Blessed Island (2026)

06/11/2024

Satya Nadella — CEO, Microsoft
When you think of warm, employee-friendly cultures, Microsoft may not be the first company you think of. Their history of workaholic, brutal work of Bill Gates, and the over-exuberant, sales-driven approach of Steve Ballmer don’t bring servant leadership to mind.

However, in 2014 Satya Nadella took the reins of Microsoft and dramatically changed the culture and the company’s trajectory by taking it in a very different cultural direction.

And what was the result of the new vision? In short, after 4 years, the value of Microsoft shares tripled.

Microsoft stock price after Satya Nadella took over with servant leadership
Microsoft stock price after Satya Nadella took over
The success of Satya
When Satya Nadella took over as CEO of Microsoft in 2014, he made listening to employees at all levels a priority. According to Forbes, he spent his first year as CEO engaging with employees across the company. This helped him shift the culture toward innovation, inclusion, and engagement.

In one defining statement, Nadella said: "We need to believe in the ability of people to grow and develop. We need to build a growth mindset organization." He realized the power of coaching and support, and made it a cornerstone of Microsoft's "Model, Coach, Care" framework.

Nadella made it clear that he expected every single employee at Microsoft to embrace a leadership role. But he soon realized there was an issue — he found that there were over 100 different definitions of "leadership" depending on where you worked in the massive company.

To address this, Nadella brought together a diverse team of leaders and asked them to come to a consensus on a simplified, unified meaning of what leadership means at Microsoft.

In an interview with Inc. he outlined three key things great leaders should create:

Clarity — in uncertain times, leaders must bring clarity to the path forward. As Nadella stated, "Your ability to come into an uncertain time and an uncertain future and bring about clarity is key."
Energy — leaders must inspire their teammates and create contagious enthusiasm. Nadella cautioned against those who say "everything around me is terrible" rather than energizing their team. He noted that "There is no simple thing that is always under your control, so the idea is that you have got to create energy all around you."
Success, no matter the circumstances — great leaders deliver results despite constraints. They don't make excuses but find ways to succeed in an "overconstrained space.
Nadella’s approach to listening, combined with encouraging leaders to bring positive energy to their teams is the kind of servant leadership that helps make it easier for employees to also want to bring positive energy and empathy to customers.

Most importantly, across these leaders — Cheryl Bachelder, Herb Kelleher, and Satya Nadella — show us that true leadership isn't just about charts and graphs; it's about caring for your people, empowering them, listening, and bringing positive energy.

06/11/2024

Herb Kelleher — Cofounder and CEO (former), Southwest Airlines
This quote best demonstrates the leadership philosophy of Herb Kelleher, which is very servant leadership-like:

"Your employees come first. And if you treat your employees right, guess what? Your customers come back, and that makes your shareholders happy. Start with employees and the rest follows from that."

Kelleher modeled Southwest Airlines after Pacific Southwest Airlines, a successful short-haul carrier in California. He wanted to create affordable flights between Texas cities, such as Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.

Though an attorney by profession, Kelleher persevered for four years fighting legal battles to get Southwest off the ground, believing he was defending free enterprise. He and his partners kept operations simple – single aircraft type (it was Boeing 737), point-to-point routes, fast plane turns.

Kelleher believed a leader's most important role is to build a strong culture by hiring the right people. At Southwest he created a “culture of commitment” devoted to employee happiness, which he believed would lead to happy customers. This was quite the differentiator in the commoditized airline industry

Southwest Airlines stock price
Southwest Airlines stock price thanks to servant leadership
Employee happiness and customer experience were top priorities for Kelleher. He wanted passengers to feel that they had one of the most enjoyable flights possible. This approach paid off. As noted in Fortune, Southwest maintained an incredible streak of over 40 consecutive profitable years, even continuing this legacy after he stepped down as CEO in 2001. Kelleher left an enduring legacy of how servant leadership principles can grow a business, and the success of the business

06/11/2024

Cheryl Bachelder — Former CEO, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
Ever heard of the book "Dare To Serve"? It's a goldmine for anyone interested in servant leadership. The author, Cheryl Bachelder, was the CEO of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen.

“Leadership is not about your ambition. It is about bringing out the ambitions of your team.”

She took a struggling food chain and turned it into a major success story, all by nurturing a servant leadership culture.

The stock price of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen was around $10.25 when Bachelder took the CEO role in November 2007. During her 10 year run, she led the company to new heights of success as their stock price soared to $75 per share by the end of her tenure:

Popeyes stocks after servant leadership
Popeyes stock price thanks to servant leadership
How did she do it?
When Bachelder joined in 2007, she realized the company viewed internal and external stakeholders negatively. As a result, Popeyes was struggling with declining sales and low morale.

To address this, Bachelder focused on "serving people well to generate better business results" through a servant leadership approach. She rallied employees around bold goals to revitalize the company.

“Defining the principles of the culture and holding the team accountable to those principles is fundamentally the work and the responsibility of the leader. … Without principles in action, the leader cannot drive superior results—and may, in fact, risk disaster.”

