Everyone wants to be a boss; no-one wants to be a servant. The problem is that, according to Jesus, you cannot be a good leader unless you voluntarily choose to become a servant. Many people aspire to management roles within organisations because they think this will give them more power and status and the ability to tell others what to do. That is partly correct: you do get more power and status, but you can only be an effective leader if you serve the people who serve you.
John chapter 13 describes how, during the Last Supper before he was crucified, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet. The timing and circumstances suggest that Jesus wanted his disciples to remember this as one of the most important lessons he ever taught: “Jesus knew that the Father had delegated all things to him, and that he came from God, and was returning to God… he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and wipe them with the towel wrapped around him.”
True leadership is not, as most people think, about telling people what to do. A successful team leader is one who measures success through the achievements of the team as a whole, rather than through his or her personal achievements. True leadership is really about being a servant to the people who have been placed under your care, and helping them to become all that God created them to be.