The Calling - Servant Leadership Series

Most people don’t wake up one day and decide they want to be a leader.

They feel something first.

A pull.

A responsibility.

A moment where they realize, someone needs to step up - and for whatever reason, that someone might be them.

That's the calling.

Not the title.

Not the authority.

Not the power.

The calling is the quiet decision to care before you’re asked to. To take ownership before you’re in charge. To serve long before anyone is watching.

For me, leadership didn’t start with influence. It started with awareness - seeing how much impact one person can have on another, for better or worse. I saw this most within my athletic teams growing up. Seeing teams rise when they feel supported by every coach and player. And fall apart when one put themselves before the team. 

I’ve learned that the best leaders aren’t driven by ego or ambition or money. They’re driven by a sense of duty to something bigger than themselves. 

It is something deep within leaders, a sense of responsibility. To the people they lead. To their peers. To the culture they shape. To the standard they set, especially when it’s inconvenient.

Servant leadership begins here.

With the calling to serve first.

Before the platform.

Before the recognition.

Before the certainty that you’ll get it right.

Even before you’re in a role with authority.

And the truth is - this calling doesn’t always feel noble. Sometimes it feels heavy. Sometimes lonely. Sometimes it asks more of you than you feel ready to give. Sometimes it can drive you to exhaustion depending on the situation.

But when leadership is rooted in service, it changes how you show up. You listen more. You judge less. You seek to understand, not admonish. You stop asking, "what do I get from this?" and start asking, who needs me to be better right now and who needs me to show up for them?

That’s where real leadership starts.

Not with power—but with service.