Chapter 9The Art of Serving Encouragement
As the host of the Growth Over Goals podcast, I've had the tremendous opportunity to interview and glean wisdom from many great thought leaders. A year or so ago, I was interviewing my friend Patrick Lencioni, founder of the Table Group, on the podcast, and the topic of “servant leadership” came up. He shared how much he dislikes the term, because in his mind, you are not truly leading if you are not serving. To him, the two terms are inseparable—servant leadership isn't a type of leadership, it is the definition of leadership!
Fundamentally, if you think about the historical leaders we truly respect—Jesus Christ, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr.—what they all have in common was this: they put others before themselves. They lived in the spirit of service. They didn't think about what they could get out of others. They didn't only help those that could help them. They were people who believed in self-sacrifice, in doing for others, and they did it fully.
I've often thought about that idea since that conversation, and after reflecting on my own leadership journey and the journeys of those that I've coached, I must say I couldn't agree more. One of the greatest ways to encourage someone is to offer your talents and skills in service to them. Make their goals your goals, and their agenda your agenda. This chapter will give you the tools you need to do just that. So, let's dive in!
Making the Leader's Agenda ...
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