Servant Leadership
in Schools
Educational Leaders’ Strategies
for Successful Learning
1.
Ensure that a relevant, rigorous
curriculum exists.
2.
Ensure that effective instructional
strategies are employed.
3.
Ensure that a strong mission exists in
the hearts and minds of the staff.
Why is a Leader’s Style of
Leadership Important?
“An institution is the
lengthened shadow of one
person.”
Voltaire, 18th Century French philosopher and
essayist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leadership Style Affects
the Organization

"Leaders who are arrogant, dictatorial in their approach, emotionally
volatile and who adopt a bullying style under stress often leave a trail of
bruised people. By resisting input from others, ordering people around
and making staff feel stupid and unintelligent, leaders set themselves
and their organizations up for failure."
Karen M. Dyer
"Relational Leadership"
School Administrator, Nov. 2001
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Williams proposed that poor leaders can cause a school’s culture to
become toxic and unproductive.
Williams, B. T. (2001). Ethical leadership in schools servicing African American children and youth.
Teacher Education and Special Education, 24, 38-47.
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A leadership style provides a leader with
a focus that directs all of his/her actions
and words.
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A lack of leadership style leads to
uncertainty or inconsistency of behavior
which is confusing to followers
History of Leadership Styles for Educational
Leaders
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Autocratic
Bureaucratic
Scientific
Democratic
Laissez-faire
Situational
Relational
Collaborative
Human Resources
Transactional
Transformational
Constructivist
Moral/Spiritual
Stooginian Leadership Style
Publicity photo from the Three Stooges short subject Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb. Copyright Columbia Pictures, 1938.
Yamasaki asserted that rigid hierarchical structures could no longer
provide adequate leadership in an era of information technology
and continuously changing organizations.
Yamasaki, E. (1999). Understanding managerial leadership as more than an oxymoron. New Directions
for Community Colleges, 105, 67-73.
Sewell declared that the traditional top down managerial style is no
longer effective in the 21st century education system.
Sewell, S. C. (2003). Leadership: Do you manage or lead? The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 69, 54-55.
Although it is recognized that schools and school
leaders’ leadership styles have undergone drastic
change, it is difficult to predict which leadership style
would best serve public school leaders. Taylor
surmised that after decades of research to find the
best or most effective leadership style that no style
had emerged as the best in all situations.
Taylor, T. A. (2002). Examination of leadership practices of principals identified as servant leaders.
Dissertation Abstracts International, 63 (05), 1661A. (UMI No. 3052221)
Jennings reviewed the literature on educational leadership, and she
found that servant leadership could fill a new role in schools:
In many cases, shared leadership among leadership teams in the school
help all stakeholders to be involved in the leadership of the school. Still,
the principal is the designated leader of the school. His or her leadership
philosophy, beliefs, and values are evident in the school climate, the
students and staff who populate the school, and the perceived success of
the school. The servant leadership model supports this shift in leadership
ideology by focusing on the enrichment of the community and the growing
of leaders from within the community.
Jennings, D. B. (2002). Those who would lead must first serve: The praxis of servant leadership by public
school principals. Dissertation Abstracts International, 63 (04), 1207A. (UMI No. 3049171)
Servant Leadership is……
Servant leadership is considered some to
be more of a life-style than a
leadership style
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Laub took servant leadership beyond a simple
definition of leadership style when he stated,
“Servant leadership is more than a style of
leadership. It is a different way of thinking about the
purpose of leadership, the true role of a leader, and
the potential of those being led.” Laub also stated,
“Servant leadership is an understanding and practice
of leadership that places the good of those led over
the self-interest of the leader.”
Laub, J. A. (1999). Assessing the servant organization: Development of the servant
organizational leadership assessment (sola) instrument. Dissertation Abstracts International,
60 (02), 308A. (UMI No. 9921922)
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Burkhardt and Spears stated that “While the
term ‘servant-leadership’ was first coined in
1970, it is clearly a belief whose roots stretch
back through thousands of years of both
religious and humanistic teachings.” Servant
leadership has existed since Jesus of
Nazareth said, “the Son of Man did not come
to be served, but to serve” (Matthew 20:28a).
Burkhardt, J. C., & Spears, L. C. (2000). Servant leadership and philanthropic
institutions. Voices of Servant Leadership Series, Booklet 4. Indianapolis: The
Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership.
