Dear Friends”
I was listening to a podcast by John Maxwell last
week when John talked about a “high road leader.” I had never heard that
definition of leadership before, so I was curious to listen.
High road leaders are those leaders who are
always looking to give more than they receive. Many leaders expect people to
serve them and help them get to the top, but a high road leader is more
concerned about helping others get to the top.
High road leaders possess servant’s hearts.
They are more concerned with the needs of others than they are with their own
needs. High road leaders give more than they take. They do so because
they know that if they care for the people they lead, those people will love,
respect, and want to work hard for them.
High road leaders bring people together
instead of dividing them. They place the agendas of others ahead of their own.
Such leadership is not a natural way of
leading, but it can be life changing.
When you serve others, you seek to bring them
along with you on the leadership journey because you know you can’t help
another person get to the top of the mountain without getting to the top of the
mountain yourself.
High road leaders seek to be servants and not
celebrities. They know when they serve others everybody wins. They recognize
everyone is important to the success of an organization, and they treat
everyone with that same respect.
The late Herb Kelleher, president of
Southwest Airlines, was a perfect model of high road leadership.
He treated people like family. He said, “I’d
rather have a company bound by love than a company bound by fear.” Southwest
had 46 consecutive years of profitability to show for his leadership.
Herb learned from his mother
that every person and every job is worth as much as any other person and any
other job.
Herb deplored the
class mentality. Years ago, one of his executive officers said, “Herb, it’s
harder for me to get to see you than it is for a mechanic, a pilot, a flight
attendant, or a reservation agent.” Half-jokingly, Herb said, “I can explain
that to you very easily, they’re more important than you are!” (Southwest
Airlines Employees, Customers Remember Founder Herb Kelleher-taken from the
internet)
Those who worked
for Herb were his priority. They were not perceived by him as another rung on
the ladder, but as equals.
To me, “high road”
leadership sounds a lot like servant leadership, the kind where the leader
carries a towel and a basin and is always on the lookout for ways to serve
others.
God is looking for
towel and basin leaders, those who do not choose celebrity over service, and
fame over faithfulness.
Herb Kelleher and
other high road leaders aspire to live out the mission statement of Jesus as
expressed in His words: “I have given you an example that you should do as I
have done for you” (John 13:15).
May God help each
of us be “high road” leaders today and every day.
Yours in faith and
friendship,
Tom
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