Currently, many institutions and organizations are striving to embrace servant leadership. Servant leadership lays on the idea that when leaders serve, both followers and leaders enrich their lives, creating a better place for humankind. This leadership style also pivots on the philosophy that people have a high degree of self-control, positive, open-minded, humble, and naturally kind. Despite servant leadership being an ageless concept, the “servant leadership” phrase came into existence after being coined in 1970 by Robert K. Greenleaf (Heyler & Martin, 2018). This leadership style was immediately discovered; it received a lot of criticisms as critics argued that leaders and servants are two opposing terms, and combining them causes a contradiction. There are numerous arguments if servant leadership is seen more in female leaders than male leaders and how women have adopted servant leadership (Heyler & Martin, 2018). For many years, men have been viewed as good leaders, but women have an advantage when it comes to servant leadership. Some female leaders have proven that they can outperform their peers and such great examples include Kamala Harris, Mother Teresa, and Angela Merkel
Kamala Harris
US President-elect Joe Biden won the 2020 election, but Vice President Kamala Harris has attracted worldwide attention. She made history by becoming the first female and woman of color to be the United States' vice president. In her speech, she stated that "I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a nation of possibilities” (Eva et al., 2019). Kamala Harris has quickly elevated the country's prominence far from reality. Kamala Harris is a great example of a servant leader.
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A servant leader brings change to the organization or a country, and Kamala Harris has always fought inequalities in her life. She has demonstrated servant leadership qualities, such as the ability to collaborate and inspire integrity and authenticity. These elements have proved vital to a woman's success. Toughness is a trait that requires passion and perseverance. It also requires conviction and strengths. When Kamala Harris was a district attorney in San Francisco, she received a great reputation as a legal bulldog who criticized the criminal justice system and wanted justice for all people. She constantly questioned crucial matters during congressional committees and did not shy away from confronting pressing issues to society. Significant influence in serving others was witnessed in Kamala Harris's character. Influence is a great element because it implies learning how to strategize disputes and analyze numerous information to make sense of complicated challenges. She is an influential woman that utilizes effective communication skills to address her concerns. Her influence was evident in her first presidential campaign rally when 2,000 individuals across diverse races attended her rally (Eva et al., 2019). She delivers a powerful speech in Senate against lynching people of color. Also, she drafted a bill on how to stop qualified immunity for police.
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa is a true definition of a servant leader. She was widely known for her compassion for the poor, charity, courage, and humility. As a respected leader in the organization for approximately 45 years, Mother Teresa was at the forefront in leading thousands of fellow ministry staff to offer support to numerous people across the globe. Putting others first is the fundamental key in servant leadership. This implies that servant leaders utilize actions and words to show their concerns and place the team's interests and achievements ahead of them. She served as a role model for fellow missionaries. Self-sacrifice was a virtue that she demonstrated. She gave her shoes to a homeless woman, fasted for numerous days to raise awareness of people's living conditions in slums. Mother Teresa led her ground to 610 missions in more than 100 nations, which served individuals with multiple illnesses such as HIV, tuberculosis, leprosy, and many more (Eva et al., 2019). She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and Indiana's top civilian honor in 1980 to improve the living conditions in Indian's slums (Eva et al., 2019). Overall, Mother Teresa was full of altruism and a strong inspiration and interest in assisting other people. Rather than accepting gifts and credit for her achievements. Her primary goal as a leader was to serve the poor. She put her followers at the front, being true to them and treating them fairly. She ensured that she developed excellent relationships, which enabled her to understand the followers' capabilities, requirements, and objectives. In all of her life, she demonstrated the true meaning of being a servant leader, which is a skill that resulted from her infectious optimism and capability of connecting with individuals from all walks of life.
Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel is the longest-serving leader in Europe. She on four times as the German chancellor. Her long period in power is attributed to her servant leadership that has gone beyond Europe. Unlike other leaders who have served for a long time, such as Lukashenko, Putin, and Erdogan, due to their authoritarian power, visible dominance, intimidation, and arrogance, she utilizes influence and courage to lead her people. She highly depends on good relations with her people and a reason-based leadership style to maneuver within Europe's highly complicated and numerous political system levels (Heyler & Martin, 2018). Her calmness assists her in delivering consistent and well-grounded policies. For instance, while the financial crisis dragged down most European leaders, Merkel elevated her career during the period. She helped the country to develop a range of economic strategies by using low interest on bonds and Germany's strong position as an export country (Eva et al., 2019). As a result, the country was in a position to remain firm during the crisis. Merkel depends on collaboration with her people. She uses networks with significant human resources and expands her leadership through cooperation, which is a good trait in servant leadership. Many people know her as the de-facto leader or the decider of Europe. A good example is during the G7 summit. Isolation and nationalism were rampant across the globe, but her easiness, statesmanship, and capability of broking deals and relationships became visible (Eva et al., 2019). She makes friends with leaders from other nations. Her pragmatic leaders are different from charismatic and ego-driven leaders that have become too much globally. Angela Merkel does not fear being a lone voice, and she is constantly accustomed to minority platforms. Her educational background is not in the political arena or international relations but quantum chemistry. She understands that she has to stand more or less on her own, which is why she does not fear championing all people's rights through collective activism.
