Entrepreneur’s brew – Servant Leadership for entrepreneurs: Part III

Pastor Welcome Thamsanqa Mlungisi Dlalisa.

Entrepreneurs work for themselves and not for someone. They often start a business from nothing. As an entrepreneur myself, I know that my businesses are very dear to me. I want all of my businesses to succeed. Then the question is, “How do I ensure that they survive and succeed even in difficult times?” Well, in this article we continue to examine this important style of leadership called “servant leadership.” It is critical for all entrepreneurs to recognise the power and value of this style of leadership.

Here we reflect on the many leadership lessons from the greatest leaders that have ever lived. In my previous articles I mentioned several great leaders, including Jesus Christ, Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and many others. However, in this article I will focus strictly on leadership lessons from Jesus Christ the King and a leader of all time. In summary, Jesus was servant to all, a humble leader and client-centric in His approach because He met the needs of His people.

Below, we look at what we can learn from Jesus Christ as a servant leader and see how these lessons can be applied by business entrepreneurs in Tembisa. For this article, I want to pull an extract from a conversation between Jesus and His followers, known as disciples. In this extract Jesus answers His disciples according to Mark 9:33-37 when they asked him, “Who is the greatest?” Jesus answered them by saying that the greatest (or he who is “first” or a leader), must be servant to all (Mark 9: 33-37). Jesus achieved great things in His lifetime. He healed the sick, raised the dead, and blessed many with healing. Yet He describes the secret to his success as being the servant to all. We have all seen many leaders who do not serve but are served. However, Jesus focused on seeing and meeting the need/s of His followers. Once He served His people and met their needs, Jesus rose to the global prominence and fame that we all still read about even today. Clearly even today, people still flood places where their needs are met. If your business is to succeed, you as an entrepreneur must see a gap in the market and close it. This lesson has been around for thousands of years and we can trace it directly back to Jesus.

Secondly, this style and attitude of servant leadership is found in Philippians 2:3-5. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature God, …made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.” Regardless of the mode of leading (autocratic, democratic or laissez faire), the focus of servant leadership is on the growth, success and welfare of the followers. The primary focus of a servant leader is on his or her followers rather than on self. It is this singular characteristic which defines servant leadership.

The third lesson from Jesus is that He was client-centric. This we see when we read about Him in Philippians 2:3-5, where we see Him as both “humble” and raising “interests of others” above His own. In life you do not accidentally become successful as a leader. It is always by design. The style of leadership will determine the level of your success. Jesus met all the needs of His people, and in turn the people focused on serving Him back. Leaders lead through people. All business results come from the efforts of the people, which we call productivity. This productivity does not come out of nothing. It comes from the hearts of the people who are willing to serve you. However, they need to see that you care about their needs also. Jesus Christ was one such leader who was driven by meeting the needs of the people.

So servant leadership is one of those foundations that are critical for running a successful business and achieving sustained profitability.

In order to help the entrepreneurs of Tembisa to implement what we are learning via these articles, I have set up what I call the JOSEPH ACHIEVERS MENTORING (JAM) programme. The programme is based on Joseph in the Bible, who rose to prominence despite his background. I am encouraging all Tembisa residents to join. This programme is aimed at supporting all residents of Tembisa but it targets mainly young entrepreneurs, young professionals, university students and high school learners. It offers a range of support initiatives including career guidance, training and mentoring. Many have enrolled for the programme and are receiving business management training and mentoring. I challenge you to enroll for JAM in order to propel your life or your business to new heights. To register for JAM, send an email to dlalisa.rhi@gmail.com or call the numbers below.

For more information, contact Pastor WTM Dlalisa on 083 395 1165.

add call to action – for the full series of Entrepreneur’s Brew, visit our website