Leadership is a significant aspect that defines the success of any organization (Madanchian et al., 2017). From business entities to churches, leadership has stood out as one of the significant determinants of prosperity. This is because leadership comes in various means that fit the kind of direction an organization requires. While leadership is crucial, there emerges a slight but significant difference between a leader and a servant leader. These two forms of leadership are interrelated but have different impacts on the organization. The police organization is the recent unit that has attracted attention from scholars and researchers on how to improve its performance. The emphasis has further been bolstered by the fact that police organization plays vital roles in promoting social security. In the recent past, concerned bodies and the public have been calling for police reforms to increase their effectiveness.
One of the focused areas has been the leadership aspect. This is because leadership, whether good or bad, has a significant impact on the general performance of the police unit. Therefore, there is a need to understand leadership by exploring the major traits of a leader. There is also a need to understand the qualities of servant leadership in attempts to examine the aspect of leadership. Besides, it is imperative to relate a leader and servant leadership by comparing and contrasting their qualities. This project also aims at identifying what it would take to bring servant leadership in police organization and whether it requires cultural change. It is also imperative to delve into the benefits and pitfalls of servant leadership in the police organization. Lastly, there is a need to outline a brief plan of implementing the change necessary to apply the idea of servant leadership in a police organization.
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Traits of a Leader
A leader can be defined as an individual who takes the responsibility to lead others. In this context, a leader assumes the role of showing their followers what is supposed to be done. This is an implication that a leader should be able to delegate duties. Considering that a leader is bestowed with the role of showing others what to do, they should be able to assign responsibilities. Leaders are also supposed to have practical communication skills. Communication skill is a critical aspect that a leader should possess to lead others (Khoshhal & Guraya, 2016). Unlike other traits, effective communication is a channel that links a leader with their followers. Thus, they ought to communicate to have the impact on their followers. Leaders are expected to be honest. In the perspective of leadership, honesty means that the individual should possess the qualities of truthfulness and integrity. Honesty is an essential trait because it forms the basis of quality leadership. Besides, a leader should be creative.
In the wake of evolution, especially in leadership roles, a leader should be equipped with creative skills. This is a critical skill because of the role it plays in the daily leadership role. Creativity helps a leader in exploring different ways of handling compelling situations. A leader should also have a positive attitude in their role. In most instances, a leader is supposed to be an example to their followers. This means that a leader sets the precedence to be followed by their followers (Ikinci, 2014). A positive attitude ensures that a leader instills confidence in their followers and even handles challenging tasks at the workplace. Thus, a leader who displays positive attitudes is likely to convince their followers to emulate their steps. In return, a positive relationship is built between the two essential parties. Lastly, a leader should be confident and committed in their roles. This implies that a leader is supposed to prove that they are confident about different duties even as they become committed to aligning with the goals of the organization.
Traits of Servant Leadership
Servant leadership is a role that foregoes the standard requirements of a leader by fulfilling other important leadership features (Linuesa-Langreo, Ruiz-Palomino & Elche-Hortelano, 2017). This is an implication that a servant leadership result in exemplary outcomes as far as leading is concerned. A servant leader should be empathy. Being empathy primarily involves the ability to recognize and understand the feelings of others. In servant leadership, empathy is an attribute that enables a leader to understand the experience of their followers. Thus, they are also motivated by the desire to help. A servant leader should also possess the trait of awareness. This is a critical quality that primarily points out the awareness abilities of a leader. Thus, awareness in servant leadership involves the ability to understand their strengths, weakness, and opportunities. In return, a servant leader can use their awareness traits to minimize bias and make informed decisions in compelling issues. A servant leader should also be a good listener. Listening may sound irrelevant in leadership, but it adds up as a vital component of servant leadership. Listening in servant leadership trait involves giving attention to issues that affect your followers and address them effectively.
In servant leadership, listening provides an opportunity for a servant leader to counsel others, resolve conflicts, and impart training. Conceptualization is yet another necessary skill that is associated with servant leadership. A servant leader should be able to conceptualize the future possibilities and try to relate them with current realities (Coetzer, Bussin & Geldenhuys, 2017). This means that a leader should project future demands and plan in advance using the current status. Servant leadership also encompasses persuasion as one of the primary requirements of a servant leader. This is an aspect that calls for a servant leader to influence the actions and opinions of their followers by utilizing persuasive skills. Thus, servant leadership should comprise these qualities to have an impact in respective organizations.
A Leader versus Servant Leadership
A leader and a servant leader are two variables that often seek to identify how different effective types of leadership can be applied. The primary purpose of the two aspects is to guide the administration in an organization. This is an implication that despite their differences, they both aim to improve leadership in an organization. According to Jim Collins in the Good to Great textbook, a leader should be highly individual, a contributing team member, and a competent manager. Besides, a leader should be effective and also executive. This is an implication that a leader should focus on improving their style of leadership without bothering their followers first. Thus, a leader is someone that strives at executing their duties with minimal consideration of the impact they have on their followers.
On the other hand, servant leadership features significantly differs from that of a leader. This is because servant leadership encompasses the duties of ensuring that a servant leader impacts their followers. In John 13: 12-15, Jesus Christ told his disciples, “ When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.” Jesus acted as a servant leader to be emulated by his followers. In this framework, a servant leader should establish a mutual relationship with their followers. According to Wexler, Wycoff, and Fischer (2007), servant leaders should ensure that they get the right people in the bus to aid their goals. This means that servant leadership operates within a set goal that is to be achieved. The success should not only last at that moment, but also in the time when the pioneer is not around. These two related but distinctive leadership aspects are significant when there is a need to identify an effective leadership style. This is because they relate in purpose but often take different channels when it comes to the implementation. As a result, the outcomes of the two leadership aspects are different.
