I want to take this concept a little further. Greenleaf reintroduces the principle of primus inter pares in his book Servant Leadership – published in 1977. This term was first identified in early Roman times as a way of reducing the appearance of dictatorship. It is the subtlety of difference in approach to leadership that makes this model so powerful.
There is still a ‘first,’ but that individual is not ‘chief.’ This model requires that the primus constantly test and prove that leadership position among a group of able peers. At times, depending upon specific circumstances, the primus role may not always reside with the same individual because of giftings and abilities, although in application, it will migrate back to the first.
Consider carefully how this concept reconciles itself with servant leadership. The primus must be the consummate servant . . . not the consummate ‘chief.’
It changes things, doesn’t it?