Characteristics, Pros and Cons, Example
What Is Servant Leadership?
With servant leadership, a leader isn’t an authoritarian, and the workplace isn’t a top-down environment. Instead, there is a decentralized organizational structure in which the leader works with everyone on a level playing field.
Key Takeaways
- Servant leadership seeks to move management and personnel interaction away from controlling activities and toward a synergistic relationship.
- The authority figure in servant leadership environments attempts to promote innovation, empower employees, and assure the well-being of those around them.
- Leaders demonstrate characteristics such as empathy, listening, stewardship, and commitment to the personal growth of others.
- Servant leadership also aims to develop leadership qualities in employees.
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How Servant Leadership Works
The term “servant leadership” was coined by Robert Greenleaf, a twentieth-century researcher who was skeptical about traditional leadership styles that promoted authoritarian relationships between employers and employees.
Customer-facing employees can use servant leadership to make better connections with customers.
These employees have a close relationship with the consumer and can make better decisions to retain those customers and acquire new ones.
Fast Fact
When plotted on a leadership style grid, servant leaders’ scores will be higher than others due to their concern for people.
Servant Leader Characteristics
According to Greenleaf’s observations, the servant leader approaches situations and organizations from the perspective of a servant first, looking to lend their presence to answer the needs of the organization and others.
Servant leaders seek to address stakeholder wants and requirements as their priority, with leadership to be pursued secondarily.
This contrasts with the leader-first perspective, wherein a person aims to gain control quickly, often driven by the desire and prospects for material gain or influence.
Developing and mentoring the team that follows their instructions, or the clients’ and customers’ needs, take precedence over personal elevation.
Even upon attaining a position of governance, a servant leader typically encourages their subordinates to look to serve others as their priority over personal gains.
A servant leader may aim to share power with, and encourage the development and growth of, others.
This trait can extend to listening to followers carefully to better understand their needs, but it also involves leaders holding themselves and others accountable for their words and actions.
Servant Leadership Example
Where the leader-first dynamic is oriented to appease a personal desire for power, the servant leader looks first at how their service benefits others.
For example, a servant leader might question how their efforts uplift those who are under-represented before seeking to attain a position of control. Their progression to a position of leadership comes after, or because of, their commitment to service.
This might be seen in healthcare, in a doctor who works tirelessly alongside nurses to benefit their patients. In the business world, this might look like employees, customers, and other stakeholders prospering due to a CEO’s service-oriented leadership.
Servant Leadership Pros and Cons
Every leadership style has its advantages and disadvantages, depending on the context in which it’s exercised.
Some of the advantages of servant leadership are:
- Leaders earn respect from their employees
- Employees feel valued, and that management is looking out for their interests
- There is a shared vision
- There is often greater trust among employees and leaders
- Leaders consider the opinions of staff, which is likely to improve innovative efforts
- Individuals develop skills and can advance professionally in a supportive environment
Some of the disadvantages of servant leadership are:
- Few leaders have experience in this type of management
- Adoption may require difficult cultural change
- Decisions can take time, which can be detrimental in times of crisis
- Staff may be given more responsibility than they can handle
Servant Leadership Quick Reference
Pros
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Leaders earn respect
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Shared vision and greater trust
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Employee opinions contribute to better outcomes
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Supportive environment for advancement
Cons
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Unfamiliar leadership type
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May require difficult cultural change
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Not conducive to rapid decision making
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Duties may be beyond practitioner’s capability
What Is Servant Leadership Theory?
It’s the theory that a leader should emphasize team members so that they can become autonomous and free-thinking. It reflects a servant-first mentality rather than a leader-first mentality. Supporter Robert Greenleaf stated that a leader-first mentality was “often large, complex, powerful, impersonal; not always competent; sometimes corrupt.”
What Are the Principles of Servant Leadership?
Greenleaf put forward 10 principles of servant leadership: listening; empathy; healing; awareness; persuasion; conceptualization; foresight; stewardship; commitment to the growth of people; and building community.
What Is the Role of a Servant Leader?
A servant leader’s role is to be the steward of a group’s resources and serve the interests of the team members and the group as a whole. Servant leaders teach others to take initiative and participate in decision-making. They also foster a sense of community and togetherness.
Who Is an Example of a Servant Leader?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. assumed a leadership role in the Civil Rights Movement and chose to champion non-violence. He fought hard for social justice and worked in service, not for accolades or personal gain, but to help others. In doing so, Dr. King modeled servant leadership for all aspiring leaders that came after him.
The Bottom Line
In a simply structured business environment, where teams innovate together, servant leadership can provide the necessary guidance for the achievement of many.
It’s designed to work in contrast to the authoritarian style that promotes management power over employees.
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