Effectiveness of Servant Leadership
Servant leaders have the ten most essential traits. They include listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, dedication to individuals' growth, and building community. All these elements are long-term approaches to leadership instead of a technique that one can adopt in particular circumstances. Servant leadership complements democratic leadership techniques and similar traits with transformational leadership, which is the essential method to utilize in business situations. Servant leaders do not complement hierarchies, autocratic leaders, and authoritarian, where managers and leaders are expected to make informed decisions. In these cases, servant leaders may face numerous challenges while trying to earn respect. A lot of studies talk about personalities that are required to become a servant leader in the workplace.
A servant leader is effective in the workplace because it focuses on employees and a decentralized structure. A servant leader serves stakeholders in the organization, from managers to employees to clients. When it is adequately utilized in the workplace, it emphasizes relationships over returns (Russell, 2019). Servant leadership ensures that there are excellent organization and customer relationships because employees will be able to listen, demonstrate empathy, and remain receptive to customers.
When companies employ servant leadership across the organization, the firm's operations will run effectively and efficiently. Servant leadership is mainly divided into two traits: operational servant and visionary leadership. With compelling goals and objectives in place, servant leadership can attain a high purpose and not threaten the organization. Servant leadership also builds a culture of trust that enables the team to shine. Many leaders make decisions without knowing if the employees will trust them. Employees will, in this case, make mistakes and break the rules without fearing the consequences. It will make them innovative, cooperative, and productive. When there is a culture of shame or fear, there is less productivity and cooperation.
Implications
Case studies and Research on Servant Leadership
Due to increased servant leadership amongst women, it is vital to consider why most women are better servant leaders than their male counterparts. One theory claims that servant leadership is an extension of an individual's logical biological traits (Russell, 2019). The perspective of this theory reflects women as encouraging, mature and empathetic. Women leaders depict maternal personalities that serve them in leadership positions. A counter-theory depicts that women embrace servant leadership because of socialization (Eva et al., 2019). These two approaches suggest that women in leadership embrace servant leadership because they need to be accommodating and sociable due to external pressures. Furthermore, women prefer servant leadership because society who believe in traditionally masculine traits criticizes them.
The studies have found that women are naturally servant leaders as compared to their male counterparts. Countries worldwide are striving to enhance gender diversity in numerous fields, especially senior positions in companies either in public, private or non-profit organizations. Whereas societal beliefs depict men as more natural leaders, the studies found that women are more effective servant leaders. To prove the assumption, the researchers evaluated 100 leaders and more than 400 workers in an organization to identify the elements of a servant leader with the gender makeup of the studies (Russell, 2019). The study outcomes concluded that women make better servant leaders and when their skills are utilized, there will be improved organizational performance. There is a need to start to recognize female achievements in the workplace. This aspect can be achieved by recognizing female performances and willingness to lead in a traditionally male-dominated environment.
The majority of people subconsciously picture a man when they think about a strong leader because of the stereotypes that depict men as goal-focused and commanding. These stereotypes portray that less information is known about servant leadership in women. However, as more women ascend to top leadership positions, trends in leadership exhibited by women emerge. Heyler and Martin (2018) portrayed women leaders as less authoritarian. When women leaders are less authoritarian, they encourage their followers, sacrifice their self-interest, and value their interpersonal skills with the employees. The researchers concluded that women use the servant leadership style.
The emergence of servant leadership has positively affected workers` behavior and the company's performance. While theories and approaches have not been developed to the core, companies have implemented servant leadership techniques and have been found to astound the competition with maximum financial performance. Servant leadership is focused on philosophical techniques and elements includes. Servant leadership's ability revolves around numerous traits such as listening, awareness, empathy, healing, dedication, and stewardship to professional development.
The famous case study of a servant leader is Abraham Lincoln. The U.S has benefited from numerous visions of leaders due to their strength, empowerment, and capabilities. Abraham Lincoln demonstrated servant leadership. He was a person who showed empathy to free slaves during the Civil War and was dedicated to the welfare of all citizens in the United States. Lincoln started life as a humble son for a farmer who has the ambition to elevate himself through knowledge. He was not formally educated, but he became an attorney for him to serve the country through informal education. Lincoln's hard work and professionalism led him to Senate, and he eventually became the 16th President. As a present, he demonstrated kindness, empathy, and the ability to listen with the ultimate goal of serving all citizens regardless of religious background, race, color, or equality (Blanchard, 2018). His leadership style was to empower all citizens through informed decisions and a desire for happiness.
There is a theoretical framework that leads one to be a servant leader. It starts from humility to empathy to servant leadership. A leader should love employees, superiors, and even competitors. Demonstrating concern for other people and putting their requirements and desires at the front shows empathy that will later develop to trust. Humility is among the elements of servant leadership. Empathy from leaders leads to trust between a leader and the team. All these elements point out to Lincoln because he was not merely focusing on his political life but also all residents' welfare. He was in a position to see both sides of the political arena. For instance, he was opposed to the idea of slavery but was also at the same time felt empathy for slave owners. The inclination towards empathy can be confirmed when he wrote a letter to Joshua Speed describing a New Orleans trip (Heyler & Martin, 2018). The letter narrated his opinion of slavery and had a great impact on ending slavery. In the end, Lincoln's compassion turned his enemies into supporters. His political leadership role enabled him to see the whole picture, unlike other Congress members on how to drive the country forward.
