be a better steward of all that I have, people, possessions, and finances?