Servant leadership became a topic of discussion when Robert K. Greenleaf coined the term in 1970 (Northouse, 2019). Since the beginning of recognizing this leadership philosophy as one that focuses on a leader being of service to followers, servant leadership has more recently grown into a leadership theory that has gained momentum. It is now seen as a theoretical concept with practical elements that offer insight into organizational development and follower commitment. It is of particular interest to organizations that are focused on trust and organizational citizenship behaviors. Leaders who practice servant leadership behaviors teach followers to engage in behaviors that “transcend job performance and is directed to the overall welfare of the organization”, known as citizenship behaviors (Muchinsky & Howes, 2018). Research suggests that this phenomenon, brought on by servant leadership behaviors, often times translates into higher employee performance, engagement, commitment, and trust.
Servant leaders recognize the individual goals of employees and seek out ways to nurture development and pave the way for employees to continue on this path. This involves listening, understanding employee points of view, decreasing task obstacles, and helping employees recognize potential. Servant leaders understand the needs of employees, hold themselves accountable for mistakes, and are dedicated to taking a proactive role in the continuing growth of followers. Once leaders are able to set a precedent that they are dedicated to follower growth and well-being, employees will match this behavior with a higher level of commitment, and consider themselves valued members of the group. Theoretically this has been modeled into three main components: antecedent conditions, servant leadership behaviors, and leadership outcomes (Northouse, 2019). In order for servant leadership and its positive outcomes to be effective, organizations must meet the conditions and behaviors emphasized to reach these goals.
The antecedent conditions set the stage for servant leadership behaviors to be effective within an organization. The overall context and culture must be conducive for leaders to be of service to employees. This involves the values of the organization, and the time dedicated to leaders to facilitate opportunities to create trusting relationships. Oftentimes in environments that are competitive or fast-paced this can be overlooked when organizations are met with challenges that require emphasis on budgets, sales goals, profits, or production without focusing on the employee experience and roadblocks that might be contributing to the situation. “Servant leadership does not occur in a vacuum but occurs within a given organizational context and a particular culture” (Northouse, 2019). The model points out that these conditions must be consistent even when situational challenges occur. Leaders who have particular attributes towards helping others, motivating employees, and who seek out leadership opportunities to provide mentorship, build lasting relationships, and are dedicated to providing a fulfilling and supportive workplace environment are also contributing factors to the right conditions. Finally, follower receptivity focuses on matching this type of leadership philosophy with follower needs. If followers are not receptive to this type of guidance, involvement, and nurturing they may be frustrated by this level of interaction, ultimately effecting outcomes. However, “empirical studies have shown that when servant leadership was matched with followers who desired it, this type of leadership had a positive impact on performance and organizational citizenship behavior (Meuser, Liden, Wayne, & Henderson, 2011; Otero-Neira, Varela-Neira, & Bande, 2016; Ozyilmaz & Cicek, 2015).
The servant leadership behaviors are the foundation of the process. Each behavior plays a central role to the contribution and outcome of servant leadership. Liden et al (2018) put together a list of core behaviors to help ground and further define servant leadership theory. These include: conceptualizing, emotional healing, putting followers first, helping followers grow and succeed, behaving ethically, empowering, and creating value for the Community (Northouse, 2019). Each one of these leader motives and behaviors implies the servant leader is aware, intelligent, motivational, and dedicated to followers. This involves the leader having a clear motive to inspire others, and the ability to integrate these behaviors into the overall context and culture. These behaviors help create a power distance that enables trust and organizational citizenship behaviors. Once these behaviors are legitimized by followers they will reciprocate with a feeling of safety and belonging, engaged and committed, under leadership that focuses on the employee experience and creating a collaborative environment. Reinforcing the fact that the organization is people-focused and determined to cultivate and quality and meaningful experience for followers.
In order to come up with a fully realized theoretical review of servant leadership Dirk van Dierendonck put together a synthesis of both servant leadership key points starting with Greenleaf and analyzing more recent literature, explaining why this is important especially today. “At present, innovation and employee well-being are given high priority and so leadership that is rooted in ethical and caring behavior becomes of great importance” (van Dierendonck, 2011). Even more true ten years later, organizations that focus on servant leadership behaviors and do so authentically will set themselves apart as being people-focused and since this is societally the change employees are looking for, these organizations become more desirable. They have a reputation for creating opportunity for employees and realizing potential. Employees will seek out these organizations, which will increase follower receptivity and increase organizational goals, improving employee engagement, commitment, and organizational citizenship behaviors. This relationship is built upon trust and fairness, and provides opportunity for employees to collaborate, grow, and find value in the organization they represent.
In my experience it is true that servant leadership behaviors do impact a deeper level of commitment and engagement. Employees that feel secure and listened to will legitimize leaders and want to impact organizations in positive ways. One downfall of servant leadership behavior I have witnessed, and now recognize in hindsight is due to the fact that antecedent conditions were not met in order to optimize servant leadership behaviors. I’m sure many have had experience with a manager that was more present, active, and there for employees especially during challenging times. These leaders had a sense of serving for others, and became an ambassador for employee growth and potential. They create trust by listening to others, and fixing issues so that the team can succeed. When this is not part of the overall context and culture of the organization, it can become overwhelming for the manager that everyone seeks out to discuss development, conflict, or day-to-day operational obstacles. Without a cultural foundation in place that emphasizes servant leadership behavior within the organization the demands of lifting up employees and serving others on just one individual or small group of individuals can be cumbersome especially in organizations where managers oversee a large group of employees.
As depicted in the model the final phase is outcomes. These outcomes highlight the impact when conditions and behaviors are legitimized. Follower performance and growth, organizational performance, and societal impact examines how servant leadership can impact individuals, organizations, and communities going above and beyond transactional organizational goals but understanding the impact of servant leadership both within the organization, reputationally, and the ways it enhances the surrounding community. Several studies have examined constructive servant leadership with positive organizational citizenship behaviors. This can lead to higher performance levels, increased job satisfaction, and long-term commitment. Followers learn to be servant leaders themselves and have a deeper understanding of the effects of servant leadership and organizational citizenship behaviors to take with them throughout their careers, enhancing the value, meaning, and practice of servant leadership within organizations.
References:
Muchinsky, P. M., & Howes, S. S. (2019). Psychology applied to work: an introduction to industrial and organizational psychology. Hypergraphic Press, Inc.
Northouse, P.G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 8th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
van Dierendonck, D. (2011). Servant Leadership: A Review and Synthesis. Journal of Management, 37(4), 1228–1261. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310380462