Inspire Next-Gen Leaders to Serve (Paradoxical Leadership)

Millennials and Serving

This week I continue to cross-reference excerpts from 2 books I wrote: Leadership Shift: Paradoxical Wisdom for Today’s Leaders, and my soon to be released book Millennials Matter.

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Excerpt from Millennials Matter

Research has shown that the more people feel loved at work, the more engaged and productive they are. “Employees who felt they worked in a loving, caring culture reported higher levels of satisfaction and teamwork. They showed up to work more often. Our research also demonstrated that this type of culture related directly to client outcomes,” states Harvard Business Review in the 2014 article, “Employees Who Feel Love Perform Better.”

While this might be true for every generation, I believe love is something that can potentially have an enormously positive impact on your Millennial team members. Numerous studies on Millennials report that this so-called narcissistic generation has a seemingly natural inclination to make this world a better place. Whether it’s a telephone call, a simple note in the mail, or an e-mail message, it doesn’t have to cost much or take up much of your time.

In high school, I announced I was planning to use St. Francis’ famous prayer as the closing to my graduation speech.  Not everyone was impressed.
“St. Francis wasn’t a rich man, so you can’t use him to measure success,” the superintendent instructed me.  “Danita,” he continued, “your job is to inspire leaders to be successful. St. Francis, he wasn’t successful.  He was just a poor monk. To inspire leaders to success, you need a stronger image.”In spite of the concern, I believed St. Francis’s prayer was apropos. Even though it was written close to a thousand years ago, every word of that prayer still carries a strong moral message for our modern society.  Then, as now, the Prayer of St. Francis called me to a higher purpose for my life – an ideal that each of us can strive for in all aspects of our lives.To this day, that prayer hangs in my office as a daily reminder to answer the call to servant leadership in my business and personal life.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
Where there is sadness, joy
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O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console
to be understood, as to understand
to be loved, as to love
For it is in giving that we receive
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
And, it is in dying that we are born
to Eternal Life

The concept of serving leadership should not be misunderstood, though. Leaders are not merely  servants of those they lead, but serve best when they ensure they draw strength from their relationships with self, others, and God.  Dr Mark McCloskey uses the 4R Model of Leadership to illustrate how leaders should consistently execute on the core leadership roles and their key responsibilities namely:

• • Relationships
  • Roles
  • Responsibilities
  • Results

Can we, as seasoned Business and Sales Leaders, use these principles when we mentor Next-Gen Leaders in our organizations?

Leadership Lesson:  Love is the ultimate measure of our lives, in work and at home.

​​© Copyright Danita Bye, 2017