In the movie We Were Soldiers, Lt. Colonel Hal Moore, played by Mel Gibson, said, “I will be the first on the battlefield and the last off, and we will all go home, dead or alive.” Moore was a leader who displayed integrity. The word integrity is derived from the Latin word integer meaning whole. A person of integrity is therefore whole in the sense that the person is internally and externally consistent. The person’s words and thoughts are congruent with their actions. Integrity is a quality of servant leaders.
Perhaps the chief quality of servant leaders is humility rooted in a deep sense of their own frailty and inadequacy to accomplish an awesome responsibility at hand. Hal Moore knew the lives of his men were in his hands. These men and their wives were his friends. The thought of letting them down burdened his heart. To live with himself and his own values, Moore could do only one thing—serve his men by laying down his personal safety for their safety. Servant leaders think and act this way. They always sacrificially do what they believe is best for the whole.
At one point in the movie, the enemy overran Moore’s forces. He radioed for help using the phrase “broken arrow,” which marshaled every available aircraft in the area to come to his aid. He knew the risk of this action to his own forces. One of the bombs fell among some of his soldiers, killing and injuring some of them as well as the enemy. As difficult as this decision was for Moore, he knew he had no choice. For the good of the whole unit, some had to die, but no one was left behind. This is an example of some of the hard choices that servant leaders are sometimes required to make.
Christian servant leadership is predicated on genuine love—sacrificially serving God’s purpose in others. Jesus modeled this by living a humble, selfless life of integrity. His heart and actions were aligned with the will and ways of God. He lived with his disciples for three years preparing them for their assignment to fulfill his legacy to build his ekklesia (church) after his ascension. This assignment was (and continues to be) a work in process. Jesus modeled servant leadership for his followers who lived contemporaneously with him. And those who are not his contemporaries learn from him through the record of his life found in Scripture.
Jesus is the true model for all servant leaders. He never placated the wishes of people; he always served God's purpose in others.
Here is your business tip: Wise leaders and managers recognize the profundity of Jesus’ model of servant leadership. He is the gold standard. Though one might find examples of other men who displayed servant leadership, such as Hal Moore, no mere mortal has ever lived (or ever will live) fully congruent with Jesus’ model. Sound organizational leadership is based on humbly and sacrificially serving God’s purpose in others. This applies in all settings—churches, nonprofits, businesses, and families. Servant leadership is the path to success and significance in all activities of life.
