Servant Leadership

Transactional leadership, in which an exchange takes place between leader and follower, represents the traditional influence model found within most human groups.

Transactional leadership approaches followers with an eye to exchanging one thing for another … Burns

Transactional leadership Pursues a cost benefit, economic exchange to met subordinates current material and psychic needs in return for “contracted” services rendered by the subordinate …. Bass

Transforming leadership now called transformational leadership, which was ennobling, “lifting people into their better selves.” “The result of transforming leadership is a relationship of mutual stimulation and elevation that converts followers into leaders and may convert leaders into moral agents of change.” Transformational Leaders work toward a common goal with followers in the process of collaboration; put followers in front and develop them; take followers’ to next level; inspire followers to transcend their own self-interests . Collaboration is the act of working together in United Labor with others to serve our City! This is the kind of Leadership has the ability to to bring change to the consciousness of people and help them think what is God is calling them personally and uniquely to be personally involved in, through, with and by passionately with not only on the surface level because that king of commitment is just skin deep and is really will run when the pressure builds or it gets uncomfortable.

What is leadership?

Why are people prepared to follow certain people? What makes them a leader?

Early studies of leadership examined the leadership traits of the so-called great men.. their attention focused on the situations in which leaders operated and on the question, what do people called leaders do to change those situations?

To things Leaders take the lead! That is why they initiate the plans, goals, and ideas. and that second, leaders move people to follow them by showing them consideration.

Not all leaders act or behave the same, it is was clear in the study that bass did that no one style of leading, that leadership is contingent on circumstances, and what works in one situations may not work in another similar circumstances. Most leadership is exercised through leadership provided through position.

Transforming leadership “recognizes and encourages an existing need or demand of a potential follower… (and) looks for potential motives in followers, seeks to satisfy higher needs, and engages the full person of the follower” … Burns

Bass continues to state:

Transactional leaders work within the given situation; Transformational leaders change the situation.

Transactional leaders accept what can be talked about; Transformational leaders change what can be talked about.

Transactional leaders accept the existing rules and values; Transformational leaders change them.

Transactional leaders talk about payoff ; Transformational leaders talk about (visionary) goals and (ideas).

Transactional leaders bargain ;Transformational leaders symbolize

Transforming leadership The leader who recognizes the transactional needs in potential followers “but tends to go further, seeking to arouse and satisfy higher needs, to engage the full person of the follower … to a higher level of need according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs” … Bass

Transformational and transactional leadership as distinct but not mutually exclusive processes, and he recognizes that the same leader may use both types of leadership at different times in different situations.” It is as if situational leadership, which called for different responses under different circumstances, was proving to be the integrating construct of the status quo – merging the behaviors of transactional and transformational leadership into the best combination for specific situations.

As exactly said by Bass – “the transactional leaders work within the organizational culture as it exists; the transformational leader changes the organizational culture”.

Maxwell says – “The true measure of leadership is Influence nothing more, nothing less.”

No matter whoever it is, as a Transformational Leader, you have the capability to become the role model for them. You are respected & admired by your followers. They have a separate place for you in their heart. You have absolute trust on your followers and they also have it for you. Your followers understand that you have great potential and determination which will take them to higher levels. You are having the willingness to take risks and be consistent. In any situation, you show high standards of conduct.

Inspiration and Motivation are always part of leadership. We know about Inspiration and motivation separately and they are used interchangeably. Let us see their connection in the below highlighted text before we get into Inspirational Motivation.

Motivation really comes down to inspiration. Since motivation comes from within, it is a form of self-inspiration. This process is nurtured by watching others achieve their goals. Most often it is developed by following the example of leaders who do the right thing for people, communicate frequently, empower vigorously, coach regularly, and sacrifice for others.[2]

As a Transformational Leader, you have a vision. You communicate expectations with followers and show optimism in reaching the goal. By your vision, activities and behavior, your followers get motivated and inspired. They all feel team spirit and work enthusiastic as a group. They start demonstrating their commitments towards the goal. Motivation can occur only if two-way communications happen.

“People respond to a challenge because it taps their inner desire to succeed.”[2]

“The goal of transformational leadership is to “transform” people and organizations in a literal sense – to change them in mind and heart; enlarge vision, insight, and understanding; clarify purposes; make behavior congruent with beliefs, principles, or values; and bring about changes that are permanent, self-perpetuating, and momentum building.”

A new leadership frame, Transcendent Leadership, has emerged with greater focus during the past several years. The word “transcendent leadership” to describe a special leadership observed among leaders who transcended self into compassionate being and action. If we add that man must learn to face himself as he faces others. It is this ability to lead from a consciousness of Grace wholeness, modeled and practiced by Christ, that most distinguishes the transcendent servant leader. It is all about an ability to lead from a place of wholeness, from a consciousness of service above self. Philippians 2:4

Transcendent Leadership, is empowering leadership which have four common elements:

Transcendent Leaders: Get attention through vision the “commodity of leaders” Managers concentrate on doing things right and managing workers and not leading leaders. To empower means to living the vision not just talking about the vision.

