Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Servant Leadership

I recently came across some of my childhood favorites while watching tv—Duck Tales, Tale Spin, Dark Wing Duck, and my all-time favorite, the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I was excited to share these with my 10-year-old, who quickly told me he was not impressed (smiles).
As I embraced the nostalgia, I tuned into one episode of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT), only to find something that never caught my attention as a child. This show was about more than a Ninjutsu rat named Splinter and turtles contaminated by toxic radioactive ooze. This show was an illustration of being a good pastor and servant leader.
The Ninjutsu rat, Master Splinter, strategically gave each of the four ninja turtles their weapons. Master Splinter knew that each weapon took a particular discipline to master. Based on each of the turtles’ personalities and skills, he assigned them a specific weapon:

• Raphael had a temper and could quickly fly off the handle, so he was given a set of Sai. Sai are a defensive weapon. Not used to attack but to protect.
  
• Michelangelo was a misfit; he had difficulty concentrating, so he was given nunchucks. Nunchucks require precision and attention when used, or you will hurt yourself very badly.
  
• Donatello was the intelligent and technological one in the group, so he was given a bō staff. The bō staff required the most creativity and was suitable for a thinker.
  
• Leonardo, the leader of the group, was the most levelheaded, ethical, and compassionate. He was given two katana swords. He was the only one given the most dangerous weapons suitable for a mature warrior.
  

In other words, Master Splinter only gave what he knew each turtle could handle. He epitomizes what it means to be a good servant leader. But what is a servant leader in a ministry context? A servant leader focuses primarily on the development and well-being of individuals and the ministry to which they belong. In other words, a servant leader pays close attention to the members and the ministry.
So, from this Master Splinter and ninja turtle revelation, here are seven (7) lessons we can glean about servant leadership:
Learn who you are leading
A good servant leader gets to know who they are leading. They learn the idiosyncrasy of the individuals in the ministry. A good leader knows who has a temper, who has charm, and who has compassion. Learning who you are leading takes time spent with leaders. Spend time watching and listening to people, making notes of their words and movements, not in a creepy way, but in a way that allows you to help them grow. Give the people you are leading a chance to get to know your heart and take time to learn theirs.
Set people up for success
Give people what their gifts can handle. It is better to leave an assignment undone than to give an assignment to someone that you know will fail. Good leaders know how to empower people with assignments that give them a chance to experience victory while fulfilling God’s vision. Assigning suitable assignments to the right person may make a difference in success and failure.
Teaching and Training
Any ministry training you do as a leader builds personal responsibility and accountability in those you lead. Each trained leader is responsible for implementing training in their life and ministry. As a servant leader, you can hold people accountable for what you teach and train them to be, know and do. So, teach and train on everything. Teaching and training will allow those you serve to discover their expectations in service to the ministry and, ultimately, to God.  
Celebration and Correction – Celebrating success and providing correction in the event of failing to meet a standard is essential. Good leadership balances the two ends of the spectrum while maintaining a positive relationship. Some people do not want to be celebrated, and others do not want to be corrected. Both are necessary parts of good leadership.
People sometimes equate correction with a boss rather than a leader. Correction makes ministry sound too much like a performance rather than a form of honoring God. As a leader, you must communicate to those you serve how you will celebrate and correct them. As a leader, I tell my leaders I plan to celebrate them publicly and loudly and correct them privately and softly—unless they get out of hand.   
Meet their needs
Learn to discern body language and countenance. When you learn who you are leading, you will know when something is bothering them. Do not be so focused on yourself that you miss the verbal and non-verbal messages people are sending. Even the best thespian (actor) cannot hide everything. A good leader going through a bad situation may become a not-so-good leader when their needs are not met. The one place people should feel seen and acknowledged is in a ministry, and meeting their needs is essential to them feeling appreciated, adequate, and accepted. People at times need to be heard, seen, hugged, believed, smiled at, or consoled.
Communication
There are three key components to communication: Empathy, Transparency, and Clarity. Communication requires a connection—empathy. A servant leader must have the ability to understand and share the feelings of the people they serve in ministry. A great deal can be misinterpreted and understood without a connection to the people you serve in ministry.
Transparency puts people in the know. Tell people your principles, what you stand for and what the ministry strives to achieve. Show the other leaders you value their input and feelings with open communication. Transparency instills trust and communicates respect from you as a servant leader.
Clarity makes it possible for vision to turn into reality. Nothing is more exciting than a clear vision and strategic path forward. When there is clarity, people become passionate about seeing how they fit in the ministry and how to use their talents and skills best. Every person you serve should know the ministry’s top priorities and when and where goals are being met and missed.
Know yourself
Abraham Maslow, the world-renowned psychologist and creator of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, said, “self-actualizing individuals have superior awareness of their own impulses, desires, opinions, and subjective reactions in general.” Who are you as a leader? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What are your values? What are your desires?
To be a good leader, you must participate in self-reflection. Spend every evening reviewing your day—every weekend reviewing your week, and on the first day of the month, review the previous month. I think you get where this is going. Lock in the memories and create for yourself an understanding of yourself and the decisions you make. Upon reflection, develop some ministry and life principles. Good leaders are principled. When you know yourselves and have principles, you make predetermined decisions on matters that affect your life and ministry before those matters affect your life and ministry.
I could go on and on, but I will stop here. The observations above clearly show that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles teaches us how to be good pastors and servant leaders. The truth is, becoming a better leader will not be easy but will get easier with time.
What other lessons do you glean from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?