The heart of a Servant Leader
| By Judy Muhn - Jan 18, 2011 9:28:27 AM ET |
| Also listed in: United Way for Southeastern Michigan employees |
It was just a “check in” call …. My regular contact with one of United Way’s partner agency CEO’s. He’s become a friend, an advisor on trends in the community, and how his agency is addressing the hard issues we are all facing. With revenues falling but more and more customers needing help, he and his staff continue to show their resilience, creativity and dedication.
On this day, when he answered my call, his voice sounded different. Slower, perhaps a bit slurred … it alarmed me, so I asked “Are you ok?”. “Yes, now … but we haven’t talked since before the New Year, and I had knee replacement surgery and the recovery is coming, but it’s painful. I’m working at home so I can keep my leg up.” I offered that I would keep him in my prayers for a speedy, pain-free recovery. I told him that prayers of family and friends in addition to my own meditation focus on a return to full functioning after my shoulder surgery had given me a quick and solid recovery without medications. “Prayer works”, I offered. He concurred … and then the deeper story began as he asked for prayers for his wife.
A few weeks ago, as he was recovering from the surgery, limited in movement by a walker and the inability to drive, his wife had walked out to get the mail and fell in the driveway. Hitting her head as she fell, bleeding began into her brain. In the hospital, she spent days in the ICU as her physicians worked to help her recover. While that is enough of a challenge, for this loving husband there were the multiple issues of getting to and from the hospital to support her, his own physical therapy needs, and the daily living tasks that are simple for most of us, but a trial when there is limited movement. Of course, I would pray for her and them together and separately for a return to full health and functioning.
And then the heart of this servant leader was obvious. As the CEO of one of our region’s large non-profits, his focus was on “how do our clients manage?” and he reflected on the blessing of having friends and family who brought meals, drove him back and forth to the hospital and physical therapy, and the quiet but certain support of knowing that others were thinking of him and his wife as they healed. He focused on the many clients his agency serves who have no one around them or living nearby who can offer assistance, let alone emotional support. Looking at the complexities of medical care, home maintenance, access to transportation and emotional support, he talked about how important his agency’s work was to so many. Fundamentally, many of those his agency serves don’t have others who can help them. What would they do without his agency’s services? We talked about United Way’s “Safety Net” study currently underway and I promised him that I would keep his example in mind and offer it to my colleagues as a way to think about our role in helping so many. As we ended our conversation, I was reminded of the blessing of serving others in my own way, but this time I also reflected on the blessing of having CEOs and staff of so many agencies who are serving our community without adequate funding or staffing for the thousands they help. Maybe I’ll add that to my prayers too!
On this day, when he answered my call, his voice sounded different. Slower, perhaps a bit slurred … it alarmed me, so I asked “Are you ok?”. “Yes, now … but we haven’t talked since before the New Year, and I had knee replacement surgery and the recovery is coming, but it’s painful. I’m working at home so I can keep my leg up.” I offered that I would keep him in my prayers for a speedy, pain-free recovery. I told him that prayers of family and friends in addition to my own meditation focus on a return to full functioning after my shoulder surgery had given me a quick and solid recovery without medications. “Prayer works”, I offered. He concurred … and then the deeper story began as he asked for prayers for his wife.
A few weeks ago, as he was recovering from the surgery, limited in movement by a walker and the inability to drive, his wife had walked out to get the mail and fell in the driveway. Hitting her head as she fell, bleeding began into her brain. In the hospital, she spent days in the ICU as her physicians worked to help her recover. While that is enough of a challenge, for this loving husband there were the multiple issues of getting to and from the hospital to support her, his own physical therapy needs, and the daily living tasks that are simple for most of us, but a trial when there is limited movement. Of course, I would pray for her and them together and separately for a return to full health and functioning.
And then the heart of this servant leader was obvious. As the CEO of one of our region’s large non-profits, his focus was on “how do our clients manage?” and he reflected on the blessing of having friends and family who brought meals, drove him back and forth to the hospital and physical therapy, and the quiet but certain support of knowing that others were thinking of him and his wife as they healed. He focused on the many clients his agency serves who have no one around them or living nearby who can offer assistance, let alone emotional support. Looking at the complexities of medical care, home maintenance, access to transportation and emotional support, he talked about how important his agency’s work was to so many. Fundamentally, many of those his agency serves don’t have others who can help them. What would they do without his agency’s services? We talked about United Way’s “Safety Net” study currently underway and I promised him that I would keep his example in mind and offer it to my colleagues as a way to think about our role in helping so many. As we ended our conversation, I was reminded of the blessing of serving others in my own way, but this time I also reflected on the blessing of having CEOs and staff of so many agencies who are serving our community without adequate funding or staffing for the thousands they help. Maybe I’ll add that to my prayers too!
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