THE LEAD OFFICE
The Leadership Education And Development Office acts as a conduit for students to gain insights and experience through a myriad of student leadership opportunities here at Trinity Western University (TWU).
Within our culture and around the world one of the greatest needs is for leadership. Our mission at TWU is to develop godly Christian leaders who make a positive impact on the marketplaces they work in and the communities where they live. For this purpose TWU adheres to a particular paradigm of leadership known as "servant-leadership".
WHAT IS SERVANT-LEADERSHIP?
The term "servant-leadership" first became popularized by the book, Servant As Leader, written by Robert Greenleaf in 1970. Greenleaf described servant-leadership as:
“The servant-leader is servant first... It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.
Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. He or she is sharply different from the person who is
leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions.
For such it will be a later choice to serve – after leadership is established. The leader-first and the servant-first
are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human
nature.
Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. He or she is sharply different from the person who is
leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions.
For such it will be a later choice to serve – after leadership is established. The leader-first and the servant-first
are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human
nature.
The difference manifest itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest
priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer , is: do those served grow as persons;
do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to
become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit, or,
at least, will they not be further deprived?”
priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer , is: do those served grow as persons;
do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to
become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit, or,
at least, will they not be further deprived?”
- Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership
Here at TWU we strive to teach and embody the pattern of servant-leadership exemplified by Jesus Christ. Jesus explained to his followers that their practice of leadership was to be distinctly different than the self-seeking, self-serving, and domineering style of leadership often found in the world: "Whoever would be first among you must be servant of all" (Mk 10:42-44; Mt 20:25-28).
THE PRACTICE OF SERVANT-LEADERSHIP
Taking from Greenleaf's definition and the model of Jesus Christ's life the LEAD Office sees students realizing their potential as leaders by fully developing themselves as servant-leaders. Developing such an understanding of servant-leadership requires a knowledge of Christ's life, a recognition and development of servant-leadership traits in one's life and the opportunity to experiment and experience leadership first-hand.