To accomplish this, Bachelder established six principles to transform the culture:

We are passionate about what we do.
We listen carefully and learn continuously.
We are fact-based and planful.
We coach and develop our people.
We are personally accountable.
We value humility.
As she described it, the emphasis was on "we" not "I." Treating people with dignity allowed everyone to feel purpose.

As a result of Bachelder's servant leadership approach, Popeyes' restaurant sales rose 45%, profits doubled, and stock price tripled. Her story shows the power of leading with empathy, vision and courage.

06/11/2024

Servant leadership boosts sales and profits
For those who want the most concrete data, and care most about the bottom line, the final data point on the value of servant leadership is the biggest one.

A study by Vincent Giolito and colleagues looked at 55 stores within one company in France. They found that stores with managers rated highly on servant leadership saw greater growth in sales and profits, even during a crisis:

“…while only 22 of the 55 stores in our sample achieved positive profit growth, 18 of those 22 successful stores had managers rated above average for servant leadership.”

And as they looked deeper, they found:

"Not only is servant leadership good for people management and employee morale – it also has a positive impact on company performance, measured by growth in sales and profit."

It may feel warm and fuzzy to focus on things like employee morale, but nothing proves a point stronger than the impact on the bottom line. The fact is, servant leadership can help your bottom line, and later, we’ll show you examples of when leaders of publicly traded companies saw the same as well.

06/11/2024

Servant leadership boosts employee performance
Research shows that taking a servant leadership approach can directly improve how well your team members perform their jobs. Researchers at the Prince Sultan University in Saudi Arabia surveyed 233 supervisor-subordinate pairs to look at how servant leadership impacted individual employee performance.

They found servant leadership management style strongly predicted better task performance and organizational citizenship behaviors (helping teammates, volunteering for extra work, promoting the company culture) from subordinates.

The researchers explained it this way:

"Servant leadership strongly predicted affective trust, organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), and task performance of subordinates.

…When servant leaders manage to develop quality relationships with their subordinates by inducing cognitive and affective trust, it results in a reciprocal exchange and the extra-role behaviors "

In short, servant leadership leads to greater emotional bonds and trust between leaders and team members. This trust inspires employees to work harder and go beyond expectations.

Servant leadership enhances psychological safety.

Psychological safety is the belief that you won't be embarrassed or punished for speaking up with questions, ideas, or concerns. In his book, Serve to Be Great: Leadership Lessons from a Prison, a Monastery, and a Boardroomone, Matt Tanney explains that servant leadership helps with creating psychologically safe work environments. This happens through the strong bonds of trust servant leaders form with their team.

“When employees feel psychologically safe, they engage more with their work and their co-workers. It can impact everything from innovation to retention in an organization.

Servant leaders build trust and forge authentic connections with team members by honing their emotional intelligence and leading with self-awareness, compassion, honesty, and transparency.”

When you show compassion, act with transparency, and demonstrate care for people's well-being, they feel "safe" with you.

Your team knows you have their back. They can be vulnerable without fear of being attacked or mocked.

This safety to take risks and be themselves unlocks great benefits:

More engagement. People enjoy working more when they feel trusted and respected.
Better collaboration. Teams brainstorm and problem solve better when they feel psychological safety.
Increased innovation. Game-changing ideas require the freedom to think big without fear of failure, and the ability to debate and discuss freely..
Higher retention. People don't quit bosses who make them feel valued and heard.
These are benefits any leader would like to experience.

06/11/2024

Leadership isn’t a new concept; there have been leaders since the creation of the world. But when JESUS came along, HE decided to flip the narrative of leadership on its head. People didn't expect that — at all. And it’s not the kind of marketing strategy you’d find in a best-selling “how-to” leadership book today.

In Matthew 20:25-28 (NLT), this is what JESUS said about leadership:
“But JESUS called them together and said, ‘You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the SON of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.’”

There’s this beautiful Christian-ese phrase we use to describe the kind of person JESUS talks about in Matthew 20 — a “servant leader.” In CHRIST, the goal of our leadership is not to grab power but to serve.

Leadership isn’t about making our names known. It’s about making GOD’s name known.
Leadership isn’t about shining the spotlight on ourselves. It’s about giving GOD the center stage, and having the ability to love and respect the people in our care, using the authority we’ve been given with grace.

06/11/2024

Qualities of a Servant-Leader:

#7 - Preparedness
Proverbs 6:6-8: Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.

Proverbs 21:20: Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling, but a foolish man devours it.

Proverbs 24:27: Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.

Luke 14:28-30: For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

Matthew 25:1-13: The Parable of the Ten Virgins emphasizes being prepared for CHRIST’s return. The five wise virgins took oil in their vessels with their lamps, while the five foolish did not. When the Bridegroom came, only those who were prepared went in with HIM.

1 Peter 3:15: But in your hearts honor CHRIST the LORD as Holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.

Ephesians 6:13-17: Therefore take up the whole armor of GOD, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the Gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of GOD.

2 Timothy 4:2: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

Genesis 41:33-36: Here, Joseph suggests storing up grain during the seven years of plenty to be prepared for the seven years of famine. It’s a great example of foresight and planning.

