Opinion Articles

*Leadership based on service rather than power
By Kate Nesbitt
Kate Nesbitt is Pastoral Associate for Children's Ministry for the Chisholm Region of the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle. She holds a Bachelor of Theology from Brisbane College of Theology. Kate is a Novocastrian born and bred but her current career in ministry as well as her previous one as a Guide Dog Instructor have led her to live and work in various places along the east coast from Melbourne to Bowen in Northern Queensland.

Leadership is a word that we have been hearing a lot lately. Sadly, however, much of what we are hearing is rather negative. The diaries of Mark Latham and the content and consequences are swirling around and posing confronting questions about leadership in our political institutions. Decisions taken by leaders of nations reverberate globally. Now more than ever in our world where globalisation connects us instantly regardless of how far apart we are ideologically and culturally, decisions made throughout the world totally remote from us, can be made in our name and have direct impact on our lives. The importance of good leadership or perhaps a lack of it was also demonstrated it would seem during the nightmare of Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath that was and is so costly in terms of life and material goods. The list could go on.

Whilst this problem of leadership is acutely current and in some senses exacerbated in our closely connected modern world it is by no means restricted to the 21st century!

There have been great leaders of many different kinds throughout history and whilst our history books, our news archives and our hearts hold dear names like, Gandhi, Mandela and Romero, there are so many smaller but in some ways more important examples of good and true leadership that we have the opportunity to experience each day.

Recently Novocastrians had the occasion to meet a young man displaying great leadership skills. Hugh Evans, the 2004 Young Australian of the Year, spoke at the 2005 Hunter Valley Research Foundation Lecture Series. He is a vibrant young man in his early twenties who has taken to heart the injustice of global inequalities. He has passionately acted to address this issue in creative ways including forming the Oaktree Foundation to lead other 18-23 year olds to become aware of the plight of needy people in developing countries and raise funds to help them. This is the sort of effective leadership that our world needs.

The radical model of servant leadership that Jesus Christ puts before us calls us to lead through action and service which benefit and help others. This is no soft option! It is difficult enough to serve those we are closely connected to and like, but when it comes to strangers – refugees, homeless people, people who look and act differently from the way we look and act – it can be extremely difficult.

Perhaps one of the reasons why there at times seems to be an absence of good leadership in our world today is because many have lost sight of leadership being based in service rather than power. In our society and culture which is ever increasingly focused on the good of the individual, perhaps one way we can educate current and future generations to become sound leaders is to teach that leadership is about giving, nurturing and encouraging rather than about amassing power.