Driven or Leader?

This morning I'm leading our combined staff meeting through John 13. The pastors and ministry coordinators meet as a leadership team every week, but once a quarter we pull in everyone - admins, custodial staff, creative arts guys, accountants, etc..., to pray together as a whole staff. We pray for 30 or 45 minutes, and then do a brief discussion about something biblical that relates to our ministries. Today, we're looking at John 13. 

Several things jump out at me about John 13 (Jesus washing the disciples' feet). The first is Jesus' posture. He takes the role of a Gentile slave (even a Jewish slave would not have been asked to wash feet). And yet we call John 13 the model of "servant leadership." 

Slaves don't lead. Everyone knows that slaves don't lead. 

Everyone but Jesus. 

The other thing I love about John's description of this event is that John describes Jesus' motivation. John 13:1 indicates that Jesus' servant leadership was motivated by a desire to show His disciples the "full extent of his love." 

Here's something from Warren Bennis that Andy Seidel quotes in the Spiritual Formation book I just finished, that I think relates perfectly: 

"There is a difference between being driven and leading. A driven person feels a powerful sense of being compelled to gain a desired response from others in order to fill up an empty pit of internal need. He needs their approval, applause, or acquiescence, or adoration. So he will relate to them in whatever way he feels will get them to give the desired response. This is not real leadership; it is actually manipulation of others so that the person in a leadership position can gain whatever he thinks will meet his identity needs. His concern is for himself, not for the good of those he is responsible to lead." 

Why do you do what you do? Are you driven, or do you love?