Leadership is Stewarship - Greenleaf Part 8

With every dollar contributed to the organization comes an incredible responsibility of integrity. With every student that is enrolled in our school comes the sobering reality that parents are entrusting us with their most precious possession. With every employee under contract comes the God-given duty to protect and provide for those individuals. Integrity, trust and duty are all words of stewardship.

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A solid definition of stewardship is holding something in trust for another person. Servant leadership assumes, first and foremost, a commitment to serving the needs of others. Thus, Greenleaf (1991) includes stewardship as one of his 10 characteristics of servant leadership. This characteristic brings with it the weights of responsibility, perseverance, diligence, ownership, and accountability.

I love walking by the big glass breezeways at one of our campuses because some of these breezeways face the outside areas where our elementary and junior high students play. I get a kick out of watching them enjoy one another and the activities being provided. The sounds of their laughter are such music to my ears. I see friends playing side by side. I hear shouts of excitement... cheers from teammates....encouragements from the teachers. Occasionally there are disagreements and even tears, then I see loving counsel and intervention from adults as they take advantage of a teachable moment. And as I stand for a few minutes and observe the activity of the students, I am often impressed with the grave responsibility of caring for these young lives. God has charged us with the nurturing of these precious people... the parents have sent them off to school with the confidence that we will look after them as if they were our own children. We must be their parents while they are under our care.

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Our school has recently undergone some serious financial crises. Because of the severity of the financial situation, some of the former leadership wrongly decided to use some designated funds to meet the operational budget of the school. This foolish decision resulted in many stakeholders losing trust in our financial integrity (and rightfully so). The school system has corrected these financial practices and restored all designated money to the proper accounts, but we will be regaining the trust of others for some time to come. Stewardship demands honesty and ethical integrity. Lack of stewardship can destroy a reputation in a moment.

Stewardship is a corporate responsibility as the leadership manages the resources and assets of the organization. Stewardship also reaches throughout the institution as each employee is called to careful stewardship. Stewardship can involve the proper use of materials, using the time on the clock with wisdom and diligence, and being careful to represent the organization in positive ways. Using your emotions to bring optimism to your coworkers... demonstrating support toward your superiors even when the task ahead of you is difficult.... submitting your work on time and with accuracy... all of these reflect an attitude of stewardship. The alignment of stewardship throughout the organization is imperative if an effective culture of ministry is to be obtained. From the CEO to the custodian...from the classroom teacher to the bus driver... from the coach to the principal...every employee is a critical cog in the wheel of stewardship.

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The definition of stewardship is holding something in trust for another person. Ultimately the other person is not the parent, nor the CEO, nor the board of directors, but rather God Himself. He will be the final judge of our faithfulness and integrity. How important it is for my life and effectiveness as a leader to assess my stewardship on a regular basis with the ethical standards of God's word.

Greenleaf, R.K. (1991). The servant as leader Indianapolis, IN; The Robert Greenleaf Center.