Servant Leadership

Reading out of our lane about the management theory of "servant leadership" (Chen et al.), we find a distinction between servant leadership and transformational leadership. "Whereas a servant leader focuses on his or her followers, a transformational leader primary focuses on the organization and collective goals, and organizational growth and development is a priority" (Allen et al.). Chen's article presents evidence that in a beauty salon setting servant leadership produces higher customer satisfaction.

The servant leadership idea was proposed by Robert K. Greenleaf in a 1970 essay that develops the idea from a reading of Hermann Hesse's 1932 novel, Journey to the East.

The Greenleaf Center acknowledges that the idea is a "timeless concept" ("What is"). As Christmas approaches we can think for example about the image of a good shepherd.

Another classic source of the concept is Plato's Republic where Socrates instructs Thrasymachus:

Then now, Thrasymachus, there is no longer any doubt that neither arts nor governments provide for their own interests; but, as we were before saying, they rule and provide for the interests of their subjects who are the weaker and not the stronger—to their good they attend and not to the good of the superior. And this is the reason, my dear Thrasymachus, why, as I was just now saying, no one is willing to govern; because no one likes to take in hand the reformation of evils which are not his concern without remuneration. For, in the execution of his work, and in giving his orders to another, the true artist does not regard his own interest, but always that of his subjects; and therefore in order that rulers may be willing to rule, they must be paid in one of three modes of payment, money, or honour, or a penalty for refusing.

Chen's study employs four salient characteristics of servant leadership: "empowering, helping subordinates grow and succeed, emotional healing, and putting subordinates first" (5) in order to show that servant leadership encourages "better service performance to uphold their identity as the best service provider" (5).

At some point, therefore, servant leadership as a management model is measured according to effects that are salient to transformational assessment. Conceptually, servant leadership is not opposed to, but seems to be nested in a more sophisticated (shall we say nuanced?) transformational model.

Works Cited

Allen, George P. et al. “The Role of Servant Leadership and Transformational Leadership in Academic Pharmacy.” American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 80.7 (2016): 113. PMC. Web. 11 Dec. 2017.

Chen, Z., Zhu, J., & Zhou, M. (2014, October 13). How Does a Servant Leader Fuel the Service Fire? A Multilevel Model of Servant Leadership, Individual Self Identity, Group Competition Climate, and Customer Service Performance. Journal of Applied Psychology. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0038036

Greenleaf, Robert K. "The Servant as Leader." Archived at Escola Secundária Artística de Soares dos Reis, https://www.essr.net/~jafundo/mestrado_material_itgjkhnld/IV/Lideran%C3%A7as/The%20Servant%20as%20Leader.pdf

Hesse, Hermann. Journey to the East. 1932. Amazon Kindle Edition, Macmillan, 2013.

Plato. Republic. Translated by B. Jowett, The Project Gutenberg EBook, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1497/1497-h/1497-h.htm

"What is Servant Leadership?" Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership,  https://www.greenleaf.org/what-is-servant-leadership/