What You Get When You Lead Like a Servant (and What You Lose If You Don’t)
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In fast-moving leadership cultures, servant leadership can feel like a liability. It’s slower. Less visible. Often, less rewarded, at least in the short term. But over time, servant leadership doesn’t just feel better. I argue that it performs better, scales better, and lasts longer.
I’ve seen this tension play out again and again with friends and acquaintances over the years: the leader who chooses humility over speed, service over self-preservation, quietly outlasts the one who rushes to the top without taking people with them. And I don’t just mean spiritually, the results often show up in the ways companies typically measure success: performance and outcomes.
The short-term gains of power-centered leadership are a boost in productivity or in quick gains, but are usually short-lived and leaving burnt bridges behind. But servant leadership? It builds loyalty. It fosters ownership. It creates cultures that don't just function but flourish.
“Leadership is not about controlling people. It’s about caring for people and being a useful resource for people.”
—James C. Hunter, The Servant
James Hunter outlines this clearly in his book. A servant leader doesn’t see his team as a tool, as a resource, but as a partnership. In the long run, I have seen time and time again that servant leadership leaves a trail of depth and clarity that fast leadership rarely matches, a real legacy that often outlasts the leader's tenure.
A Word on Mark 10:42–45
“But Jesus called them to him and said to them, ‘You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’”
—Mark 10:42–45 (ESV)
The call is clear. If you are a Christian, a Jesus-follower, this is a command to become a servant to others rather than look to lord over others. If you are not a Jesus-follower, this is still great leadership advice that has been followed by some of the most impactful leaders in history.
The key is… humility.
As a leader, you must recognize the value of those you lead and lift them up. Only then will you be able to lead the team as a whole to your goal, while creating a sustainable, scalable system that will last.
What You Get When You Lead Like a Servant
While servant leadership is selfless in its nature, there are some clear gains that come as a result…
1. Trust That Outlives Tenure
Servant leaders don’t need to micromanage because their team trusts their WHY. Over time, that kind of trust creates a psychological safety net that produces innovation and candid feedback, two things you cannot buy with incentives.
2. People Who Own the Mission
When people are served, not used, they don’t just show up for the paycheck or the perks. They show up with purpose, with drive. They defend the culture. They protect the values. They take personal responsibility for results. These are the cornerstones for long-term, successful performance of a team.
3. Resilience in Transition
Servant-led teams can handle change much better than those led by power or position. Why? Because the leader has already modeled humility, empathy, and shared decision-making. When change hits, the foundation is relational.
What You Lose If You Don’t
Now, I understand that with servant leadership come risks, the risks that come with humility and with putting others above you, even when a quick, authoritative decision may make more sense in the short term. However, I believe the risks of avoiding servant leadership are actually greater than the risks of serving.
1. Your Credibility, Slowly, Then All at Once
Power-based leadership may seem effective in the short term, but over time, teams learn to protect themselves from you, not follow you. Silence replaces honesty. Compliance replaces commitment. Eventually, disconnection takes over, and people leave. Performance and drive that come from buy-in will always beat those that come only from the need for another paycheck.
2. Your Influence Where It Matters Most
If people only follow you when you’re watching, you haven’t built leadership; that’s just surveillance. If the only reason you want your remote team back in an office where you can see them is for closer control, then trust may be the main deficiency. Real influence happens when people internalize the mission, not when they fear the presence of the leader.
3. Your Own Spiritual Anchoring
Jesus said it plainly:
“Whoever would be great among you must be your servant… for even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.”
—Mark 10:43–45 (ESV)
If leadership isn’t re-centering your soul, it’s probably draining it. When we stop serving, we start drifting. From God, from others, and from the kind of person we hoped we’d be when we first said yes to this work.
In short, the ROI of servant leadership is much higher in the long run than that of power-led leadership, both for the leader as well as for the organization.
TL;DR – If You Only Remember This:
Servant leadership may look inefficient, but it produces strategic trust and a lasting culture.
Leaders who don’t serve eventually lose what made them worth following.
The ROI of servant leadership shows up in loyalty, resilience, and deep influence, things power-based leadership can never manufacture.
Self-Check: Are You Leading to Serve or to Be Seen?
If part of you is leading to be seen, the aim here isn’t for you to shame or condemn yourself, but rather to approach this area with curiosity.
What need are you expecting leadership to meet in your life?
As a recovering approval addict, I (Chris) know how seductive the praise and approval of others can be. Just to cut to the chase, our approval needs can only be met by God, and if we mistakenly take them to the world, pain for ourselves and others will be the inevitable result.
The leaders who get the majority of their approval needs met by God can lead in a way few others can. They are able to walk into rooms with a genuine heart to bless and encourage rather than to be affirmed. This, as you may already realize, makes all the difference in the world.
Take a quiet moment this week and ask yourself:
When was the last time I chose inconvenience for the sake of my team’s clarity?
Do I celebrate people privately as well as publicly?
If I left tomorrow, what would my team say about the legacy I left?
To close off, I’d love to hear from you and your experience. Who has led you like a servant, and how did it change you? A former manager? A parent? A teacher?
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This post was co-written by
, Lead Pastor of Riverland Church in Summerville, SC, and .For grounded, day-by-day biblical insights—including reflections like “Why I Hate the Word Religion”—subscribe to Chris Russo’s Substack below.
For more biblically rooted leadership and personal growth insights—especially tools for navigating the tension and change of mission-driven work—subscribe to Leadership in Change by Joel Salinas.
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Love this! I especially like your 3 benefits of servant leadership. The phrase going through my head while I read was “yes, exactly - because people don’t forget how you make them feel.” 🙏🏽💜