Your Thursday Three Things for September 11, 2025

Servant Leadership in a "They Work For Me" World!

Before we get into the normal three things newsletter, I wanted to talk a moment of reflection.
Today is September 11th… a day that will always carry weight for those of us who lived through it. For the families who lost loved ones, the first responders who ran toward danger, and the service members who answered the call afterward, this day is a reminder of sacrifice, resilience, and unity.

May we carry those lessons into how we live and lead.

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It’s easy to forget this in leadership: people don’t want to be managed. They want to be seen.

Howard Behar, former President of Starbucks, once said: “We’re not in the coffee business serving people. We’re in the people business serving coffee.” That one shift in perspective transformed Starbucks’ culture and it’s a reminder for all of us: the real work of leadership isn’t about the product, the quarterly report, or the title. It’s about people.

But when there’s stress and pressure to perform, how do you keep people at the center? How do you build cultures where humans thrive and they don’t just produce?

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Three Takeaways on Servant Leadership

1. Lead With “Compassionate Emptiness”

Leaders don’t always need to fix things. Often, people don’t need answers… they need presence. Howard calls this “compassionate emptiness”: showing up with curiosity, listening deeply, and letting silence do the work.

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2. Write It Down or It Doesn’t Count

Values, goals, purpose… if they’re only in your head, they’re just wishes. Howard insists on writing them down. For him, his personal mission is simple: “Nurturing and inspiring the human spirit, beginning with myself first and then others.” What’s yours?

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3. Remember the Six Ps

Howard’s framework for leadership:

• Purpose greater than yourself

• Passion for that purpose

• Persistence through the grind

• Patience to let things unfold

• Performance (do what you say you’ll do)

• People (always the point)

If you practice these, you won’t just get results… you’ll build cultures that last.

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🎧 Want to hear these lived out in real stories?
Check out our conversation with Howard Behar:

• Listen here

• Watch here:

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🚪 Beyond the Paywall

Here are three resources to help you put servant leadership into action: