Learn to Be a Servant Before You Try to Be a Leader
There’s a lot of talk about “servant leadership” these days. It’s become a popular concept in business, nonprofits, and ministry. But here’s the problem—too many people want to be servant leaders before they’ve actually learned how to be servants.
Leadership, even the kind labeled “servant leadership,” often comes with influence, recognition, and authority. But service? Real service is often unnoticed. It’s the work done in the background, the tasks no one volunteers for, the sacrifices that don’t get praised. It’s the kind of work that shapes character long before anyone calls you a leader.
Before you can guide others, you need to understand what it means to put others first—not as a strategy for leadership, but as a way of life.
What Does It Mean to Be a Servant?
We live in a world where leadership is often associated with power, decision-making, and visibility. But true leadership starts with humility and a willingness to serve.
Being a servant means:
Doing what needs to be done, even when no one is watching.
Caring for people’s needs without expecting anything in return.
Embracing the small and unseen tasks, knowing they matter.
Look at some of the greatest leaders in history. Before David was a king, he was a shepherd. Before Jesus led multitudes, He washed feet. Before Mother Teresa was an international figure, she spent years quietly serving the sick and poor in the streets of Calcutta.
These weren’t strategic moves to become leaders. They were lives marked by service, and through that service, they were shaped into the leaders they became.
The Pitfall of Trying to Lead Without Serving First
There’s a real danger in stepping into leadership without first learning to serve. It can create entitlement instead of humility. People start to believe they deserve a leadership role simply because they have a vision or a passion for change. But passion without service is shallow.
Too many people want to jump into leadership positions because they sound good. They like the idea of being a servant leader but aren’t willing to do the work of actual service. This leads to:
Leaders disconnected from the people they claim to serve.
A “command and control” mentality rather than a spirit of stewardship.
Burnout, because they never developed the endurance that comes from serving first.
Leadership without service isn’t leadership at all—it’s just authority without understanding.
Submitting to the Community You Serve
True servanthood isn’t just about showing up to help—it’s about submitting to the authority of the people you claim to serve.
Far too often, leaders enter a community with preconceived solutions, assuming they know what’s best. But real servant leadership requires listening, learning, and yielding to the wisdom, culture, and lived experiences of the community itself.
Being a servant means allowing the community to lead you first. It means asking:
What do you need? Instead of assuming you know the solution.
Who should be at the decision-making table? Instead of filling it with outsiders.
How can I amplify your voice? Instead of speaking for people who can speak for themselves.
When you truly serve, you don’t take ownership of a community’s future—you become a steward of their vision, using your skills and resources to support their leadership, not impose your own.
Servant Leaders Don’t Hold Power—They Give It Away
Real servant leadership means creating space for others to have authority over the direction of the work. It means:
Prioritizing local voices over external expertise.
Building teams that reflect the community you serve.
Letting go of ego and trusting the people to shape the mission.
If the work you're doing doesn’t allow the community to have real decision-making power, it’s not servanthood—it’s control dressed up as service.
How True Servanthood Shapes Leadership
When you serve first, you develop the qualities that make a real servant leader:
Empathy: You understand the struggles of those you serve because you’ve been in the trenches with them.
Patience: You know change takes time because you’ve been part of the small, unseen work that leads to it.
Perseverance: You’ve done hard, unrecognized work before, and you’ve learned to stay the course even when results aren’t immediate.
Servant leadership isn’t a style—it’s a result. It’s what happens when people who have spent time serving are called to lead.
Practical Steps: How to Learn to Serve Before Leading
If you truly want to be a servant leader, start with these:
1. Do the Work No One Else Wants to Do
Don’t chase titles—chase opportunities to serve. Show up early. Stay late. Do the small, thankless tasks.
2. Be Consistent in Service
Anyone can serve once. But real transformation happens when you commit to it over time. Show up regularly, not just when it’s convenient.
3. Serve in Different Capacities
Work with people in different roles, communities, and backgrounds. You’ll learn more by serving in multiple ways than by reading a hundred leadership books.
4. Submit to the Authority of the Community
Recognize that the people you serve know their own needs better than you do. Instead of directing, ask questions. Instead of assuming, listen. Your leadership is only as strong as your willingness to learn.
5. Listen More Than You Speak
True servants don’t assume they know what people need—they listen first. Ask questions. Pay attention. Learn before you try to fix.
Conclusion: Servanthood Is the Training Ground for Leadership
You don’t become a servant leader by reading about it. You become one by serving—day in and day out, before anyone calls you a leader.
The best leaders never stop serving. They don’t see service as a stepping stone to leadership but as the foundation of it.
So here’s the challenge:
Are you learning to serve before you try to lead? Are you submitting to the wisdom of the community you serve? Or are you chasing leadership before you’ve earned the right to call yourself a servant?