Northouse- Leadership
Chapter 10: Servant Leadership
Originated with Greenleaf (1970)
emphasizes that leaders be attentive to the concerns of their followers, empathize with
them, nurture them.
put others first, empower them, help them develop their full personal capacities.
servant leaders are ethical
serve the greater good
starts with a desire to serve; grows to a choice to lead
Journey to the East (Hesse, 1956) gave Greenleaf the idea
Ten Characteristics of a Servant Leader
1. Listening
2. Empathy
3. Healing
4. Awareness
5. Persuasion (rather than coercion)
6. Conceptualization
7. Foresight
8. Stewardship
9. Commitment to the growth of people
10. Building community
Model of Servant leadership:
Antecedent conditions:
- Leader attributes
- follower receptivity (some followers do not like servant leadership)
- context and culture
Servant leader behaviors:
-conceptualizing
- emotional healing
- putting followers first
- helping followers grow and succeed
- behaving ethically
- empowering
- creating value for the community
Northouse- Leadership
Outcomes:
-follower performance and growth (self-actualization)
- organizational performance
- societal impact
Strengths
 unique- altruism is in the center
 counterintuitive and provocative approach
to use of influence, power
 not always the preferred kind
 sound measurement
Criticisms
 paradoxical- diminishes potential value
 debate among scholars on core
dimensions of the process
 lot of the lit has prescriptive overtone;
implies that good leaders put others first
 unclear why conceptualizing is included