Daneen, I appreciated your perspective on this story of leadership in the midst of personal sacrifice. One of the first leadership lessons you reference is that of courage. One thing I have been wrestling with in my leadership journey is that of keeping a vision for the future clear and steady as I complete daily leadership tasks. Courage certainly plays into this, as sometimes as leaders, in order to fulfill the vision, we need to make “hard calls” and walking out the consequences of these decisions take extreme courage. Often, through making “hard calls” we put ourselves at risk – risk of criticism, risk of loss of personal relationship, risk of failure, etc.. However, with a clear vision ahead, such as what you reference William Farrow had (a faith in God that all would be well), we can have the courage to take those risks. This of course, is linked to faith – as Christian leaders we need to have faith in the vision that God has called us to and that he will fulfill what we believe he has promised.
You also reference his compassion for others. Even in the midst of his trial, he was considering the effect it would have on others. He was taking care of others and setting them up for success after he was gone. This is a clear trait of servant leadership (Northouse, 2019), in that he is providing a vision for the future, while considering the needs of others. I think that in order for servant leadership to be truly effective, both of these characteristics must first be firmly established in the leader. A Christian leader must have a solid vision, and a caring, thoughtful approach to bringing others along with them on that journey.
Northouse, P. (2019). Leadership: Theory and practice (8th ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.