“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Truly great leaders understand that leadership is not a right or an entitlement. Leadership is a privilege…a privilege to serve others. A tremendous responsibility and calling that should not be taken lightly. As Sir William Osler asserts…“We are here to add what we can to, not get what we can from life.”
Yet, we live in an age, where in many ways, servant leadership and service to others is a dying calling. Altruistic leaders who place the needs of their people and organizations they lead above their own wants and needs are not in abundance. Misplaced priorities of our modern day society and the state of many of our organizations gives warrant to these assertions.
Which is why real servant leaders are a truly special breed. They live by a calling beyond and above themselves. They acknowledge that titles and positions are often fleeting…service to others is their foundation and rock. Each position has its season and when we hold too tightly to those titles and positions, we often lose our way.
Servant leaders give thanks for their time of leading…for each season. For it is not about the ranks to which others aspire, but for the lives they change and transform. They serve with gratitude. Gratitude and thanksgiving…for the problems they face, they needs they fill, and the lives they touch.
So during this season of Thanksgiving…let us have gratitude for our time and season of leadership and for the lives of those we are privileged to touch and transform. Let our hearts be filled with gratitude for this honor to serve others.
“There is no more noble occupation in the world than to assist another human being, to help someone succeed.” -Alan Loy McGinnis
DCulberhouse 
Beautifully written… I hope this is what people aspire to be like. The world would be a much better place. I’m grateful for you for writing this post, to remind me of what is truly important.
Sincerely,
Joy
Excellent job, David. True servant leaders are few and far between. We should all be thankful for the positions we have been given and remember why we truly exist.