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Covey clarified the role of a servant leader by stating
that servant leaders ensure the growth of other
servant leaders by stating, “You don’t just serve. You
do it in a way that makes them independent of you,
and capable and desirous of serving other people.”
Covey, S. R. (2002). Servant-leadership and community leadership in the twenty-first century. In L.
C. Spears & M. Lawrence (Eds.), Focus on leadership: Servant leadership for the 21st century (pp.
27-33). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Servant Leadership Quotes
www.servantleadersineducation.com
History of Servant Leadership Theory
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Robert K. Greenleaf (The Father of Modern Servant Leadership)
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Greenleaf is widely recognized as the one who coined the term, servant leadership.
Greenleaf spent 40 years at AT&T as a manager of research, development and
education. Upon retirement, Greenleaf spent the next 25 years in a pursuit of
creating a better, more caring society. Greenleaf remarked that he had great concern
for leadership in America, “the outlook for better leadership in our leadership-poor
society is not encouraging.” Greenleaf founded the Center for Applied Ethics in 1964
which was renamed the Robert K. Greenleaf Center in 1985 (www.greenleaf.org)
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Greenleaf stated in his 1970 ground-breaking essay for servant leadership entitled,
The Servant as Leader, “The servant-leader is servant first…It begins with the
natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings
one to aspire to lead.” Blanchard (1999) agreed with Greenleaf that servant leaders
are first servants before they become leaders when he stated, “Strong natural
servants…will assume leadership only if they see it as a way in which they can
serve.”
Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. New York: Paulist Press.
Blanchard, K. (1999). The heart of a leader. Colorado Springs, CO: Honor Books.
History of Servant Leadership Theory
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Larry C. Spears
Spears became CEO of the Greenleaf Center shortly
before Greenleaf’s death on September 29, 1990.
Spears defined servant leadership as a leadership
style based upon teamwork, sense of community,
participative decision-making, strong ethical and caring
behavior, and concern for growth of people.
Spears, L. C. (1996). Reflections on Robert K. Greenleaf and servant leadership. Leadership &
Organization Development Journal, 17, 33-35.
Ten Characteristics of Servant Leadership
Spears (1996)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Listening – Servant leaders’ communication skills are enhanced through a
deep commitment to listening intently to the followers. Servant leaders seek
to identify and clarify the will of the group. Receptive listening and reflection
are essential to the growth of a servant leader.
Empathy – Servant leaders strive to understand and empathize with others.
They accept and recognize followers for their unique spirits; and they assume
others have good intentions, even if they disagree with behavior or
performance.
Healing – Servant leaders are adept at healing others as well as themselves.
They help make others whole by facilitating the healing of broken spirits.
Servant leaders share with followers the search for wholeness.
Awareness – Servant leaders exhibit a general awareness of what is
happening in the organization. They possess a keen sense of self-awareness
and an understanding of issues involving ethics and values. Servant leaders
are often described as disturbers and awakeners.
Persuasion – Servant leaders employ persuasion rather than position
authority when making decisions within the organization. They prefer to
convince rather than coerce followers. Servant leaders are very effective with
building consensus within the group.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Conceptualization – Servant leaders do not deal only with short-term goals
and thinking. They are able to stretch their thinking to encompass broaderbased conceptual thinking. Servant leaders can nurture the abilities of others
to “dream great dreams” and to think beyond day-to-day realities.
Foresight – Servant leaders are capable of understanding lessons from the
past, seeing the realities of the present, and predicting likely consequences
of decisions. They are adept at intuitive thinking.
Stewardship – Servant leaders are dedicated to holding their institutions in
trust for the greater good of society. They are committed to serving the needs
of others.
Commitment to the Growth of People – Servant leaders believe in the
intrinsic value of people beyond their tangible contributions as workers. They
feel responsible for nurturing the personal, professional and spiritual growth
of employees.
Building Community – Servant leaders are dedicated to rebuilding the
sense of community that has been lost with the shift to large institutions.
Seven Virtuous Constructs of Servant Leadership
Patterson (2003)
Patterson, K. A. (2003). Servant leadership: A theoretical model. Servant Leadership Roundtable. Regent University School
of Leadership Studies, Virginia Beach, VA.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Agapao Love – Love is the cornerstone of the servant leader-follower relationship. Servant leaders see
followers as whole persons with different gifts and talents. They are able to focus on followers first, then
on their talents and how those talents benefit the organization.
