'Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all'.      From the Book of Mark

Stephen Covey, Author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, says that we often climb the ladder of success only to find that when we reach the top, the ladder stood against the wrong wall. Not only is the view not what we expected it to be, but we also realize that we have lost the things we value the most, e.g family, friends, health, strength of character, service to our community and getting in touch with our spirituality.

The saddest part is that we often know or at least sense that the ladder we climb is not the right one for us and that we will ultimately feel empty and purposeless. Think about it. Many millionaires and successful business people commit suicide because of feeling unfulfilled. Yet we continue climbing. Why? Because we have been conditioned by our environment and the media that this is the only way to achieve real success and significance. 

The corporate world most often illustrates this fallacy. Many leaders nowadays are promoted beyond their level of competence, specifically when it comes to leading people. But because climbing the ladder is the only way to gain what we desire (or so we believe), this is what we do. We do not sit back and ask whether we are ready for a promotion or not. "To thine own self be true", says Shakespeare, but we rather avoid thinking about who we truly are and what we are really capable of doing. In the process, some 'appointed' leaders leave behind many dead bodies, all in the name of advancement of company goals (or national goals for that matter), but more likely for personal glory and honor. You may even be able to think of such a leader right now.

But then we get those leaders who are ready for 'promotion', who are authentic and true to themselves, who know their strengths and weaknesses and understand their leadership limitations, but most importantly who are Servant-Leaders. They have realized at some point in time that it's not all about fame and money, but it's about service to the world they live in. Often it comes with the price of self-sacrifice. You can probably think of examples of such leaders as well. They make the world a better place. They leave legacies of colossal magnitude, even if it's just with one person who then becomes great. Consider for a moment Anne Sullivan, who for 50 years had been the Teacher of the famous Helen Keller. We do not know much about Anne, but we know Helen Keller. Anne was a Servant-Leader who paved the way for Helen Keller to become an even greater Servant-Leader. 

I am not saying that it's wrong to climb a ladder to some sort of desired end-result or dream. I am encouraging you to think about whether you are climbing the right ladder in the right way. How often do you reflect on your role as the leader of your family, in business and/or in your community? What do people say about you? Do you talk about Servant-Leadership, but deep down actually expect to have leader servants? Are your needs and motivations founded upon self-interest or upon the greater good? 

Don't answer too quickly. Think about it. Ask others for feedback regarding your leadership and then accept their feedback as building blocks for growth. And be sure to ask yourself whether your ladder is the right one. Success and significance will surely follow.