As the year closes with the rushed holiday season – not to mention many industries being extra busy as well – leaders can get overwhelmed and lose themselves during the hectic pace.

Yet there is a way to keep your leadership spirits high and give a fresh perspective on your calling – by reaching out and becoming a servant leader in ways you’ve never done before.

For me, this year will be spent in extra time with a good friend of mine who just lost his job. With a wife and four children (including a 2-month old baby girl), the opportunity to serve and lift him up and help eclipses any family traditions or plans during this time. And probably one thing we will do is reach out to another friend of ours, a pastor who just underwent surgery today and will be recovering for the next 2 months.

When we seek to serve others we will see our leadership spirits soar and our desire to develop other people increase. Your leadership talents can easily translate to friends, neighbors, or complete strangers, in reaching out to others with your gifts in ways your life would not normally intersect with theirs.

If you have no idea were to start, just look at the needs around you. Children’s auctions, toy drives, shelters, hospitals and so many other places in your community offer countless ways to serve. You will learn about being leader in new ways, gain appreciation for other industries, and perhaps find new avenues for your talents that may spur on a new life for you as well.

But at the core of this all, is serving those thousands of people who just need someone to show compassion and need a lift up this time of year. All great leaders have that gift, and you’ll never find a more satisfactory goal than making a positive impact in a life that needs a boost from someone like you.

Serve others this time of year. Make a profound impact on those around you and let’s hope that our efforts can make a difference.

(image: creativecommons)