Developing Leaders to Serve and Servants to Lead

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a model of how balanced and integrated development across spiritual, cognitive, social, emotional, and moral domains can result in a servant leader orientation for both those who are predisposed to serve but might not be leaders, and those who are leaders but might not be predisposed to serve. First, we review the benefits of servant leadership in today’s organizations and the commonly agreed upon dimensions of servant leadership. We then propose how balanced and integrated development can facilitate a transition to a servant-oriented style of leadership for both those that serve and those that lead. We discuss organizational barriers to servant leadership development, and how organizations can overcome these barriers by creating contexts in which such integrated vertical development can facilitate a cycle of servant leadership. Lastly, we make suggestions for how organizations’ human resource functions might develop servant leaders.

Impact of leadership development and facilitated peer coaching on women's individual, collective, and organizational behaviors in human services

“…Participants' reports of increased and improved interpersonal and emotional intelligence skills and behaviors that they believe led to improved understanding and coaching of others, collaboration and teamwork, and staff morale, relates directly to the critical need identified in the literature for creating more trusting, inclusive organizational environments (Feser et al, 2017). These behaviors align with authentic, servant, transformational, and inclusive leadership styles noted earlier, deemed so critical to managing and leading in today's diversifying workforce (Bragger et al, 2020;Brimhall, 2019;Choy-Brown et al, 2020;Debebe, 2017;Sugiyama et al, 2016). Our research reinforces the perception of women's proclivity for these styles, given that this allwomen sample emphasized this type of learning (Johansen & Zhu, 2016).…”

“…Regardless of the reasons, the inability of the human services sector to attend effectively to the leadership development needs and promotion of women (Araque & Weiss, 2019) limits its ability to capitalize on the talents women could bring to the leadership table. For instance, recent scholarship suggests women are more likely to embody styles related to authentic, servant, transformational, and inclusive leadership (Bragger, Alonso, D'Ambrosio, & Williams, 2020;Brimhall, 2019;Choy-Brown, Stanhope, Wackstein, & Cole, 2020;Debebe, 2017;Sugiyama, Cavanagh, van Esch, & Bilimoria, 2016)-widely viewed as effective approaches to increasing organizational effectiveness through inclusive hiring practices, empowerment of self and staff, and the creation of effective team functioning and positive organizational climates. Women also tend to prioritize diversity and inclusivity in their management practices more than their male counterparts (Johansen & Zhu, 2016).…”

Servant Leadership and Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment: Empirical Evidence from Surabaya Health Care Sector

“…Servant leadership is a leading concept in which the leader's purpose is to serve others' needs first [27], [28]. It is also known as servant management.…”

Becoming a Leader: Emergence of Leadership Style and Identity

“…Exchange-oriented leaders view power in terms of their own and team members' self-interest, using rewards and punishments to ensure team members meet expectations (Clark & Mills, 2012). They are motivated to lead by transactions (Bragger et al, 2021).…”