Many years ago, I had the opportunity to view first hand the leadership style of a young woman who ended up managing one of the largest property management companies in the state. She was somewhat of a phenomenon in the market place. She entered it with seemingly no resume at all in that field and yet within three years she had saved a company and risen to the top of its ladder.

The owner of that company, in just one interview, saw something in that young woman that she had rarely seen in the hundreds and hundreds of former executives in her company. What she saw was something in the very being of this young woman, a knowing of who she was. She saw a confidence without arrogance. She saw a knowing in her eyes that given the chance, there was nothing she could not accomplish. The owner's thought was what did she have to lose in taking a chance on this unknown since her company was just months away from total bankruptcy. The oil industry had collapsed. Former executives in her corporation that had made six figures now bagged groceries to put food on the table for their families.

She let this young woman leave from that one interview with the standard words, "We'll call you". But as she told it, she was already calling the young applicant before she could get out of their parking garage. On a hunch, she hired this young woman that very day for a position at the bottom of the company just to have someone to oversee a lesser part of the corporation through the final days of the company's existence. But in this owner was also a hope. She had once been like this young woman, and it was like seeing herself all over again. She recognized the hunger in this young woman to make a difference with her life. Was it possible this young woman could turn things around for her company. She soon had her answer as this young woman rose from the bottom of the totem poll to the top of the company in almost meteoric speed, while eliminating the expected bankruptcy of the entire corporation.

Mother Manager, that is what many of her peers throughout the company began to label this young woman. In their estimation, that was a negative title bestowed upon her, but to her it was who she was, and she embraced it. This young leader led with something that could only be compared with the love of a Mother for all those who worked for her and with her. If her mouth was moving, she was teaching principles that would work in any arena of life. There was no selfishness in her; no dog eat dog attitude that plagued the business world. This young woman wanted everyone around her to learn and be blessed from their efforts.

Those working under her watched her like a hawk and wanted to mimic her ways. Her peers watched in fear as her work ethics exposed the lack of theirs. They had never seen this in the market place. She quickly filled up office buildings with new tenants that seemed to come out of nowhere. Then she was given the apartment building side of the company where she motivated her employees to quickly fill them up. She soon was responsible for a $50 million dollar budget that she, along with one younger assistant, managed and met her budget for every property for every month for three years. She showed great enthusiasm and love for these businesses that were renting from her. She couldn't do enough for them, and they in turn couldn't wait to talk about it throughout the market place. She had a zest for life and a love for people that made her like a magnet. Where tenants couldn't be found before, they came looking for her. She worked as though she owned the entire corporation and empowered her employees with an energy as though she had taken its very existence upon her young shoulders to save. And save she did. And while she did, she rose monthly higher and higher in the company, and took everyone around her along with her. There was no denying it, she loved people intensely, and everything she did was to help those around her to improve themselves. She loved her work passionately. She taught as though she was their mother preparing them for life. She gave much more than she received, until the only thing left to award her with was given to her.

That was a historic day for that company, when to the clapping and cheering of the entire corporate office, the owner moved out of her wall to wall glass office on the top floor of the building, and moved this young woman into it. She had raised her salary every three months for three years, applauded her work daily, but finally on that day, she gave her everything she could except for the company itself.

The end of the story is not so happy, but such a telling sign of Godly leadership compared to worldly leadership. Godly leadership will mother or father a company and its employees, teaching them what will enable them for the greatness they were destined for, drawing out the best in everyone for the greater good of the company. Worldly leadership thinks only of itself, selfish in all ways, caring only about personal gain.

That young woman soon left the company to follow her husband to his next military assignment. Even though she was invited to be part of the hiring of her replacement, in the end the owner of that corporation hired the very person that the young woman advised her not to hire. With all the person's great credentials, the young woman could discern in her that she would not love this owner or this company, but that all her intentions were for herself alone. Saddened, she moved away knowing what was coming for this company she had mothered so tenderly to where it was when she left. Years later, word came to her that her replacement had almost single handily stolen all the tenants away when she left to open her own company, thereby leaving this company in the financial state it was in when she first entered its doors. The owner was such a good person, but our life's outcome is determined by the choices we make. She chose a bad leader and paid a huge personal price because of that choice.