Service-Based Company Mission

Our mission at Harvest Group is to glorify God by serving our clients and people with a passion for growth. “Servant leadership” can sometimes be an overused business buzzword, but I think the “servant” part of leadership is something we should consider more seriously.

Servant Leadership in Business

As a leader, I feel the weight of committing to serve both our clients and our people. I have been fortunate to have mentors that have helped me understand that choosing to be a leader is choosing to be a servant. Choosing leadership means that I am committing to put others’ interests ahead of my own. When I make this decision, I’m leaning into the Harvest Group’s core reason for existence: to serve everyone around you by fostering remarkable growth (our mission), when I increase my responsibility or leadership scope, that means I am committing to be a servant to more and more people.

In a world where success and growth can easily be driven by pride and a desire for our own praise, intentionally choosing to humble ourselves to serve is a daily battle. It is a more difficult road than working only for what we want. However, the struggle to serve others above ourselves is worth it, because embracing the struggle to serve leads to the growth and transformation of business and people that we are pursuing.

Look to Scripture

In the Scriptures, in the book of 1 Kings, we find a story about poor servant leadership from the life of King Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. When he took the throne of Israel after his father’s death, the people of Israel asked him to treat them with more respect than his father did, and in return, that they would serve him freely. King Rehoboam wisely sought the counsel of elders on how to respond, and the elders gave great advice. They replied, “If you will be a servant to this people, be considerate of their needs and respond with compassion, work things out with them, they’ll end up doing anything for you” (Here is the link to all of 1 Kings 12 for context: 1 Kings 12). Sadly, King Rehoboam rejected their counsel, turning to the advice of the young men who were his friends, and became cruel and more demanding than his father.

The negative example of this man reminds us that we have an opportunity to learn and apply the wise counsel he received to our own servant leadership. While none of us are kings, we each have opportunities in front of us to be servants to our people, to be considerate to their needs and respond with compassion – I think we all know if we had leaders like that, we would follow them anywhere. How different might our business relationships be if our clients felt that we served them well, that we were considerate of their needs and compassionate in our responses? But loyalty isn’t the only reward of servant leadership: serving those who work for and with us allows us to hear the needs of the people around us, solve problems within our organizations, and helps us to live out our values in our companies.

Create a Contagious Team Mentality

When your coworkers are affirmed in knowing that you’re with them and for them, a servant-leader mindset is likely to be a reality for everyone around you. Your team members know if you’re in the boat with them or not. A contagious team-mentality will prove to be an asset for your business through the growing pains. Servant leaders set the tone for the culture of your team by putting others’ needs before their own. As leaders, let us carry the weight of serving people.