“But among you, those who are the greatest should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.”

At some point in our careers, we all reach the pinnacle of what we can do and then we perform at that level until we take ourselves out, or get replaced. Father time has a way of ensuring that all of us get to a point where we just can’t do any better than what we have already done, and it is at that point that companies and organizations have to make a hard decision to ensure that they continue on to get stronger and better. Any of us who have had to deliver that message knows how hard it is to send and even harder for someone to receive. Most organizations are not built to allow someone to step back into positions of lesser responsibility and carry on. Up or out is the norm and even if not, usually a person’s ego or familiarity with the way they worked, gets in the way of being able to stick around in a lesser role. I just finished a biography of T.E. Lawrence (we know him best as Lawrence of Arabia) and the British military used to let guys like Lawrence, who were forced to retire by an age standard as an officer, to reenlist at the lowest rank, under an assumed name. For those who all they knew was the military, this could be life-saving. How wonderful it would be for organizations to be this open and welcoming so that someone could continue on and transition in the final quarter of their work life in a way that didn’t leave them waiting for the axe to fall.

Jesus challenges us to never become so full of ourselves that we can’t take the lowest of ranks and for those of us who are leaders to realize that we are here to serve others, not the other way around. When we practice servant leadership, it is not only rewarding to others, it can also be freeing to us. When we subordinate our egos and spend our time to work with all levels of co-workers, we are giving back in a great way. Most importantly, we are modeling the life of our Lord, who didn’t see rank, titles, or authority. The One who had all the authority and power, always gave it away so that others were built up and strengthened. What can we be doing today to be more His way?

Reference: Luke 22:26 (New Living Testament)