Four Stages to Greatness
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Leading is serving; serving is living. Serving is the path to greatness; serving is greatness.
You are great when you serve.
Stage one:
Serve yourself. Learn that you are important as a person and useful as a leader. Develop your skills. Nurture your spirit. Feed your mind. Make yourself the center. It’s all about you.
Stage two:
Serve others for what you receive. Work for honor, respect, even a paycheck. Live a life based on barter. You give in order to get. The more you give the more you receive.
Stage three:
Serve others for the sake of serving. In youth we serve ourselves. In adolescence we serve for what we receive. In maturity we serve for the sake of serving. Serving is noble in itself.
Stage three is the step where we serve regardless of opinion or applause; we’ve found ourselves. It’s the stage where growing self-knowledge instills personal confidence. It’s when leaders begin to emerge.
Stage four:
Exponential influence begins the moment we begin serving others so others can serve others. In the beginning it’s all about us. In the end it’s all about them.
Serving others so others can serve others shifts our thinking about ourselves. Others move into the spotlight while we move off-center. Our mission becomes multiplication rather than individual success. It’s the stage of extraordinary fruitfulness.
Find someone who will serve others:
Find a person with passion and pour yourself into them for their benefit not for yours. Education, intelligence, talent, heritage, and experience are important but passion trumps them all.
All four stages are present in mature leaders. There is, however, more of stage four than all the others.
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Have you experienced a similar progression to mine?
Can you describe your progressive growth as a leader?
Dan, you’ve done it again. Timely, inspirational and thought-provoking. I’m going to have to pull out my thesaurus and find more superlatives *lol*
I’m just starting out on my leadership journey, I wasn’t expecting to be a leader but when I got the titles of president of one club and chairman of another, one through nomination and the other through volunteering, my first big step has been to acknowledge without conceit that I am actually a leader. Your Step One, I suppose. I’ve started to read more about leadership and creative thinking, more will come along, I’ve no doubt. So far my philosophy has been to nurture the committee and nurture the club. It’s possibly a bit basic, but it’s a starting point. This post really gives me confidence as a leader, because it tells me that the best leaders are not necessarily the centre of attention. The best leaders build other leaders. If I can be the best leader, it will fulfil my goal of nurturing the club, so onward and upward I go!
Hi Vanessa,
You are very kind and encouraging. Thank you.
I love hearing your story and wish you the best.
I wish someone would have told me years ago that exponential influence is about serving others so others could serve others. I learned it after 30 yrs in leadership.
Thankfully, I’m finding passionate people that i can serve while they serve others. I’m coaching and mentoring. The brilliance of that approach seems so obvious today.
Here’s to your exponential success.
Best,
Dan
Mr. Dan,
Explained masterfully. I will be sharing this with everyone in my place of employment. =)
Thank you!
GetJef
Wow! This is great. Question – we just elected new chapter and division leaders in the professional organization that I belong to – what do I need to do to get permission to reprint in our newsletter? We are a non-profit – 501(c)(6) organization.
Thanks!
Tammy
Hi Tammy,
It’s a delight to be useful. Please feel free to reprint this article.
Best,
Dan
My life has taken me to some personal and professional “highs” and more recently some rock bottom “lows”. It has been during this low period that I have learned the most about leadership. In fact, my concept of leadership has been completely redefined.
It is amazing to see someone give so much to people that they know may never be able to return the favor. They, however, don’t see it that way. For them the reward is knowing that they can make a difference. The ultimate reward is when one of the people that they have helped comes back to help others. Maybe not the circle of life, but certainly the circle of leadership.
Well said, KC!
Dear Dan,
A truly leadership and introspecting post. Yes, I have seen progression to youself. You have served community through your ideas and knowledge. More importantly, by the right application of those knowledges. The most important part of serving is your passion to serve leadership community. I am inspired to write everyday on leadership freak. The important part of my inspiration is the reward, feedback and appreciation from you and other community members. And this is way how leadership permeates to all levels in organisations.
To be honest and frank, I serve people without expectation to raise my standard but with expectation to guide someone on right path. And your desire to serve is more powerful than your expectation then, you get inspiration that is lasting and exponential in nature.
Dear Ajay,
You have also shared your inner thoughts with us. I’m deeply encouraged. And so the encouragement comes back to us when we encourage others.
Thank you for daily sharing your insights with the LF community.
Have a great week.
Dan
Ajay is a featured contributor on Leadership Freak. Read his bio at: http://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/ajay-gupta
Dear Dan,
I have joined LF recently. But I have tried to read your previous post as well. .Your objective behind LF which is there on the site that “we’re passionate about enhancing our influence. Second, we’re dedicated to share knowledge,insight and skills with like minded leaders”. quite an extent achievement of these objective till now clearly defines your progression of leadership. Although this journey has to go still a long way.
As far as my progressive growth as a leader is concern. I feel its too early to say anything but definitely at present I am more into stage one where I am really focusing on self enhancement by feeding rightful intake to my mind, nourishing with corrective and positive thought for my soul along with spiritual uplift. although very little but I am trying for stage two as well. I am thankful to you as this post of yours has shown me the right path of how to Grow as a Leader further on.
Lovely Post Dan, Can’t improve on that, and as all ways you are true to your words.
Richard
Cheers!
Richard is a longtime friend and featured contributor on Leadership Freak. His bio: http://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/richard-croad
Dan, Thanks for another thought provoking post that hits the target right on the bullseye! I have noticed that as my leadership style has moved more toward serving others first, my desire to serve seems to grow as well. Serving is truly contagious, which is why one gracious act of service can change the world.
Thanks for the insight!
Randell
Wow! Exceptional post Dan. So powerful. How in the world were you able to learn that! 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing. I have printed this post and will keep it with me for a long time. Yanik
Hi Yanik,
Thanks for the good word.
I learned the idea from Jesus. The New Testament says he washed the disciples feet and then said, “You aught to was one another’s feet.”
If I had washed their feet, I would have said, “you aught to was MY feet.”
It was a powerful lesson for me and it began to dawn on me that he was a successful leader because he served others so others could serve others.
Thanks for asking,
Dan
Dan, I think this post is brilliant! Your stages absolutely make sense, are clear and provide a path to follow. You might be interested in the work of Lawrence Kohlberg who looked at stages of moral development.
Reading a book called “The Agony and The Ecstasy” by Irving Stone about Michelangelo. Talk about a passionate person. I am jealous of his passion and dedication to his arts no matter the politics and social aspects of the 1500’s he stuck to his guns and created amazing things. Watched some of his works get destoryed due to the politics and these are works that would take him years to complete. Yet he just kept going!! Amazing characte and one I strive to have everyday…to do what I am passionate about!
I love this post, Dan. It puts in words what we try to do through Broken Hearts. With each new Broken Hearts family we meet, serving them so they will serve other families is what we strive for. We can’t possibly individually meet and serve every heart family, so we encourage our families to serve the next family they meet who’s recently gotten a diagnosis of congenital heart disease. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! — Karen
Waxing poetically again Sir, well written!
My banner-early on
Our banner-later
Everyone’s banner-even later
Pass the banner-now, find the next excellent leader and pass the torch/banner.
It is a case of we each bring each other up and raise a standard. Here at LF, we do keep growing and challenging, definitely is needed! Thanks Dan.