FAT Leadership

Jesus Washes Peter's Feet

Successful leaders are “servant leaders;” they serve others instead of serving themselves.  The perfect example of servant leadership is Jesus Himself; the perfect picture was when He chose to wash The Disciple’s feet, a job reserved for a servant, not a leader (John 13:1-17).  Instead of leaders being known for selfishness and faithlessness, they should be known for being FAT.  FAT meaning:

            F - faithful

            A - available

            T - teachable

A boy named Samuel was a great example of this.  He worked in the temple, and was faithful in his work (1 Samuel 3:1); he made himself available when God called out to him (1 Samuel 3:4, 6, 8, 10), and was teachable to the authority figure over him (1 Samuel 3:15-18).

Faithful | (Matthew 25:23 / Luke 16:10)

Being faithful means to be true to one’s word.  You are trustworthy to get a task done.  You commit.  When you say you’re going to do something, you do it.  People can place their faith and trust in you.  You don’t quit because you’re bored, busy or tired of doing it.  You’re reliable.  Commitment is becoming less common among people these days, and being a person full of faithfulness can get you far in life.

Available | (Isaiah 6:8 / 1 Samuel 3)

This means simply allowing yourself to be used wherever and whenever possible.  Of course it’s impossible to always be available at every moment, but leaders endeavor to be available on a regular basis.  “Sure, I can make it,” is more common than “Sorry, I can’t make it,” for leaders.  While it may be a bit inconvenient, leaders go the extra mile and ask what else they can do to help.

Teachable | (1 Peter 5:5 / Proverbs 9:8-9)

This might be the most important one.  Leaders recognize their flaws and realize that they aren’t perfect people.  Instead of blaming other people for their faults, they take responsibility and own up to it.  Not only do they take responsibility, but also intentionally work at improving those areas of themselves.

“As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable.  And all Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord.”

(1 Samuel 3:19-20)