Overview of Servant Leadership

The essay helps in analysing the approach of servant leadership which can be used by the organisations. The pros and cons of servant leadership are required to be identified which will be useful for the overall growth of the company in an appropriate manner. According to Sipe and Frick (2015), servant leadership is not a style of leadership or technique; however this requires the leaders to put the other individuals first. This is the view of leadership which emphasises the overall positive development of the different followers which will be helpful in attaining the different goals of the organisation appropriately.

Chen, Zhu and Zhou (2015), have opined that servant leadership is the kind of philosophy of leader in which the primary goal of the leaders is to serve the company positively. The servant leader shares the power along with putting the needs of the individuals at first which helps the individuals in developing along with performing in the best possible manner. This is the technique of behaving which can be adopted by the individuals in the long term and this will be beneficial for the success of the organisation and the employees as well.

Moreover, Panaccio et al. (2015), has commented that servant leadership helps in complimenting the democratic style of leadership along with few similarities of the transformational leadership which can be used in handling the different situations in the business environment effectively as well. The encouraging of the employees act as the servant leaders which benefits the entire aspect of the organisation as well. This will improve the moral and unity which fosters in creating a positive work environment between the organisations along with communities which will be appropriate for analysing the different challenges in a unique manner.

However, on the other hand, Shaw and Newton (2014), have commented that the servant leadership is problematic for hierarchical along with autocratic kind of culture wherein the different managers and leaders are expected to make the decisions all by themselves. In such types of scenarios, the servant leaders may require to struggle to earn respect in the organisation culture.

 There are different kinds of procedures of the servant leadership in the organisation which can create a positive or negative impact on the various tasks which are being performed in the organisation. The basic idea of servant leadership is serving the overall organisation wherein the outcome of the same will provide for the growth and performance of the followers working in the organisation effectively.  

According to Grisaffe, VanMeter and Chonko (2016), the seven-core element of the servant leadership follows the conceptualising, putting the followers at first place, helping the different followers to grow and succeed which will be creating value for the organisation. Liden et al. (2014), have hypothesised that the servant leaders have the potential to understand and empathise with others which will be successful for the overall success of the organization.

On the other hand, Keith (2015), has opined that the servant leadership helps the organization in building along with sustaining the value of the stakeholders which will be successful for managing the different aspects of the organization to become successful in their approaches in a positive manner. This has been noticed that servant leadership has added the benefit of reducing the ego from the ones who are in the leadership position as the ego can be driving force which can lead to the overall failure of the organization in a negative manner.

The Approach of Servant Leadership in Organizations

Keith (2015), has commented that there are few significant characteristics of the servant leaders which will be beneficial for the overall success of the firm in a positive manner. Firstly, the leaders try to empathize with the others which helps in building trust, and this is the crucial ingredient in creating long-lasting partnerships as well. Moreover, this helps in making partners and community wherein the leaders are being motivated to perform in a unique manner which will be positively benefitting the organization.

Spears and Lawrence (2016), have opined that there are different pros and cons of servant leadership which can affect the overall growth of the organization positively or negatively. Firstly, the first merit of the servant leadership approach is that the different decisions are being made in the interest of the organization and not the individuals working in the organization. In the respective leadership approach, the managers along with the leaders try to look at the different requests from the staff members through the lens which will be best suitable for the business which will be beneficial for the success.

Furthermore, Stouten and Liden (2018), have opined that with the implementation of the servant leadership, this helps the staffs in growing along with succeeding as this allows the teams of the organizations to develop as the leaders. With the usage of the servant-leadership, this assists the managers and leaders in determining the missions and goals of the organization which will be based on the viewpoints of the staffs.

 In the servant leadership approach, the employees play a significant role in determining the transition of the organization which will tend to be a definite advantage to the bottom line of the organization. Moreover, this has been noticed that when the employees in the organization work under the servant leaders, the employees operate typically as a collective approach which is beneficial for the different individuals in a positive manner. The satisfaction of the employees improves as all the needs are being met positively as well (Spears and Lawrence, 2016).

Stouten and Liden (2018), have opined that the team building is one of the unique approaches which is created by servant leaders as this will be advantageous for the entire firm and the employees well being as well. The servant leadership approach helps in involving all the team members in the process of change management which will be beneficial for the success of the organization, and this is helpful in maintaining the cohesiveness of the team as well along with sets the tone for the organization.

