This booklet was very difficult to read because the sentences were constructed with so much conjunctions and commas. It felt like the sentences were never ending and I tended to get lost somewhere at the middle in the process of reading it. (I know, I write worse but he’s published, I am just having fun here)

Anyway, enough of sentence construction,  I just  want to talk about the booklet’s content;

Well to make things simple, I’ll just ask these questions;

Are we servants? Yes. Are we leaders? HELL YEAH!

Why is that so?

Because according to the book, one is a leader if one has the following skills;

1.       Listening  and Understanding
2.       Acceptance and Empathy
3.       Awareness and perception
4.       Persuasion one person at a time

Well, this booklet just imposes and reiterates the concept that each and every one of us is a leader of our own lives. We do not need to have a title to prove that. All we have to do is contribute in our own  little ways. That’s all.

So, Did I read the book from cover to cover….yes but not only that..I also live the book!! I AM A SERVANT…NOW I KNOW, I AM ALSO A LEADER.

Some Concepts:

Here are my favourite lines;

“Leadership was bestowed upon a man who was by nature a servant. It was something given, or assumed, that could be taken away. His servant  nature was the real man, not bestowed, not assumed, and not to be taken away. He was a servant first.” – pg 9

“A new moral principle is emerging which holds that the only authority deserving one’s allegiance is that which is freely and knowingly granted by the led to the leader in response to, and in proportion to, the clearly evident servant stature of the leader. Those who choose to follow this principle will not casually accept the authority of existing institutions. Rather, they will freely respond only to individuals who are chosen as leaders because they are proven and trusted servants.” – pg 11-12

“The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served.”  Pg 15

“ The natural servant, the person who is servant first, is more likely to preserve and refine his hypothesis on what serves another’s highest priority needs than is the person who is a leader first and who later serves out of promptings of conscience or in conformity with normative expectations.” Pg 16

“Perhaps this is the current problem: too many who presume to lead do not see more clearly and, in defense, their inadequacy, they all the more strongly argue that the “system” must be preserved – fatal error in this day of candor.” –pg 16

“Part of it, I believe, with those who lead, is that the usual leader in the face of a difficulty tends to react by trying to find someone else to whom to pin the problem, rather than his automatic response being, “ I have a problem. What is it? What can I do about my problem?” The sensible man who takes the latter course will probably react by listening, and somebody in the situation is likely to tell him what his problem is and what he should do about it. Or, he will hear that he will get an intuitive insight that resolves it.” – pg 18

“It’s because true listening builds strength in other people.” Pg 19

“There are those who are so constituted physically and emotionally that they like pressure-seek it out-and they perform best when they are totally intense. And there are those who do not like pressure, do not thrive under it, but who want to lead and are willing to endure the pressure in  order to have the opportunity.” Pg 20

“The servant, by definition, is fully human. The servant leader is functionally superior because he is closer to the ground-he hears things, sees things, knows things and his intuitive insight is exceptional. Because of this, he is dependable and trusted.” – Pg 43

“In Short, the enemy is strong natural servants who have the potential to lead but do not lead, or who choose to follow a non-servant. They suffer. Society suffers. And so it may be I the future. “ Pg 46