Time Out!
The art of becoming a servant leader.
Just back from a great vacation in St. Croix with my wife, Colleen, where I successfully hit the pause button on work, but not life. One morning, we drove across the island and toured the Cruzan Rum Distillery. Here was my servant leadership takeaway — just as high quality rum is refined by aging, so is servant leadership refined over time.
While touring the distillery, I was amazed to learn about the process of making rum and that it’s made with a simple mixture of rain water, yeast, and molasses. Gallons and gallons of molasses.
Of the 100,000 gallons we saw boiling, we were told only 10% would make it through the fermentation process and result in the rum we drink or use in cooking. The other 90% becomes a byproduct used in other ways, such as feed for animals. The 10% that rises to the top is then put into 55-gallon barrels to age, with the finest rum aging for 12 years. To my amazement, only five gallons of pure rum is left after the evaporation takes place. On the island, they call this feeding of the angels.
This reminds me of what it takes to rise to the highest level of leadership as a servant leader whose sole desire is to unleash the talents of others — so few make it. About 10% of people either desire or have the talent or skill to become a leader, and then only a few through an aging/experience process can make the emotional shift from “me” to “we” to become a servant leader. Like rum making, servant leadership is a process not just an event.
Onward!
John Rodgers