In preparation for a leadership retreat this weekend we asked our Shepherds and Staff to read a couple of books. The first, as I have previously mentioned, is Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson. The second book, The Servant Leader, by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges is a short little read that quickly gets to the heart of the matter.
The authors contrast and compare leadership attitudes and actions from a self-serving point of view and a servant point of view. The quote of the book, so far, for me has been:
Whenever you have an opportunity or responsibility to influence the thinking and the behavior of others, the first choice we are called to make is whether to see the moment through the eyes of self-interest or for the benefit of those we are leading.
I realize the difficulty in making this choice. It is often hard to distinguish between what is good and healthy for those we are leading and those things that just make us feel better or validated as leaders.
