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What is "Servantude?"
The word is often confused with "servitude." While the words may look similar, they have quite different meanings. The root of the word "servantude" is "servant" and is referenced in various passages of the Bible. What does it mean and why is it such an important element of Leadership? "Servantude" is to have the attitude of a heart-willing servant. A Servant Leader must be willing to sacrifice and serve. And effective leaders realize that to have a sacrificial, cheerful, servant attitude is essential. |
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I probably talk too much about Dr. Lloyd Lewan. He was a significant influencer and taught me a great deal about people. His wisdom is patient, seasoned, and enduring. Lloyd is the retired Chairman of the Board at Lewan Technology, and former Dean of the 'Semester at Sea' shipboard education program. I had the great privilege of working with him for many years. He often spoke to me in a kind, father-to-son tone. It has been more than several decades now, but I recall one of the many "lessons" gleaned from him was that servantude cannot be faked -- it must exist deep in the heart; it is cultivated in our very core and soul where it matures into servanthood. It is an undeniable, intrepid driver that forms an important part of our internal value system and upon which an individual will process all outward decisions. In my corporate life, and especially in my most visible role as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, the drive to sacrificially serve others persisted deep within me -- to serve those who needed my help with ____________ (fill in the blank) in order to navigate their (not "my") path to success.
There are several subtle components to servantude. Foremost is its sacrificial nature. At each company banquet or pep rally or potluck, it was not unusual to find Dr. Lewan standing at the end of the buffet line. His outward action revealed that his inner core belief was to sacrifice personally -- he desired others to be served first. That sacrifice was part of his innate value system. I am sure that he would agree with the way Simon Sinek described servantude in his book Leaders Eat Last, "...Leaders are the ones willing to look out for those to the left ... and right of them. Leaders are the ones who are willing to give up something of their own for us. Their time, their energy, their money, maybe even the food off their plate. When it matters, leaders choose to eat last...." Servantude requires us to be selfless and to put others first.
Another component of servantude is to be word-honoring. Have you noticed that the most effective leaders are promise-keepers? The promises that they make are not casual comments -- they are heartfelt, heavy-duty commitments. Responsibility ranks high for those obliging the call to servantude. This can create a great deal of angst for the leader as s/he balances promises-made with responsibilities to the Organization. And also with their coincident commitments made to others. I have heard it described as a natural, sometimes accidental, tendency towards altruism. Ugh! Honoring your word may not always be academic; it can easily create unintentional conflicts in a complex organizational system. Yet servantude requires the leader to honor his/her word in all circumstances, both personally and corporately. When a leader chooses to serve, the leader has chosen to set aside his/her own agenda that may be in conflict, and to commit to keeping their word, and attention, focused outward to others.
Willing stewardship is also a component of servantude. I am a sponge when it comes to reading on the topic of Leadership. Max DePree created a fan in me when he posited leadership as a form of time, skill, and talent stewardship in his book, Leadership is an Art. DePree goes on to say, "The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor. That sums up the progress of a ... leader...." The leader owes everything "self" to others. Your donation and effective use of your time, skill, and talent is not just good corporate stewardship, but is a building block of servantude, as well. The accomplished leader will be a careful steward to those with whom s/he engages, being cautious not to over-promise. It may also be possible that not everyone should receive the same measure of your time, skill, and talent.
Nobel Prize-winning medical missionary Albert Schweitzer said, “The only ones among you who will really be happy in life are those who have sought and found how to serve.” A better example of this comes from Jesus, Himself, as he chose in his final moments with his chosen team to emphatically illustrate willing service to others:
There are several subtle components to servantude. Foremost is its sacrificial nature. At each company banquet or pep rally or potluck, it was not unusual to find Dr. Lewan standing at the end of the buffet line. His outward action revealed that his inner core belief was to sacrifice personally -- he desired others to be served first. That sacrifice was part of his innate value system. I am sure that he would agree with the way Simon Sinek described servantude in his book Leaders Eat Last, "...Leaders are the ones willing to look out for those to the left ... and right of them. Leaders are the ones who are willing to give up something of their own for us. Their time, their energy, their money, maybe even the food off their plate. When it matters, leaders choose to eat last...." Servantude requires us to be selfless and to put others first.
Another component of servantude is to be word-honoring. Have you noticed that the most effective leaders are promise-keepers? The promises that they make are not casual comments -- they are heartfelt, heavy-duty commitments. Responsibility ranks high for those obliging the call to servantude. This can create a great deal of angst for the leader as s/he balances promises-made with responsibilities to the Organization. And also with their coincident commitments made to others. I have heard it described as a natural, sometimes accidental, tendency towards altruism. Ugh! Honoring your word may not always be academic; it can easily create unintentional conflicts in a complex organizational system. Yet servantude requires the leader to honor his/her word in all circumstances, both personally and corporately. When a leader chooses to serve, the leader has chosen to set aside his/her own agenda that may be in conflict, and to commit to keeping their word, and attention, focused outward to others.
Willing stewardship is also a component of servantude. I am a sponge when it comes to reading on the topic of Leadership. Max DePree created a fan in me when he posited leadership as a form of time, skill, and talent stewardship in his book, Leadership is an Art. DePree goes on to say, "The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor. That sums up the progress of a ... leader...." The leader owes everything "self" to others. Your donation and effective use of your time, skill, and talent is not just good corporate stewardship, but is a building block of servantude, as well. The accomplished leader will be a careful steward to those with whom s/he engages, being cautious not to over-promise. It may also be possible that not everyone should receive the same measure of your time, skill, and talent.
Nobel Prize-winning medical missionary Albert Schweitzer said, “The only ones among you who will really be happy in life are those who have sought and found how to serve.” A better example of this comes from Jesus, Himself, as he chose in his final moments with his chosen team to emphatically illustrate willing service to others:
“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart
out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them
to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot,
Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands,
and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside
his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. hen he poured water into a
basin and began to wash the disciples' feet…” John 13:1-5
out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them
to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot,
Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands,
and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside
his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. hen he poured water into a
basin and began to wash the disciples' feet…” John 13:1-5
The most effective leaders are willing servants. Leadership requires us to serve others. The self-sacrifice of servanthood begins with servantude. Servantude is a central element of leadership. Leadership is voluntary. But so is followership. If you elect to walk the demanding and often unpaved path of leadership, you are voluntarily and openly declaring your commitment to place others first. That is the internal spirit of servantude at work. To be an effective leader you must develop and acknowledge these undeniable components of servantude.
Do you eat last?
Topic presented at the annual conference of the Mile High Chapter of
the Society for Human Resource Management, Denver, Colorado,
January 2013. Published as an article in the September issue of
Emerging Leadership, Denver, Colorado, September 2014.
Do you eat last?
Topic presented at the annual conference of the Mile High Chapter of
the Society for Human Resource Management, Denver, Colorado,
January 2013. Published as an article in the September issue of
Emerging Leadership, Denver, Colorado, September 2014.
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-Ken Long |
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