Allowing Others to Stand on Your Shoulders: The Most Important Quality of a True Leader

"And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all." (Mark 10:42-45 E.S.V)

Most people have leadership positions whether in home, church or business. The Bible advises us to be humble unlike the show of ostentation and pride exhibited by many of our political and religious leaders  who truly enjoy the trappings of power. They like to be referred to as Honorable, Your Excellency, Bishop and so on. They feel demeaned if you refer to them in their given name. But their worst trait is their "Know all attitude". They insist on telling everybody what to do, as if they are not intelligent or capable of growing in knowledge with experience. They are only interested in attaining more power over others and wealth. And they will side with anyone they feel is useful in helping them attain this. They are not interested in the opinions of those who are "lower" than themselves or helping them to climb the ladder of success. They are firm believers in keeping others dependent on them: “Sell a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach a man how to fish, you ruin a wonderful business opportunity.”  Karl Marx

In Mark 10:42-45 it is written, "And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

A good leader is the one who endears himself or herself to the people. It is the one who asks what other people think. This means sharing the authority one has so that others feel included. It means that other people also get to practice with leadership situations with your coaching towards the right direction. It means ceding power and empowering others rather than gaining more power and disenfranchising others. It means making a real positive difference in society.

A truly good leader allows others to stand on his or her strong shoulders so that they can also achieve greatness. Jesus offers his to all of us as the leader of the Church. We are empowered to grow more like him every day and make the lives of all around us to be better.

“The leader of the past was a person who knew how to tell. The leader of the future will be a person who knows how to ask". Peter Drucker