Servant Leadership in Police Organization
Servant leadership is an idea that may require special channels when seeking to bring into police organization. This is because, as a police unit, servant leadership has been missing, as leaders opted to lead as individuals. This means that there are critical features that should be regarded to realize servant leadership in the police organization. Firstly, servant leadership will require effective campaigns about its importance in the police organization. The police as a unit are, therefore, supposed to be engaged in the benefits that servant leadership will bring in the organization. According to Tanno and Banner (2018), servant leadership promotes high performance and employee engagement. This is an implication that police who are the primary targets will acknowledge the new changes.
In return, they will embrace the advantages that come along with the notion of servant leadership. Secondly, servant leadership in police organization will require some background and settings change to accommodate its features. This is because, as a police organization, there are already traditional channels of leadership that ought to be slowly but steadily eliminated to allow the introduction of servant leadership. Lastly, there is a need to ensure that there is considerable readiness through cooperation to embrace servant leadership. This is because the benefits of servant leadership cannot be realized if there are no significant shows of willingness to adopt its features. These factors will ensure that servant leadership is effectively transitioned into the police organization.
Cultural Change
The police organization has been, for a long time, been guided by leaders. This is an implication that leadership in police organization has not focused its efforts on the need to achieve goals as a team. Thus, the police organization has been embracing traditional leadership that is passed on from one generation to the other. In most instances, this kind of leadership has bored minimum benefits. The need to adopt servant leadership, therefore, requires a specific and useful channel to ensure that it is realized. Cultural change is an effective medium that can be utilized to realize the idea of servant leadership. Cultural change will encompass the changing of traditions in the police organizations to facilitate the opportunity for servant leadership. Servant leadership seeks to establish a long-lasting method of attaining an organization's goals (Kumar, 2016). Thus, there is a need to ensure that the background of the current police organization is changed to accommodate the features of servant leadership. In the police organization, cultural change will seek to overhaul the current settings through innovation, modification, and discovery. This means that cultural change will revive the way police organizations are led. In return, servant leadership will easily be upheld since there will be no barriers from the previous kind of leadership.
Benefits and Pitfalls of Servant Leadership in Police Organization
Servant leadership is poised to bring significant benefits to police organizations if applied effectively. Firstly, servant leadership will improve employee loyalty (Tischler et al., 2016). Employee loyalty is one of the significant benefits that an organization can boast about, especially in tasks that require mutual relationship. Police will relate with their servant leaders in positive ways that will facilitate a conducive working environment. Establishing an accommodating working environment will also facilitate high productivity levels among police officers. Police organization is one of the most stressful organizations around the nation. This is a factor that is influenced by the compelling tasks in the service. The introduction of servant leadership will ensure a better working environment and increased productivity as an outcome of reduced workplace stress (Brohi et al., 2018). Finally, servant leadership will enhance a strong and cohesive culture. This is a benefit that ensures there is mutual understanding in the organization. Thus, it will promote a culture that embraces workplace cooperation.
Despite the benefits that accrue from implementing servant leadership, there are significant pitfalls that may also emerge. The first disadvantage of implementing servant leadership is the lessening of the role of a leader. In the police organization, the servant leader will be required to do what their followers demand. According to Allen et al. (2016), a servant leader is dependent on the majority of the opinions of their followers. Secondly, the decision may take longer to be made as compared to other leadership styles. Considering that police organization requires informed decisions often, servant leadership may take long to consider the opinion of other police officers. This is a setback that may derail some important services in the police organization.
A Brief Plan of Implementing Necessary Changes to Apply Servant Leadership
There is a need to implement critical changes before applying the ideas of servant leadership. Lobbying the management to support change is the first step. In the police organization, the police bodies and the government agencies should be informed of the intended changes. This will ensure that there is maximum support for the implementation of servant leadership. Employee involvement is yet another necessary factor that should be considered before the application of servant leadership. Creating a welcoming gesture among police officers is vital in ensuring that the implementation is successful. Communicating a change should be systematic. This implies that the necessary change should be directed at communicating with the employees about the benefits of the intended idea. In the police organization, the police officers should be enlightened about different benefits to ensure that they embrace its adoption. The implementations of these changes are necessary in ensuring the successful application of servant leadership in the police organization.
Conclusion
Summarily, the act of leadership is a significant component of any organization. This means that leadership contributes to the success of an organization in achieving its goals. In leadership, there exist two interrelated common types of leadership. A leader and a servant leader are two related but distinctive types of leaders. Thus, there is a need to explore the features of every leadership style and identify how it fits in the respective organization. The police organization, on the other hand, has emerged as a unit that requires an effective form of leadership. This is a factor that emanates from the activities that take place in the organization. Introducing servant leadership, therefore, requires a background review and the elimination of possible barriers. The removal of these barriers should take cultural change as an effective media for the changes. This is because a cultural change addresses traditional forms of leadership that may inhibit the introduction of change. The benefits of applying servant leadership in police organizations range from establishing a cohesive culture to improving productivity among police officers. Thus, the implementation of servant leadership in police organizations should take place after significant changes. These changes comprise of getting the approval of the top management and employees in general. Therefore, the police organization is positioned to benefit if the features of servant leadership can be applied effectively.
References
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