Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave. Matthew 20:26–27 (NIV)
Every person on this planet has been given the potential to be an incredible leader, no matter what their personality type. In fact, we are all called to lead.
As John Maxwell puts it, leadership is just influence. We all have the opportunity to influence others. In fact, as Christians, we have both the responsibility and the amazing opportunity to influence others for Jesus.
The problem is, few people think of themselves as leaders.
Many assume leadership comes with a title, but that’s not true. In fact, titles are often a detriment to leadership. Titles tend to have a strange influence on people’s thinking. Those who pull rank and rely heavily on their title are using positional leadership, which is the lowest level of leadership. If someone has to frequently say, “I’m in charge,” they really are not.
True leadership is through influence, not position. It’s about servant leadership.
Servant leadership is about having the other person’s best interests in mind. It’s about setting out to be of service to them—to help them to become the best they can be. When someone senses that this is your motive, you gain influence in their lives and they are much more inclined to want to hear what you have to say.
Take a new look at leadership based on Jesus’ example of servant leadership, and begin to see yourself as a leader. Look for the small things you can do each day to help lead others one step closer to the only relationship in the world that can change absolutely everything: a relationship with Jesus.