Humility – Servant leaders are able to keep their accomplishments and talents in perspective. They
focus on others rather than themselves. Servant leaders have an authentic desire to help others, and
they search for ways to serve others through staying in touch with their followers.
Altruism – Servant leaders help others just for the sake of helping. They have an unselfish concern for
others which often involves personal sacrifice. Servant leaders’ behaviors are directed toward the
benefit of others even when those behaviors are against their own personal interests.
Vision – Servant leaders have a vision for their individual followers. They help others to see the big
picture by enabling them to develop a clear sense of purpose and direction. Servant leaders develop
within others the mission to serve and encourage followers to become more than they thought possible.
Trust – Servant leaders develop trust through demonstrating integrity and concern for others. They
create open environments where everyone has a voice and they work collaboratively.
Empowerment – Servant leaders empower others with the best interest of those being served in mind.
They teach and develop people as leaders through shared decision-making and shared responsibility.
Servant leaders make it a priority to grow new servant leaders.
Service – Servant leaders choose the interests of others over self-interests. They see leadership as a
calling - a life mission. Servant leaders accept the responsibility for serving others; and they are
committed to an authentic, personal involvement with followers through the giving or their time, energy,
care, and compassion.
Page and Wong’s
Servant Leadership Traits
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Page and Wong created the earliest servant leadership survey, the
Self-Assessment of Servant Leadership Profile (SASLP). Through a
study of the literature, they first generated a list of 200 descriptors of
servant leadership. By eliminating redundant descriptors and combining
items, they were able to reduce the descriptors to 100 items. They then
classified the descriptors into 12 categories: Integrity, Humility,
Servanthood, Caring for Others, Empowering Others, Developing
Others, Visioning, Goal-Setting, Leading, Modeling, Team-Building, and
Shared Decision-Making.
Page, D., & Wong, T. P. (2000). A conceptual framework for measuring servant leadership. In S. Adjibolosoo (Ed.), The human
factor in shaping the course of history and development (pp. 1-28). Oxford: University Press of America.
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Page and Wong performed a factor analysis on their original SASLP
and created the SLPR. The SLPR consists of 62 items employing a
Likert scale of (1) strongly disagree to (7) strongly agree. These 62
items are grouped into 7 factors.
Page, D., & Wong, T.P. (2003). Servant leadership: An opponent-process model and the revised servant leadership
profile. Servant Leadership Roundtable. Regent University School of Leadership Studies, Virginia Beach, VA.
Page and Wong’s
7 Factors of Servant Leadership
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6.
7.
Empowering and Developing Others
Vulnerability/Humility
Serving Others
Open, Participatory Leadership
Visionary Leadership
Courageous Leadership
(Integrity/Authenticity)
Inspiring Leadership
Spears’ 10 Characteristics
of Servant Leaders (1996)
Patterson’s 7 Virtuous
Constructs of Servant
Leadership (2003)
•Empowering and
Developing Others
•Commitment to Growth of
People
•Empathy
•Healing
•Stewardship
•Humility
•Vulnerability/Humility
•Agapao Love
•Service
•Serving Others
•Open, Participatory
Leadership
•Listening
•Building Community
•Conceptualization
•Foresight
•Awareness
•Persuasion
Page & Wong’s 7 Factors of
Servant Leadership (2003)
•Vision
•Visionary Leadership
•Altruism
•Courageous Leadership
(Integrity/Authenticity)
•Trust
•Inspiring Leadership
Why Servant Leadership?
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Teachers are servant leaders themselves,
and they prefer to follow other servant
leaders.
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According to Greenleaf, servant leaders want to be led by
servant leaders. He stated, “Those who choose to follow this
principle (servant leadership) will not casually accept the
authority of existing institutions. Rather, they will freely respond
only to individuals who are chosen as leaders because they are
proven and trusted as servants”
How thoroughly has
servant leadership
been studied?
Studies of Servant Leadership in Business,
Government, Religion and Higher Education
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Qualities of Servant Leaders
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Job Satisfaction
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The more strongly respondents perceive
that servant leadership exists in their
organization, the higher is their job
satisfaction level.
