COLUMN: Train for leadership through service to others

 The king … had high admiration for Naaman, the commander-in-chief of his army. II Kings 5:1

The mark of true leadership is the ability to serve – not strut.

Although Naaman was the highest-ranking general is Syria, he served under the king. No matter how elevated you become, you must stay accountable. It’s what balances you and keeps you in touch with reality. When you forget how it feels to serve others, you develop a sense of entitlement and become dictatorial, overbearing and downright miserable to be around.

As a leader, a little down time is always welcome, an interlude when you’re not the one responsible for everything. Apart from that, however, you need to be accountable to somebody else.

Inside each of us there is a selfish child that surfaces from time to time, so we need someone who will listen to us whine and pout and still accept us and be honest with us, for good feedback keeps us from going too far down the wrong road.

I used to think God’s gifts were on shelves one above the other and the taller we get, the easier they are to reach. Then I discovered they’re on shelves one beneath the other and the lower we stoop, the more we get.

When Jesus taught his disciples about leadership, he didn’t do it by debating the Pharisees or raising the dead. No, when he was preparing the boys for the grand finale, he picked up a basin and started washing dirty feet, bunions, corns and calluses. Why? Because the way to train for exceptional leadership is always through service.