“You must love your people more than your position.” – John Maxwell
A true leader serves others. Put others before yourself, and your leadership will grow. It seems counter intuitive. You want others to look to you for guidance and advice, but the more you push your agenda, the less they respond.
To gain influence you must find a way to meet them on their ground, with their objectives. Here are four ways you can serve others.
1. Stop trying to control others. Encourage people to experiment, make mistakes, and find their own solutions. Support them in their growth, and let them be more successful than you.
2. Start listening to others. Too many times we have a message that we feel is important to be said. Others do as well. Listening more than you talk will increase your ability to make others successful.
3. Start serving others. Put time in your agenda to help others. Don’t have an agenda, but learn how you can assist them with their agenda. Make time for the projects of others.
4. Take a risk that will benefit others. Taking risks is not easy. When we take risks it is because the benefit is greater than the risk. Taking a risk for someone else’s benefit is even harder. But a true leader will find times when it is worth the effort and will jump without knowing the outcome just for their people.
When you begin to serve others, you multiply the success of everyone in many ways. You develop win-win outcomes instead of win-lose. Maybe it is time to review your agenda and think about how you can increase your dedication to your team.