Why Servant Leadership is Important in the Age of Individualism
By: Tim Janes
Servant leadership is a popular topic in managerial and leadership circles today. There are many opinions on what it actually is, whether it’s effective, and what outcomes it may produce in an organization. In this article, I will give a definition of servant leadership, discuss the potential organizational outcomes, and show why it is so important in the world today.
What is Servant Leadership?
Most people trace the term “servant leadership” back to Robert Greenleaf, who outlined what the role of a servant leader is, and why it is important to use the model of leadership in the workplace. Many studies have been done on the topic since then, and it’s hard to say that there is complete clarity into what a servant leader actually looks like. It doesn’t help that the term itself seems paradoxical – a leader who serves?
Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around?
Perhaps that is why servant leadership seems so radical; it seemingly calls one to actually lead through serving.
In order to define servant leadership, it helps to identify characteristics of a servant leader. A servant leader has many characteristics, including good listening, empathy, foresight, awareness, persuasion, and a strong focus towards others. They also have solid self-awareness, they conceptualize things well for others, and they hold a strong commitment to creating empowered community.
With the characteristics of a servant leader in mind, let’s turn to their role in the organization. A servant leader, like any leader, is tasked with bringing about the realization of organizational goals. However, their tasks don’t end with the goals of the organization; rather, they feel tasked to empower and grow employees, get things done ethically, and to facilitate positive organizational behavior. This contrasts with a traditional view of leadership, where the focus is on personal gain for the leader (and the organization) through accomplishing goals and hitting metrics. Instead, servant leaders focus on gain for other individuals and for the community as a whole.
So, what is servant leadership? It is ethically leading others through compassion, listening, and empowerment in order to promote growth of individuals and the community, thereby leading to positive organizational outcomes.
Outcomes, Strengths, and Potential Weaknesses
Many positive outcomes correlate to servant leadership. Chief among them is the creation of empowered individuals. Instead of hoarding power at the “top,” a servant leader chooses to give power to their subordinates and have power with them in accomplishing shared goals. Servant leaders believe that their followers are capable of growth, so they trust their followers to make decisions themselves. In this vein, a servant leader views their role as one of support – they look at what needs to be done and ask, “How can I support this person to help them realize their potential?”
Servant leadership leads to better job performance and organizational citizenship behavior. It also positively contributes to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and trust.
In a study by Kiker et al. (see below), they described many of these findings along with other results. They found that males increase their job performance more than females in response to servant leadership. On the other hand, females’ positive sentiments increase more than males’. Interestingly, there were differences in results between non-profit and for-profit settings. While job performance increased more in non-profit settings than it did in for-profit settings, organizational citizenship behavior, job satisfaction, commitment, and trust all increased more in for-profit settings than in non-profit settings. Perhaps the increased positive sentiments in for-profit settings is due to the starkly contrasting nature of what people in the business sector are used to from leadership.
Kiker et al. also found that servant leadership is more effective when practiced at an organization-wide level than at the individual leader level. It seems that it’s more beneficial to infuse organizational operations with servant leadership on a grand scale than it is for individual leaders to adopt the model themselves. This may be due to one of the potential pitfalls of servant leadership: not everybody wants a servant leader. Some people just want to be told what to do, rather than to be empowered to make their own decisions.
Another concern raised by some researchers is that servant leadership requires the leader to give up other tenets common in leadership, such as directing, concern for production, goal setting, and creating a vision. However, I believe that view runs contrary to what servant leaders are called to do, which is to bravely execute a vision by helping others set their own goals that will contribute to the accomplishment of communal objectives that serve the greater whole.
There is one other major positive aspect of servant leadership: it may inspire others to become servant leaders. Therefore, there is a potential ripple effect that is waiting to be unleashed if leaders at the top of an organization are willing to adopt this leadership model. As the model makes its way down the organizational chart, empowered individuals adopt the same ideals. In doing so they turn around to serve those under their purview. Even individual contributors can adapt their personal leadership to the principles of servant leadership – leading themselves, their coworkers, and their customers with compassion and humanity, thereby creating deeper connections and commitment to one another.
Servant Leadership in the Age of Individualism
There is a vicious lie that leaders have been told throughout history: it’s all about you. Servant leadership flips that in the opposite direction: it’s all about them. In an age where we are bombarded with messages telling us that our priorities should be comfort, power, and safety for ourselves, it’s no wonder that servant leadership sits uneasily with many people. But isn’t that why it is so important to adopt it now?
As the Covid-19 pandemic ripped through the globe, we became more isolated from one another than we have been in modern history. As we come out of this pandemic, there is going to be an urgent need for leaders who can build supportive communities based on trust, compassion, and companionship. This is especially true as the next generation of people come into the workforce. Young workers will be entering work environments that require collaboration, after their formative years have been full of messages that call for radical individualism. They – and the experienced workforce – will need servant leaders to help them grow, feel fulfilled, and integrate into their teams.
Final Thoughts
Think about your own professional life. Specifically, think about the best leaders that you ever met. Were they focused on lording power over their subordinates, giving directives, and being intolerant of mistakes? Or, were they focused on giving power to their subordinates, encouraging thoughtful decision-making, and tolerating mistakes that lead to growth? The first scenario is a leader who is out for personal gain, while the second is likely a servant leader.
Servant leadership, though focused on others, starts with the individual. If you want to become a servant leader, it will require a journey of introspection, discernment, and personal growth. It takes constant time, effort, and mindfulness to maintain commitment to those that you serve, but the results speak for themselves.
Most importantly, remember to always lead with love, compassion, kindness, patience, and trust. Your people will reward you with commitment, loyalty, effort, growth, and success.
Tim is a young professional who chooses to lead himself and others intentionally. His life’s purpose is to create supportive communities so that others may thrive.
If you want to read more of his content, check out his website at intentionalleadershipexchange.com, or connect with him on LinkedIn.
Tim gives credit for the following sources for this blog post:
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: theory and practice (7th ed.) (pp. 195-256). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.
Kiker, D. S., Scully Callahan, J., & Kiker, M. B. (2019). Exploring the Boundaries of Servant Leadership: A Meta-Analysis of the Main and Moderating Effects of Servant Leadership on Behavioral and Affective Outcomes. Journal of Managerial Issues, 31(2), 172–197.
For more on servant leadership, listen to Intentional Leader’s podcast series on this topic.
Cal also recommends you check out Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Motive, where he talks about the two motivations of a leader.
