Service & Leadership
Courage Compassion Character

SERVICE AND
LEADERSHIP

Courage
Compassion
Character
 

Servant
Leadership

Your Career
Is Calling

Celebrate
Diversity

Advocacy and
Activism

Character and
Integrity

Compassion
and Caring
 

“Do more
than belong
...Participate.

Do more
than care
...Help.

Do more
than believe
...Practice.

Do more
than be fair
...Be kind.

Do more
than forgive
...Forget.

Do more
than dream
...Work.”

WILLIAM ARTHUR WARD

“People who feel good
about themselves
produce good results.”

BLANCHARD & JOHNSON
 

"Leadership means
understanding that
people are more
important than
things."

J. DONALD WALTERS

“Working with people
is difficult but
not impossible.”

PETER DRUCKER

“Whether relations
begin, deepen, or end
largely depends on your
interpersonal skills.”

DAVID W. JOHNSON

“Leadership means
involving others.”

J. DONALD WALTERS

“Be careful or I’ll
include you in
my plans.”

ASHLEIGH BRILLIANT
 

LINKS

Greenleaf Center for
Servant Leadership

Changing Course

Tao Te Ching

Belief Net

Learning to Give

Service Learning
 

“The purpose of life
is not to win.
The purpose of life is
to grow and to share.
When you look back
on all you have done
in life, you will get
more satisfaction
from the pleasure
you brought into
other people’s lives
than you will from
the times you outdid
and defeated them.”

RABBI HAROLD KUSHNER

“The ultimate measure
of a person is not
where he stands
in moments of comfort
and convenience,
but where he stands
at times of challenge
and controversy.”

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
 

"The way I see it,
you have three
choices in life: 
To commit,
to spectate, or to
run away."

CITY OF JOY
 

Servant
Leadership

Your Career
Is Calling

Celebrate
Diversity

Advocacy and
Activism

Character and
Integrity

Compassion
and Caring
 

Leadership n Service n Advocacy n Community  n Diversity n Integrity  
 

"To be a leader means, especially, having the opportunity
to make a meaningful difference in the lives
of those who permit leaders to lead."
MAX DePREE

ATTITUDE OF LEADERSHIP
By Michael Lebeau

Effective leaders are active coaches who have the ability to gain cooperation, inspire teamwork, and foster collaborative efforts. They build group cohesiveness and pride. They create an inclusive atmosphere in which all team members enjoy a sense of belonging and a sense of importance.

Effective leaders have high expectations of themselves and their team. They make every effort to develop themselves and their team members to the highest potential. They insist on excellence and hold their team members accountable. They maintain a strong sense of urgency.

Effective leaders are visible, available, accessible, and approachable. They listen. They respond. They care. They are compassionate. 

Effective leaders display confidence in their team members. They show trust, they provide guidance, they offer encouragement, they give compliments, and they express gratitude. They treat every member of the team with respect and dignity.

Effective leaders set an example for others to follow.  They are role models. They maintain the highest standards of honesty and integrity. They are congruent. They say what they mean and mean what they say. They possess the courage of their convictions. They are trustworthy. They make good on their promises and follow through with their commitments.
 

ADVOCACY OF LEADERSHIP
By Michael Lebeau

As leaders, we can be advocates in our institutions and in our community.  We can be helpers and role models who set the pace, the mood, and sometimes the agenda on important issues affecting social change.  Our integrity as leaders is crucial to the people for whom we are advocates, allies and protectors.  We cannot take lightly the vital role we play in ensuring the wellbeing of the marginalized, mistreated and disenfranchised members of our communities.

Leaders are special people. They are among the extraordinary individuals who make this world a better place by making a difference in the lives of others. They have chosen a vocation of service. They have committed themselves to a career of helping and guiding.

Leaders, then, must have the integrity and strength of character to put the needs and concerns of others ahead of their own. They must be selfless in their desire to ensure the success of others, fearless in their zeal to protect the dignity of others, and relentless in their defense of the rights of others.

As such, leaders are courageous individuals who possess the necessary confidence and personal stability to interact with a broad diversity of people representing a wide variety of backgrounds and issues. True leadership is not judgmental or closed-minded when encountering individuals of diverse belief, thought and lifestyle.

True leadership does not feel threatened by those whose values differ from their own.  They do not feel insecure.  They, in fact, seek to understand, accept, affirm and celebrate the differences in others, knowing that the world is big enough for all people.

As a leader, you are in a special position that should naturally serve as a source of pride.  After all, it takes a very special kind of person to be a leader. It takes extraordinary determination to realize your role as an advocate. The job entails challenges and responsibilities that must be faced daily.  Your role as an advocate and leader should not be taken lightly.  People look up to you. People depend on you. 

Leaders do not have the luxury to be self-serving. The concerns of others must come before their own comfort and desires. More is expected from those who choose to be leaders.  As a leader, you are expected to display a greater sense of responsibility, courage, integrity and compassion than the average person.   As a general rule, people tend to expect more from leaders.  And effective leaders expect more from themselves.

As a leaders and advocates, we have made a commitment to provide encouragement and motivation to others. We have an obligation to prevent others from falling. It is our duty to restore confidence and stimulate hope. We can be a positive influence and make a meaningful impact on the life of another person. We can be a source of inspiration, to evoke change, compel action, and foster growth.

Whether we realize it or not, we are role models. We provide direction, guidance, inspiration and motivation. We set an example for others.  What an awesome responsibility we have!  Taking seriously our leadership role, ultimately requires that we live above our own needs. Great leaders seek self actualization, collaborative efforts, cooperative working relationships, and a spirit of interdependence.

