“What is servant-leadership?” and “Where do I use it?” are questions I often hear when I introduce The Gabriel Center and servant-leadership to others.  While I totally value the use of servant-leadership in the business world, I think many people miss the importance of using these skills in their personal lives.  One of my favorite things is to see how servant-leadership is used in our everyday lives, especially with our families.  While I try to practice these skills with my husband and children, I am not always the best listener or the best at giving feedback in a healthy, thoughtful manner.  Sometimes, others give me the example I need.

Here is one example of my own experience with servant-leadership.  My family recently took a trip to the lake—one of our favorite ways to spend our free time.  The way boating works for us is- you take the boat and drop it off at the ramp and then one person drives the vehicle down the road to the house and someone else needs to drive the boat around the lake to the dock.  Normally, I drive the truck with my daughter and my husband drives the boat with my son.  Well, when we took this last trip, once the boat was unloaded, my husband hops in the truck and starts to pull off while leaving my son in the boat.  I immediately say, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”  He then informs me that Andrew is driving the boat around to the dock—like a half-mile around the lake!  I wonder what in the world my husband is thinking and think that Andrew is too young to drive a boat by himself. My husband tells me that Andrew is actually great at driving a boat and is perfectly capable of driving this far on his own.  Of course, we then continued to discuss this on the way back to the house.  And as my husband told me, Andrew drove the boat perfectly and docked it just fine all by himself. 

Upon later reflection, I see that my husband was being a great servant-leader by allowing his son to grow and mature into this new role.  I, on the other hand, was acting out of my own fear of letting Andrew grow up.  Instead of thinking of what my son’s capabilities really are, I acted on my trepidation for all that could go wrong. One of our roles as a leader is to allow others to grow and develop into all they can be and give them the space to thrive.   Servant-leadership can be seen everywhere, even in small ways--like allowing your son to drive the boat. 

Contributed by,

Janet Graham

Business Administrator

The Gabriel Center