Current Assumptions on Servant Leadership
While servant leadership appears to be the best option to traditional leadership, it has its challenges. It is hard to be a servant and, at the same time, a leader. There are limitations regarding power, authority, and direction of the organization. According to Heyler & Martin (2018), a servant and a leader do not fit together. It is just a method poor leaders use to elevate themselves above the people they serve. They argued that it is a completely non-effective technique that a leader can take. Servant leadership has been questioned regarding its strategies in modern leadership. There are assumptions that servant leadership may be skewed on the ground of the era, educational background, and expertise of a person. The value systems that drive organizations include approachability, agility, swiftness, innovative client-driven, and trustworthiness.
The fundamental challenge regarding servant leadership is undermined authority. In normal leadership circumstances, servant leadership will be possible, but there are situations that a leader is required to take a firm position. Servant leadership does not enable taking a firm stance. For instance, when such a leader exercises a firm authority, the teams will not understand if they are serious. This is because they have not witnessed the other side because, on normal occasions, he/she is always empathetic to the team. Hence, the authority of the leader is lowered.
Another assumption about servant leadership is decreased motivation. Many studies argue that servant leaders lead to decreased motivation among employees because one lends a helping hand, and workers will be tempted to decrease their current performance level (Gandolfi & Stone, 2018). This aspect makes the company priorities less because such a leader tends to focus on employees' welfare rather than on the organization. Leaders must consider the team's requirements, but it should not override the organization's goals and objectives. Studies found that servant leadership does not fit each situation. Each company requires a flexible individual with personal traits on its own (Gandolfi & Stone, 2018). Therefore, no leadership style fits in each business or situation. Organizations are fluid, and they need a flexible leadership style.
Becoming a Servant Leader
I am a directive leader, whereby I am always directing activities to the team and assigning them the roles and responsibilities. Leadership is based on path-goal theory, and it was developed by Martin G. Evans in 1970 (Davis, 2017). Under directive leadership, I guide workers` objectives and create a way to attain their goals. For instance, the directive leader offers guidance and coaching, clarify workers` roles and responsibilities, eradicate obstacles that stop completion of roles, and offer awards when appropriate. I want to adopt good leadership because, most of the time, it is essential to gain authority over the power.
Becoming a servant leader is a process that a person should be emulated. To become a servant leader, one should have a calling to sacrifice self-interest for others' good. A person also needs to have a desire to make a difference to the team and take chances that impacts other people's lives and not for their gain. This element cannot be taught unless an individual has a natural desire to serve.
Another element is to develop the ability to listen to other people's ideas and value them. Servant leaders are good listeners regarding the views of other people. Individuals instinctively comprehend that a servant leader needs to share their idea and concepts that will be valued. Listening is a skill that can be taught and is important for people who aspire to be servant leaders. Without effective listening skills, many of the elements will not be achieved.
Conclusion
From the evidence, it is clear that women are naturally servant leaders because of their unique skills, such as empathy and power of listening. Given the clear benefits of women in leadership such as Mother Teresa, Angele Merkel, and Kamala Harris, it is time that the organizations think about including more women in leadership positions so that they continuously strive to achieve. Further research should include and encourage women to showcase their talents more in leadership positions to achieve their natural servant leadership. Famous leaders such as Mother Teresa have adopted servant leadership successfully. Organizations ranging from public, private to non-profit organizations should adopt the leadership style.
References
Blanchard, K. (2018). Servant leadership in action: How you can achieve great relationships and results . Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Davis, N. (2017). Review of followership theory and servant leadership theory: Understanding how servant leadership informs followership. Servant Leadership and Followership , 207-223. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59366-1_9
Eva, N., Robin, M., Sendjaya, S., Van Dierendonck, D., & Liden, R. C. (2019). Servant leadership: A systematic review and call for future research. The Leadership Quarterly , 30 (1), 111-132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2018.07.004
Gandolfi, F., & Stone, S. (2018). Leadership, leadership styles, and servant leadership. Journal of Management Research , 18 (4), 261-269. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Franco_Gandolfi/publication/340940468_Leadership_Leadership_Styles_and_Servant_Leadership/links/5ea6a029a6fdccd79457ffa9/Leadership-Leadership-Styles-and-Servant-Leadership.pdf
Heyler, S. G., & Martin, J. A. (2018). Servant Leadership Theory: Opportunities for Additional Theoretical Integration 1. Journal of Managerial Issues , 30 (2), 230-153. https://search.proquest.com/openview/07e9d1fc50492ee31ce61f6765136e8c/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=32030
Russell, R. F. (2019). The role of values in servant leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal , 22 (2), 76-84. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437730110382631