Leadership is about defending others, not about defending oneself. Leadership is about involving and developing others, not finding one's own success. Leadership is about fostering an environment that is open and affirming to all people, not about gathering together certain people of like mind and opinion.

Whenever we feel threatened by those around us whose values and beliefs differ from ours, our leadership is in question. Whenever we can't be bothered to make accommodations for the values and beliefs of those who are different from us, our leadership is weak.

To test whether or not you are an effective leader, simply turn around and take a good look at your followers. If they look just like you, think just like you, behave just like you, you're not a real leader. Great leadership inspires diversity in its followers and makes room at the table for everyone.

To be a leader, then, requires courage. To be a leader oftentimes involves taking risks. To be a leader means that we regularly find ourselves in the arena. It requires commitment and determination. It requires the utmost audacity and boldness to risk being an advocate for our clients, to address wrongful acts, to defend those who are mistreated, to aggressively speak out against injustices in our society, and to fight ignorance and hatred.

As advocates in our community, we should be leading the way in advancing the cause of human rights. We do not have the luxury to ignore or deny the pleas from those who need our help. We cannot turn away from the problems around us. It is inherent in our charge as leaders to be advocates on behalf of those who are suffering. With a renewed sense of the courage, compassion and character it takes to be a leader, we can confront injustice, we can fight for those who can't fight for themselves, and we can be a catalyst for positive change.
 

"There's talk on the street, it sounds so familiar. Great expectations. Everybody's watching you." SOUTHER, HENLEY & FREY   “The time is always right to do what is right.” MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. "Managers are people who do things right, and leaders are people who do the right thing." WARREN BENNIS   “A life isn’t significant except for its impact on other lives.” JACKIE ROBINSON

WE ARE CONNECTED
By Michael Lebeau 

In his book, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom relates his theme: "There are no random acts. We are all connected. You can no more separate one life from another than you can separate the breeze from the wind. Strangers are just family you have yet to come to know." With this idea in mind, consider leadership within the context of interdependence. Great leaders meet the challenge of diversity head on by fostering an inclusive environment, inspiring teamwork, and encouraging collaborative efforts. They seek the factors that unite rather than divide. They recognize the connectedness of all humanity and the importance of service. As Herman Melville states, "We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellowman."

A purposeful life is derived from an attitude of service. Laurence Boldt discusses this idea in his book, How to Find the Work You Love. He says: "Meaningfulness begins with recognizing that you are not alone, that you are part of the human community, that everything you do sends a ripple through the entire human family. Allow your natural compassion to suggest creative ways that you can serve this family of yours. Meaning is not found in acquisition, but in feeling ourselves a part of something greater."

We are all connected.  We are all part of the human community. As we reflect on our time on earth and on the people that surround us daily, we realize that we are all in this together. As a result, we must consider how critical it is for people to work together and help each other.  We rely on each other. We need each other to survive. To quote George Bernard Shaw: "We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth."

This concept is further explained by Stephen Covey in his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.  He discusses the idea of interdependence as he relates: "We each begin life as an infant, totally dependent on others. Then gradually, over the ensuing months and years, we become more independent, until eventually we can essentially take care of ourselves, becoming inner-directed and self-reliant. As we continue to grow and mature, we become increasingly aware that all nature is interdependent, that there is an ecological system that governs nature, including society. We further discover that the higher reaches of our nature have to do with our relationships with others -- that human life also is interdependent." Stephen Covey further explains: "Interdependence is the highest level of maturity. If I am interdependent, I am self-reliant and capable, but I also realize that you and I working together can accomplish far more than I could accomplish alone. As an interdependent person, I have the opportunity to share myself deeply, meaningfully, with others, and I have access to the vast resources and potential of other human beings."

Cooperation and collaboration are possible when we adopt a spirit of interdependence. When we recognize that we are all connected, and that we have a duty to serve humanity, we realize that we can live above our own needs. Leaders who seek to serve others and to work for the good of others are said to be self-actualized individuals.  Self-actualization is a concept that was researched by Abraham Maslow. A self-actualized person, he said, has risen above his or her own needs, and actively seeks to address the needs of others. A self-actualized person is someone who has consciously elevated his or her life beyond self-interest. A self-actualized person is willing to contribute to the wellbeing of others, to serve others, and to make sacrifices for others.

Martin Luther King, Jr. has said, "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." Albert Einstein similarly notes: "A person starts to live when he can live outside of himself. A person's value to the community primarily depends on far his feelings, thoughts and actions are directed towards promoting the good of his fellows. Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."

It is this attitude that establishes us as a true leader and grants meaning and purpose to our lives. It is this approach to living that reflects a spirit of interdependence and self-actualization. As Joseph Campbell has stated, "When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness."
 

"The true leader serves. Serves people. Serves their best interests, and in so doing will not always be popular, may not always impress. But because true leaders are motivated by loving concern rather than a desire for personal glory, they are willing to pay the price."
EUGENE B. HABECKER

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever the cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever the cost."

ARTHUR ASHE

"Vision does not ignite growth; passion does. Passion fuels vision and vision is the focus of the power of passion. Leaders who are passionate about their call create vision."

KEN HEMPHILL

"Courage teaches us what should be feared and what ought not to be feared. Only by taking action do we gain that knowledge. And from that knowledge comes an inner strength that inspires us to persevere in the face of great adversity…  and inspires others to follow. In the most difficult times, courage is what makes someone a leader."

JOHN MAXWELL