Wow! What a busy year this has been as a county judge. I have been in this office for 19 years, and I believe this has been one of the most challenging years of all…and we still have four months left in this fiscal year. As one person said, “You did not have to run for the job,” and he was correct. It is our decision to run, and why do we do it? I would like to believe it has to be because we want to make a difference in county government. We want to serve the people of our counties.
What is the driving force that makes all of us want to be leaders? I believe it is called servant leadership. What is servant leadership? I would like to share some quotes from others that I believe in and have used during my life. The concept of servant leadership starts by being a servant, first. Good leaders must become good servants. Somehow or other we convinced our voters that we would be good leaders if they would elect us. John Quincy Adams said, “True leadership must be for the benefit of the followers, not to enrich the leader.”
Servant leadership is more than a concept; servant leadership is a fact. Any great leader will be an ethical leader, will see herself or himself as a servant of that group, and will act accordingly. I have seen many leaders come and go, and unfortunately some have not acted accordingly.
This next quote is one of my favorites, by Roy Lessin: “A Godly leader…finds strength by realizing his weakness, finds authority by being under authority, finds direction by laying down his own plans, finds vision by seeing the needs of others, finds credibility by being an example, finds loyalty by expressing compassion, finds honor by being faithful, finds greatness by being a servant.”
There are many other great quotes that will inspire inner strength. I hope those above will assist you in your leadership role.
Thank you for allowing me to be president of our Association.
– Roger Harmon, Association President