People Who Have Been Identified as Classic Servant Leaders
• Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges, in “Jesus: The Greatest Example of a Servant Leader,” provide a worthy illustration of how the important thing about being an effective servant leader is not what happens when you’re there—it’s what happens when you’re not there.
• John Hope Bryant, in “Andrew Young: Partner in Servant Leadership to Martin Luther King Jr.,” relates how the relationship between King and Young remains an almost perfect example of a servant leadership partnership between two great men.
• In her essay “Pat Summitt: Steely Eyes, Servant Heart,” Tamika Catchings captures how Coach Summit, while a fierce competitor, made sure her players always came first. She was a servant leader who focused on both results and people.
• Tony Baron, in “Dallas Willard: The Smartest Man I Ever Met,” describes how his mentor inspired greatness with his servant heart as he humbly taught and encouraged people he met on his journey.
• In “Henry Blackaby: A Lifelong Servant Leader,” Richard Blackaby shares how his father, Henry, the great pastor and writer, has always modeled that we do not lead organizations—we lead people. And when we impact people as a servant leader, we change the world.
• Jim Dittmar, in “Frances Hesselbein: To Serve Is to Live,” describes an exemplary servant leader who, with grace and humility, through organizations such as Girl Scouts of the USA and the Drucker Foundation, has made a positive impact on thousands of lives.
• In his essay “Charlie ‘Tremendous’ Jones: A Sermon Seen,” Mark Sanborn illustrates how “Tremendous” lived out the philosophy that the best servant leaders don’t just tell us how to lead, they show us.