SERVANT LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENTS IN THEORY AND RESEARCH (H/C)

SERVANT-LEADERSHIP MAY BE THE ANSWER TO THE CURRENT DEMAND FOR A MORE ETHICAL, PEOPLE-CENTRED LEADERSHIP WHERE HUMILITY, SERVITUDE AND CONTRIBUTION ARE KEY ELEMENTS. COINED BY ROBERT GREENLEAF IN THE 1970S, SERVANT-LEADERSHIP MAY BE PARTICULARLY RELEVANT TODAY BECAUSE IT ADDS A MORAL COMPONENT TO TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND IT PLACES EXPLICIT ATTENTION ON THE NEEDS OF THE FOLLOWERS. ALTHOUGH INFLUENCE IS GENERALLY SEEN AS THE ESSENCE OF LEADERSHIP, SERVANT-LEADERSHIP CHANGES THE FOCUS OF THIS INFLUENCE BY EMPHASIZING THE IDEAL OF SERVICE WITHIN THE LEADER-FOLLOWER RELATIONSHIP. AN INCREASING NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS HAVE ADOPTED SERVANT-LEADERSHIP AS PART OF THEIR CORPORATE PHILOSOPHY AND FOUND GREAT SUCCESS, EVEN IN TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES. WITH THEIR FOCUS ON FOLLOWERS SEEMINGLY INCONGRUENT TO SOME LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHIES, THESE SERVANT-LED ORGANIZATIONS ARE NOT ONLY HIGHLY PROFITABLE, BUT ALSO HAVE HEALTHY CORPORATE CULTURES WITH HIGH LEVELS OF WORKER SATISFACTION. IN ESSENCE, THES