Transcendent Leaders: catch the followers attention through communication, although communication is primarily through living a life that inspires ,which models by example not only words of vision. Life to life is based upon our ability to communicate life with a variety ways to modeling to emerging leaders emerge that will leads leaders. Sometimes we think our vision and words is what leads people. It is the life behind the words which creates passionate emerging leaders because it is do what I show you and do, not just do what I tell you. A pastor said when you take position of a visionary pastor you are literally photocopying your life in to the lives of the people who are following you.

Transcendent Leaders: Trust is built through taking a clear committed stance, trust is the primary lubrication that helps relationships and families. If an individual or a family trust you then through Christ we can lead them to where God is guiding us as the visionary. Leadership is when we are heading into the wind…..to move others to wish to follow.. The angle into the wind is less important that choosing one and reasonably sticking to it. ” Believability over the long haul is vital.

Transcendent Leaders: know how to deploy themselves through a positive self-regard which is not as narcissistic as it sounds or self-centered. It is very simple that leaders know their worth to their families, friends, and co-laborers, therefore their keenly have grown to know personal strengths and weaknesses, where they fit and where they don’t, because of this inner-security built upon the security of who they are with God and what and how God thinks of them. Freed individuals will always bring freedom to others because it will naturally overflow outward. They uniquely are able to free others through the inner freedom they have experienced personally internally which change their own self-regard. They lead others to live not the reflection of who or what they see in the mirror now as they emerge or who or what they were in the past that is branded into people’s self-consciousness. We have as human beings have the ability to believe lies abut our selves that will eventually wound others unless we are freed. To have a untrue personal self-regard will never bring transformation it will bring death and wounds to others with will intentions. To have a poor self regard is really the farthest thing from humility, it honestly really is pride. To live in humility is to not have a higher or lower regard for yourself or others that is deprecating which root is pride. Humility knows who they are and who everyone are according to a balanced view that is what God say we are are not to have a lesser one, to have a proper estimation of self is to look through the lens of Grace alone. To be able to estimate anything about ourselves or others through our the lens of Grace will distort and lead to pride.

Text: Matthew 20:25-28; Matthew 23:11; Mark 9:35; Mark 10:43; Luke 22:26

Leaders are immediately accountable to the people they serve, to the leaders they serve with and to the leaders they are raising up. And ultimately they are accountable to God. Simply put, it’s called servant leadership and it finds its genesis in Jesus’ statement here:

Jesus called them together and said, “He said, "You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage."

Unfortunately, the opposite of a servant leader is an Unaccountable leader who live down to the cliché that absolute power corrupts absolutely – even the very best of people can be corrupted by it. Strong leaders surround themselves with strong people who are unafraid to confront the leader with truth. Weak leaders surround themselves with “yes-people” who live in fear for their jobs and the personal value they receive from the leader’s affirmation.

Strong servant leaders create a culture of high-trust leadership where all people are valued equally – and where creativity flourishes at all levels. In a genuine leadership culture, people are viewed as equals even if they are in different roles. Roles are based on the development of individuals’ callings, passions, gifting, maturity, capabilities and are not a reflection of the complete value of the person. As a result, people at all levels are acknowledged and appreciated as individual members and contributors — even those who sometimes break the rules in order to deliver value to the organization as a whole. The culture of leadership can tolerate its occasional “mavericks” because it can see the innovative power of nonconventional views of the world with their work complements the overall mission and vision of the organization.

Debunking the Myths of Leadership Development:

Myth: Developing leaders is about having the right program to run people through.

Reality: Developing leaders is primarily a relational process, centered on the individual, not the system. The most effective starting point is the person, not the program. Programs are based upon the old model of leadership development that is based upon the transfer of knowledge and is transactional leadership. Transactional leadership is based in contingency, in that reward or punishment is contingent upon performance.

Myth: Developing leaders is a synonym for training.

Reality: Training constitutes one small piece of leadership development, and it doesn’t always look like classroom training.

Myth: Developing leaders correctly means treating them all exactly the same and expecting that they will all turn out exactly the same.

Reality: Everyone has different God-given gifts, passions, capacities, and callings. Developing a quiet intercessor will look very different than developing an entrepreneurial church planter. And it should. Leaders do not all look the same.

Myth: Leadership development begins with mature Christians.

Reality: Because we are holistic beings, developing leaders is a holistic process. Evangelism, discipleship, and leadership development are all part of one whole…they’re all integrated. Leadership development actually begins with pre-Christians. Looking at how God is already using individuals God-given gifts, passions, capacities, and callings even as pre-Christians.

Myth: Leadership development focuses on skills.

Reality: Skills are one piece of the whole pie. Effective development takes into account the individual as a personal, social, emotional, spiritual being. Any compartmentalization of these areas of our lives is artificial and will never transform it will cause the opposite stagnation. Stagnation is the process where the flow of the Spirit is inwardly restricted and may outwardly for a short time develop an individual’s with certain skill sets or externally modify the individual temporarily. The focus on the skill or behavior externally lacks the holistic process is never transformational. This therefore which creates an environment for novice traits and blindspots in emerging leaders to be never addressed effectively. Transformation is the result of inside out work. A marked change internally is metamorphosis the word transformation. Transformational leadership development is a life to life process of developing an emerging leader from the inside out in a holistic process that is whole.

In His Grace Forever,

Pastor Teddy Awad