Liden et al. (2014), have opined that the leaders in the organizations need to follow the servant leadership style which will help in gaining a great deal of trust along with respect from the different employees. The confident and robust type of feelings between the employees along with management is being promoted in managing the high sense of morale among the employees. This kind of leadership is essential for the diverse type of work which will be appropriate for creating a sense of loyalty among employees.

Pros and Cons of Servant Leadership in Organizations

On the other hand, Liden et al. (2014) have commented that there are different cons of servant leadership wherein this takes longer to make different decisions in the organization. The servant-leadership is disadvantageous as there can be various problems related to growth. The employees can lack the motivational approach as the managers are always ready to help them with the solution and this can impact the progress of the employees negatively as well.

According to Keith (2015), the particular approach of leadership is too internal as this is immersed into introspections and this encourages the employees in analyzing and making them understand the importance of the tasks and these are growing the issues which will be ineffective.

As per Stouten and Liden (2018), there can be different parental issues wherein this resemble the parent-child relationship wherein the managers act to emotionally and physically cater to the diverse needs of the employees. This leads to the relations which become too dependent, and this decreases the productivity of the organization negatively as well. Furthermore, Focht and Ponton (2015), have commented and opined that the servant leadership opens the door for bullying in the entire industry. When the leaders of the organizations dedicate all their efforts in understanding the grievances and the needs of the employees, the servant leader can be a manipulative figure, and this will be an unethical practice.

Conclusion

 Therefore, this can be concluded that the servant-leadership is one of the approaches wherein this has positive along with negative impacts on the organizations along with the team members working in the organizations as well. It can be seen that leaders do not have the formal type of authority to get the things done which will be perceived as the weak approach. However, on the other hand, the servant leadership helps in working for the best interests of the entire organization, and this increases the overall productivity of the organization positively as well. Servant leadership is a practice wherein the leaders try to solve the problems of the employees working in the organization above everything, and this is quite similar to the democratic style of leadership as well. Lastly, this can be concluded that the servant leadership approach is basically of huge importance that can help the organization to survive in the competitive business environment and this will be creating positive attitude among the employees.

References

Chen, Z., Zhu, J. and Zhou, M., 2015. 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, 100(2), p.511.

Ebbrecht, A. and Martin, B.N., 2017. The mentoring experiences of four Missouri teachers of the year through the lens of servant-leadership characteristics. The International Journal of Servant-Leadership, 11(1), pp.337-372.

Focht, A. and Ponton, M., 2015. Identifying primary characteristics of servant leadership: Delphi study. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 9(1).

Grisaffe, D.B., VanMeter, R. and Chonko, L.B., 2016. Serving first for the benefit of others: Preliminary evidence for a hierarchical conceptualization of servant leadership. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 36(1), pp.40-58.

Keith, K.M., 2015. The case for servant leadership. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership.

Liden, R.C., Wayne, S.J., Liao, C. and Meuser, J.D., 2014. Servant leadership and serving culture: Influence on individual and unit performance. Academy of Management Journal, 57(5), pp.1434-1452.

Liden, R.C., Wayne, S.J., Meuser, J.D., Hu, J., Wu, J. and Liao, C., 2015. Servant leadership: Validation of a short form of the SL-28. The Leadership Quarterly, 26(2), pp.254-269.

Panaccio, A., Henderson, D.J., Liden, R.C., Wayne, S.J. and Cao, X., 2015. Toward an understanding of when and why servant leadership accounts for employee extra-role behaviors. Journal of Business and Psychology, 30(4), pp.657-675.

Shaw, J. and Newton, J., 2014. Teacher retention and satisfaction with a servant leader as principal. Education, 135(1), pp.101-106.

Sipe, J.W. and Frick, D.M., 2015. Seven pillars of servant leadership: Practicing the wisdom of leading by serving. Paulist Press.

Spears, L.C. and Lawrence, M. eds., 2016. Practicing servant-leadership: Succeeding through trust, bravery, and forgiveness. John Wiley & Sons.

Stouten, J. and Liden, R.C., 2018. Social loafing in organizational work groups: The mitigating effect of servant leadership.