Amos 4:12: Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your GOD, O Israel!

Proverbs 22:3: The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

Exodus 12:11: This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD’s Passover.

Proverbs 30:25: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer.

1 Thessalonians 5:2-6: For you know very well that the day of the LORD will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the Light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.

Luke 12:35-40: Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when HE comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for HIM. It will be good for those servants whose Master finds them watching when HE comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose Master finds them ready, even if HE comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the SON of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect HIM.

1 Corinthians 16:13: Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.

Proverbs 27:12: The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the naive continue on and suffer the penalty.

Hebrews 11:7: By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

2 Chronicles 31:21: In everything that he undertook in the service of GOD’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his GOD and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.

Remember, being prepared is not just about the here and now; it’s about setting a solid foundation for your faith journey. While being physically prepared and doing what you are able is important, being spiritually prepared is the only thing we can truly count on. We are thankful that while we face an uncertain future, we serve a GOD who knows the beginning from the end and we can trust HIM always.

06/11/2024

Qualities of a Servant-Leader:

#6 - Empathy
Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. — Romans 12:15 (NLT)

How many times have you had a friend or family member sit with you when you were hurting? Have you ever received an encouraging note from someone when you needed it most?

Think about what it meant for you to have a person truly empathize with you during your struggles.

Empathy for a servant leader is simply being able to visualize yourself in someone else's position. It helps you to understand what someone is feeling.

Empathy is a key aspect of leadership. It’s easy to get hyper-focused on tasks and the work that we do. Work is important and accomplishing goals is too! But if we’re not careful, we can begin to see people as problems to be solved instead of human beings to be loved.

When we’re able to take time out of our day to empathize with those around us and put ourselves in their shoes, we become more like JESUS. Whenever JESUS encountered someone who was hurting or in need of encouragement, HE looked at them and had compassion for them. Then HE acted.

A servant leader can see people through the eyes of JESUS. That’s the kind of leader that others follow!

06/11/2024

Qualities of a Servant-Leader:

#5 - Stewardship
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of GOD's varied grace. — 1 Peter 4:10 (ESV)

GOD’s given so many different spiritual gifts to HIS people. Could you imagine what life would be like if everyone thought, looked and acted the same? The world would be so dull!

When you hear the word “stewardship,” your mind probably goes straight to money. One of Merriam-Webster’s definitions of the word is “the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care.”

But stewardship is not just about managing your money wisely, though that’s part of it! It’s just as important to be good stewards of the people GOD has placed in our lives.

So while being good stewards of our finances is definitely something GOD wants us to do, that’s not the only thing we can steward!
A servant leader sees people as valuable to GOD and stewards their time and talents well. This kind of leader calls out what is good and true about the people they lead, giving them instruction and encouragement in how to serve GOD well. A servant leader uses their time for GOD’s glory, not their own.

When this kind of person interacts with you, you’ll know it. You’ll leave interactions feeling like you are valued by them and GOD, and that your talents are being leveraged for the kingdom. That’s an example worth following!

06/11/2024

Qualities of a Servant-Leader:

#4 - Resilience
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to JESUS, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before HIM endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of GOD. — Hebrews 12:1‑2 (ESV)

Set in the context of running, the first two verses of Hebrews 12 define a life of resilience. It’s a quality that comes from building up spiritual endurance to the point where you’re actually thriving in challenging situations.

If you’ve ever trained for a race or played a sport, you know that endurance doesn’t just happen overnight. Initially, you have to trick your body into liking long distances! You run short distances first and then build up to longer ones. You get blisters and you take water breaks, but eventually you can run farther and longer.

Life will always have challenges: fights we cannot win, mountains we just can’t climb and dark valleys with no visible way out.

Resilience in the Christian life can only happen when we look to JESUS.
But in the midst of life’s challenges, GOD’s constant presence is our source of comfort. HE doesn’t always fix our circumstance, and sometimes the solution isn’t on our timetable, but HE will always help us get through it — with love, strength, patience and more.

Resilience is only possible by relying on JESUS. If we rely on ourselves and our own strength, we’ll fail every time — we’ll faceplant in the middle of our race and quit.

Servant leaders recognize that struggles are real and life is difficult, but GOD is in control. Resilience isn’t an absence of fear, challenges or momentary failures. Resilience is the ability to bounce back, to push through and to press on based on the truth that GOD has enabled us to persevere because HE is our ultimate source of strength.

06/11/2024

Qualities of a Servant-Leader:

#3 - Flexibility
I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through CHRIST, who gives me strength. — Philippians 4:12‑13 (NLT)

Servant leaders practice flexibility — they’re willing to adapt to their situations and surroundings. They recognize that life can throw them into unexpected situations or challenges.

But instead of allowing those unexpected events to cause anger, confusion or panic, a godly response looks different:

Servant leaders recognize that GOD is present in every circumstance, and they have the willingness to practice being flexible and actually invite change!

It can be easy to get stuck in routines, with one set way of doing things. But a servant leader’s ability to recognize change for what it is — an opportunity for growth and faith — will help as they lead others well.

Blessed Island

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