Development and validation of servant leadership scale in Spanish higher education

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold. First is the validation of a scale to measure the servant leadership of the university leaders. Second is to analyze how servant leadership affects the career satisfaction and life satisfaction of the academics. Design/methodology/approach Using a survey of 148 academics at universities located in Spain collected in May 2018, a couple of models were conducted using structural equation model techniques: a confirmatory factor analysis of second order in order to assess the leadership scale and a mediation model to assess how servant leadership impacts on the life satisfaction through career satisfaction. Findings Results reveal that leadership is a multi-dimensional construct having dimensions namely: behaving ethically, development, emotional healing, empowerment, pioneering, relationship building and wisdom. The total effect of servant leadership on life satisfaction is null due to a competitive mediation of career satisfaction. Originality/value Research on servant leadership has primarily focused on business organizations through extensive search in peer-reviewed databases the authors could not find a scale to measure servant leadership behavior in higher education. Additionally, the study assesses the role of career satisfaction as mediator between servant leadership and life satisfaction. Existing research has called for further research into both career and life satisfaction. Life satisfaction research has been criticized on the grounds that it has mainly overlooked the work/organizational settings. Moreover, the authors could only find little research into life satisfaction in higher education, that too in context of students.

Development and Validation of a Spanish Short Servant Leadership Survey (SSLS6-3F) among Spanish Workers in Religious Non-Profit Organizations

“…Moreover, having disengaged workers with a low level of subjective wellbeing is a long-term survival risk for these institutions since religious organizations are usually less competitive on the market in terms of attracting and retaining talented workers [5,6]. According to Latif and Marimon [26], servant leadership and life satisfaction revealed a negative relationship in their recent study, in contrast with the theory [27,28]; therefore, they encouraged examining the relationship between them. Toward this end, this study showed a positive and significant correlation between servant leadership and satisfaction with life, confirming the previous studies of the theoretical framework and favoring the employment of this management style in institutions where the management of emotions attains a particular meaning.…”

“…The scale of Reinke [4] is also similar in length to the shortest versions of these scales, which are SL-7 (global servant leadership scale) [34], SLBS-6 (servant leadership behavioral scale) [59], and even less than half the length of SLS (servant leadership survey; 18 items) [60]; these scales have not been selected due to being global measures rather than measuring multidimensional concepts. The scale in Reinke [4] is also shorter than the existing Spanish versions: 14 items [61], 30 items [62], and 36 items [26]. This fact raises the response rate, as larger scales usually decrease the respondent's attention by producing fatigue or boredom.…”

“…Moreover, servant leadership generates a wide range of advantages (for employees: wellbeing [21][22][23], engagement [24,25], career satisfaction [26], and life satisfaction [27,28]; as well as promoting service quality [29], team performance [30], and firm performance [31], among others), which have been investigated in for-profit organizations and deserve to be analyzed even in the context of non-profit organizations. In this way, servant leadership is a sustainable strategy that involves taking care of the needs, growth, and learning of followers; enhances their wellbeing; and promotes healthy organizations [32].…”

El liderazgo servidor y la satisfacción laboral en estudiantes de maestría en administración de empresas

“…El estilo de liderazgo servidor trae beneficios, no solo para el líder, sino para los seguidores también (Mostafa y El-Motalib, 2019). Existen pocas investigaciones sobre cómo los jóvenes ejecutivos perciben otros estilos de liderazgo, más allá de los estilos de liderazgo transaccional y transformacional; esto es cierto, particularmente, en aquellos relacionados con el intercambio de beneficios mutuos para líderes y empleados, como es el caso del estilo de liderazgo servidor (Latif y Marimon, 2019;Muenjohn et al, 2016). Los estudios respecto a liderazgo servidor han incluido organizaciones de bienes y servicios y son claros los beneficios que trae el practicar este estilo de liderazgo; sin embargo, a criterio propio de los autores a partir de sus experiencias personales, los estilos de liderazgo que más se estudian en las escuelas de negocio, centros de formación de líderes por excelencia suelen ser el estilo de liderazgo transformacional y el estilo de liderazgo transaccional y no se suele encontrar, en la malla curricular, temas relacionados con el liderazgo servidor.…”

Efeitos Da Liderança Servidora E Empreendedora No Fomento Da Inovação No Setor Público

“…Por fim, a sétima dimensão comum à liderança servidora refere-se ao comportamento ético. Nesse sentido, as ações são guiadas pelo relacionamento aberto e honesto com seguidores, cujo comportamento é centrado no funcionário (Latif & Marimon, 2019;Liden et al, 2008;van Dierendonck & Nuijten, 2011).…”