WHEN POWER KNEELS
HOW LEADERS MULTIPLY AUTHORITY THROUGH SERVICE
3-Minute Read
The leaders who rise the highest aren’t climbing; they’re lifting
When I graduated university, each graduate walked away with not just a diploma, but a towel. It was a reminder that leadership isn’t about titles, accolades, or control. It’s about service.
Decades later, I’ve seen this truth play out again and again: the most impactful leaders don’t climb higher to gain power. They go lower to unleash it.
Imagine your org chart. Where are you on it? At the top? The “all-seeing” decision-maker?
What if your greatest role isn’t at the top, but at the bottom? When you lead your team from beneath, you clear the obstacles and resource them to powerfully serve the real boss: your customer.
In a world obsessed with clawing its way to the top, revolutionary leaders are multiplying their impact from the most counterintuitive place…the bottom.
This issue of The Grip is your invitation to reimagine power and discover the liberation—and joy—of leading through service, not control.
Let’s dive in.
service-driven leadership
FLIPPING THE ORG CHART
Rick Kent, CEO and Founder of Merit Financial, asked himself a radical question: What if I’m not at the top of this company? What if I’m at the bottom?
When he literally “flipped the org chart,” clients were placed at the top, frontline advisors just beneath them, and himself at the base, as the foundation that supports everyone else. His job became singular: create the conditions for his team to thrive by resourcing them and removing roadblocks.
The impact was immediate:
Advisors stopped serving the boss and focused entirely on serving the client.
Communication flowed faster as autonomy replaced approval bottlenecks.
All employees took bolder, client-centered action, knowing their leader was there to equip and support them, not control them.
Kent didn’t lose authority by flipping the org chart; he multiplied it. By making himself the servant of those who directly serve the customer, Kent liberated his organization and created a culture of trust and unstoppable momentum. Employee engagement soared and customer satisfaction hit record highs.
SERVICE AS A WAY OF BEING
"I am your servant. You have the right to dismiss me when you please. What you have no right to do is ask me to bear responsibility without the power of action". –Winston Churchill
Service-driven leadership isn’t a tactic; it’s a way of being. Try this on: Who I am is service. What shifts when you lead from that lens? What new action becomes available?
The distinction between control and service changes everything about how you lead:
THE CONTROL-DRIVEN LEADER:
Protects expertise, holds authority
Directs outcomes, sets rules
Solves problems
Makes the decisions
Works in the business
Focuses on hierarchy, status, efficiency
Asks: “How can I get this done?”
THE SERVICE-DRIVEN LEADER:
Develops expertise in others, enables autonomy
Clarifies vision, removes obstacles
Coaches others to solve them
Delegates decision-making authority
Works on the business
Focuses on empowerment, development, capacity, trust
Asks: “Who can grow through this?”
And for your culture:
IN CONTROL-DRIVEN CULTURE:
Leader sits above to dictate
Power flows downward
Employees serve the leader
Bureaucracy slows decisions
Fear drives compliance
Leaders protect their position & image
Short-term wins, transactional dynamics
IN SERVICE-DRIVEN CULTURE:
Leader sits at foundation to support
Empowerment flows upward
Leader serves employees
Delegated authority speeds decisions
Trust drives creativity& innovation
Leaders protect & coach their people
Long-term growth, retention, shared vision
Which are you operating from today?
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QUESTIONS TO REFRAME YOUR LEADERSHIP
Who are you really serving right now—your ego, your board, or your team?
What could your team achieve if you stopped controlling and started equipping?
If you flipped your org chart, what would your new job really be?
Service-driven leadership doesn’t happen by default. It’s created—and recreated—through intentional practice. This isn’t one-and-done. You’ll be course-correcting for service as long as you lead.
“Who I am is service.”
Service-driven leaders know power isn’t in the title, corner office, or control; it’s in the impact you enable for others. Real power leaves others empowered.
When you become the foundation instead of the peak, your team will rise higher than you can imagine. You get to be the one who makes it possible for everyone else to win.
And when they win, your mission gets fulfilled. Well done, good and faithful servant.
So ask yourself: What would happen if I stopped controlling and started serving today?
Keep creating!
key takeaways
Authority grows when you give it away. Hoarded power creates bottlenecks, while shared power multiplies capacity.
True leadership lifts from beneath. By clearing obstacles and resourcing your team, you unleash unstoppable momentum.
Service transforms culture. Shifting from control to service replaces fear with trust, sparking loyalty, creativity, and growth.
May you prosper in every way!
Becky & TPL Team
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