I especially appreciate this post, Mike. I am a life-long student of leadership and staunch believer in the amazing difference servant leadership makes in the lives of so many! Contemporary examples include India’s Mahatma Gandhi, South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, and our very own Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. Each of these towering men of strength—and forgiveness—in their service to humanity has become a symbol of love and, by extension, the quintessential figures of a servant’s heart. So inspired, it seems to me it is incumbent upon us to continue the legacy of these courageous men with an indefatigable spirit in the redolent hope we transcend the limits imposed by boundaries and unite the hearts of people the world over as one community, one people who value others before self.

Clearly, principled leadership holds global application and appeal. So much so the world yearns for a giving leadership; not the glitzy, glossy, gives-good-press veneer that often passes for leadership in the public eye but, rather, the humble, soft-spoken kind of leadership that invites folks to listen, to trust, and to follow. We yearn for an authentic leadership—a true leadership—always undertaken as a service to the greater good. Such has been the case for millennia. Indeed, for more than a quarter century, the problem of our age has been described as “a crisis in leadership.” “One of the most universal cravings of our time,” suggests James McGregor Burns, “is a hunger for compelling and creative leadership.” I propose this craving is due, in large part, to the absence of our collective will to establish a firm foundation upon which to raise a new generation of leadership, a shepherding kind of leadership we find in the examples of Gandhi, King, Mandela, Corrie ten Boom, Jesus, Native American leaders such as Sitting Bull, and others to satisfy a great and universal yearning to matter, to be loved.

Mike, it’s my sense many understand the need for authentic leaders, but too few know how to respond thinking, perhaps, leading is something one does rather than something one becomes. The truth is leadership gives people, not power, a place to rest—it’s the outward manifestation of a caring heart, passionately concerned for the universal good of all people. A true leader is a source of strength for those who follow. Indeed, the “signs of outstanding leadership,” Max DePree asserts, “are found among the followers.” But let us remember such a role is not reserved exclusively for the few. Martin Luther King, Jr., a personal hero and source of great inspiration for me, taught, “If you want to be important—Wonderful! If you want to be recognized—Wonderful! If you want to be great—Wonderful! But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness … Everybody can be great because everybody can serve … you only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love and you can be that servant.” By extension, WE can then be that leader.

As I bring this comment to a close, permit me to suggest the time is now for us to take up the cause to nurture a servant’s heart within a new generation who are determined to make a difference among those who have chosen to follow. The time is now to set out with all gusto to help leaders, young and old, discern how to do what’s right. The time is now to bring “ancient paths” (Jeremiah 6:16) within reach of those whose hearts seek to walk in the steps of the greatest leadership role models of all time—servant leaders.

Thank you for a great post, Mike, and thank you for this opportunity to share a few thoughts about a deeply personal passion, servant leadership.