First introduced by Robert K. Greenleaf in 1970 as a concept, servant leadership is understood to be distinct from other leadership theories because of the priority placed by the leader on serving and developing followers. Although there is “no consensus about a definition and theoretical framework of servant leadership” (Van Dierendock, 2011, p. 1229) there is an abundance of writing which identifies elements, strengths and weakness of servant leadership.
According to Van Dierendock (2011), there are ten essential elements identified by Spears (1995, as cited by Van Dierendock, 2011) which are considered to be essential to servant leadership. These are listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment, and building community (Van Dierendock, 2011). Searle & Barbuto (2011) demonstrate how these ten essential elements work together to encourage growth of followers and a positive increase in job performance. Servant leaders facilitate “positive moral behavior in their followers” (Searle & Barbuto, 2011, p. 111).
Servant leadership is distinct from transformational leadership in that leaders are focused on desired outcomes seen in individual followers rather than in positive organizational outcomes. Van Dierendock (2011) affirms that “more satisfied, more committed, and better performing employees” (Van Dierendock, 2011, p. 1247) are produced within the framework of servant leadership which results in higher quality followers who help the leader become better. The hope is servant leadership results in positive organizational outcomes which would have broader societal impact (Smith, Montagno & Kuzmenko, 2004).
As a specific element of the servant leadership approach, awareness is concerned with an understanding of the well-being of the followers, “that each person deserves to be loved” (Van Dierendock, 2011, p. 1231). Emotional intelligence or self-awareness is more concerned with the leader’s understanding of oneself.
Modelled by Southwest Airlines’ president Colleen Barrett, awareness as a concept within servant leadership is exemplified when she says, “At the top of our pyramid in terms of the most important priority that we have is our employees… 85 percent of my time is spent on employees and on delivering proactive customer service to our employees” (KnowledgeAtWharton, 2008).
Reference
[KnowledgeAtWharton]. (2008, July 9). Southwest airlines’ Colleen Barrett on ‘Servant Leadership’. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TgR95vnM0c
Searle, T.P. and Barbuto, J.E. (2011). Servant Leadership, Hope, and Organizational Virtuousness: A Framework Exploring Positive Micro and Macro Behaviors and Performance Impact. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies 18(1), 107-117. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1548051810383863
Smith, B.N., Montagno, R.V. and Kuzmenko, T.N. (2004). Transformational and servant leadership: Content and contextual comparisons. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies 10(4), 80-92. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/107179190401000406
Van Dierendonck, D. (2011). Servant leadership: A review and synthesis. Journal of Management 37(4), 1228-1261. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0149206310380462