Serving With Conviction: The Gift of Leadership

The leader who leads and serves well is an inspiration to those who follow. The leader is the individual whose followers believe and turn to for guidance in making decisions based on what is expected of them.

The leadership role consists of the leader setting a standard of loyalty for the followers and developing trusting relationships with individuals that value their expertise. However, if the leader decides not to look out for the best interest of followers and those individuals whose lives depend on the leader’s effectiveness, this incidence can lead to a devastating experience both physically, mentally, and spiritually for those individuals who trust the leader.

Serving with conviction requires inner and outer mind balance, self-awareness of strengths and weaknesses, investing and mentoring for other servant leaders, and the call of humanity.

As a professional nurse, I understand the importance of developing a trusting relationship with patients, their families, and certified nursing assistants who I direct throughout the day. On one occasion, while working at a local hospital in Phoenix Arizona, a serious discussion about nurses being allowed to wear acrylic nails (artificial nails) while caring for patients came up. The clinical director initiated the conversation.

“Nurses are considered “Angels of Mercy.” said the clinical director but what if the “Angels of Mercy” become the cause of death for a patient?”

Although, the acrylic nails were fashionable and many nurses loved wearing the acrylic nails, the patient was in harm’s way because of a possible infection called Pseudomonas which is a green fungus that forms under the acrylic nails which has caused some cases of partial amputation of the nurse’s finger and serious infections for the patients.

What was my responsibility as a leader? How can I work with my staff and protect my patients from getting an infection at the same time?

The serving leader “input” must match up with the serving leader’s “output.” What the leader says must be a testimony to what he does. The serving leader serves the follower which is considered a calling instead of merely a job. The serving leader is serving the followers for the benefit of the follower’s life improving because of being served and encouraged.

The leader who serves with conviction is a leader that is aware of personal beliefs, values and attitudes toward life occurrences. The serving leader understands self-awareness as the key to better serve others. Serving with conviction involves the leader being knowledgeable about strengths, weaknesses, and how to deal with those who follow their leadership.

The leader who serves with conviction looks at ways to incorporate other servant leaders. The serving leader encourages their followers to become servant leaders by following the example of the current serving leader. For example, the followers trust the leader and consider the leader to be a role model and inspiration for the followers, which is an incentive to become a servant leader.

Serving with conviction requires an inner self-connection and a supernatural experience in serving others. The serving leader realizes leadership is a gift of hope, possibilities, safety of followers and development. Leading with conviction means the leader thinks less of self and more of fulfilling the greater call of humanity through transformation and lending a helping hand.

This article originally appeared in the Summer 2024 issue of CHOICES Magazine