“𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲.”- 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝘅𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹
Recently, our team had the incredible privilege of sitting with, listening to, and learning from Musana, a social enterprise operating with profound intentionality in Uganda.
At Musana, “servant leadership” is not a buzzword; it’s lived out with intentionality.
With 862 full-time Ugandan staff, 22 local enterprises, and a model that is 100% locally sustained by close to $5M in local revenue, this is far from the traditional model of charity. They are practicing a different kind of leadership, one that is full of dignity.
Here are 10 Rhythms of Upside-Down Servant Leadership:
- 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Every week, 20+ core leaders gather for an hour for a leadership team meeting that begins with prayer and devotion. Before the doing begins, the being is aligned.
- 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝘁: Four times a year, Musana pauses for a full-day “Musana Leadership Development Program” for 130+ leaders. This is an intentional investment to renew vision, instill values, sharpen skills, and unite leaders.
- 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Musana never “breaks ground” unilaterally. They engage and partner with government, local district officials and elders. Building on a foundation of trust, they don’t just present a plan; they cast a vision of how they partner existing local efforts.
- 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: Their Board of Directors is comprised almost entirely of local Ugandan leaders. This ensures those closest to the context are serving as guardians of the mission of the organization.
- 𝗥𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: At their Annual General Meeting (AGM), government officials and community leaders and Musana leaders gather beyond simply a point of legal requirement of reviewing audited accounts, voting of board of directions, passing of Memorandum and Articles of Association. Accountability is embraced as a healthy form of discipline. Oh, there is much celebration that happens at these meetings!
- 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: Leadership is shared; the chairing of meetings is rotated to ensure no single voice dominates. This also provides learning and growth opportunity for team members. It also offers a regular reminder that feedback is welcome and expected from every level.
- 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹-𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴: They prioritize talent from within the immediate community. Whether it’s in the schools, medical centers, or social enterprises, whenever possible, open positions are filled by those in the local community.
- 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲: As part of their recruitment process, local subject matter experts (non-Musana staff members) are included in the hiring panel. This is done to ensure objectivity and that the hiring process remains rigorous and dignified.
- 𝗥𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲: One day a week, all three medical centers open their doors for free immunizations, dental care, and prenatal support.
- 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿: Beyond the schools and hospitals, Musana maintains wells that are accessible to the surrounding community.
Servant leadership is not just a novel idea.
Servant leadership is not merely warm and fuzzy.
Servant leadership is far from just a buzzword.
The goal isn’t to replicate these steps exactly, but to spark ideas for your own journey. May these lessons from Musana serve as an encouragement to you as you nurture a culture of servant leadership at your organization.
We celebrate Musana as one of the many organizations that embrace servant leadership.
𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗱.
𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱.
𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲.
Want to deepen a servant leadership culture? We’d be honored to help you cultivate this culture in your community or business.
#ServantLeadership #PurposeDriven #TheRedemptiveWay
Musana | Rising Sun Consultants, LLC
Want to deepen a servant leadership culture? We’d be honored to help you cultivate this culture in your community or business.