Studies of Servant Leadership
in Pk-12 Public Education
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Qualities
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Taylor-Gillham (1998)
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Wheaton (1999)
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Interviewed twelve well-known Servant Leaders in education
and described educational servant leadership qualities using
Spears’ 10 s.l. characteristics
Interviewed staff members from each of six school districts in
Washington State: compared perceptions of effective qualities
with servant leadership qualities - Found little correlation with
effectiveness and servant leadership
Lubin (2001)
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phone interviews with eighteen selected visionary school
leaders: found behaviors described were congruent with 9 of 10
servant leader characteristics
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Jennings (2002)
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Narrative stories of the five practicing school principals
and compared results to Greenleaf’s taxonomy of servant
leadership – wrote very little on specific actions principals
take to operationalize their servant leader beliefs
L. Walker (2003)
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Interviewed Illinois public school superintendents
recognized as Superintendent of the Year between 1991
and 2003: identified 15 characteristics similar to s.l.:
calling, love, listening, empathy, etc.
Studies of Servant Leadership
in Pk-12 Public Education
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Academic Success
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Herbst (2003)
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Relationship between the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) and
the degree of servant leadership exhibited at 24 high schools in Florida. He
found that schools with greater practices of servant leadership achieve at a
higher rate than schools with lower degrees of servant leadership practice.
Strong positive correlations were found between levels of servant leadership in
school and the areas of 9th grade math achievement, 10th grade math
achievement, annual gains in reading, annual gains in math, gains in lowest
quartile, and achievement scores for African American students.
Lambert (2004)
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FCAT scores and servant leadership surveys from seven middle schools and
one high school in Florida to measure relationships between the constructs of
servant leadership and student achievement. Lambert found a significant
relationship between servant leadership and student achievement on the 2004
FCAT Sum Score. She also found a strong relationship between servant
leadership and positive school climate.
Studies of Servant Leadership
in Pk-12 Public Education
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Job Satisfaction
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Girard (2000)
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Found a positive correlation between a superintendent’s
self-perception of servant leadership and job satisfaction
and a strong positive correlation between the principals’
perceptions of the superintendents’ servant leadership
and their own job satisfaction.
Miears (2004)
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Collected data from teachers of 15 different Texas high
schools in the Region X Educational Service Center area
which demonstrated a strong relationship between
servant leadership and job satisfaction.
Servant Leadership: An Examination of Public School Principals’
Perceptions of Servant Leadership as a Successful Leadership Style
Matt Stephen, Ed.D.
Research Design
This mixed-method study utilized the
sequential, explanatory design to analyze
both quantitative and qualitative data to
examine servant leadership and public school
principals by first analyzing quantitative data
and then following up with gathering
qualitative data in a second distinct phase.
Quantitative Results
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Principals selected as POY are not more likely to
perceive themselves as servant leaders as those
principals not selected
Female principals are more likely to perceive
themselves as servant leaders than male principals
Elementary principals are more likely to perceive
themselves as servant leaders than secondary
principals
Female principals at the elementary level are more
likely to perceive themselves as servant leaders than
female principals at secondary levels
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African American principals are more likely to
perceive themselves as servant leaders than Anglo or
Hispanic principals
Humility and Service to Others were the two servant
leader traits rated lowest by all principals’ self
perceptions
Qualitative Results
The qualitative portion of this study
was a phenomenological study utilizing
a narrative inquiry to examine the
importance of servant leadership
actions to the success of public school
principals.
How do principals utilize
servant leadership?
7 Servant Leadership Traits
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6.
7.
Empowering and Developing Others
Vulnerability/Humility
Serving Others
Open, Participatory Leadership
Visionary Leadership
Courageous Leadership (Integrity/Authenticity)
Inspiring Leadership
A study of the qualitative data yielded 25 general
actions and 60 specific actions that principals
take to act upon their servant leadership beliefs.
www.ServantLeadersInEducation.com
Empowering and Developing Others
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Servant leader principals get to know their people on a personal
level so they can match their abilities and interests to delegated
tasks.
Servant leader principals use a team approach to delegating
tasks by assigning responsibilities to all staff members and
holding them accountable.
Servant leader principals approach shared decision-making
 through the formal establishment of teams and committees.
 through utilizing participative decision-making processes and
activities which allow others to initiate ideas.
Servant leader principals build trust with their people so they will
not fear or shy away from participating in shared decisionmaking activities.
Servant leader principals encourage shared decision-making
through promoting collaboration among all school community
members.
Serving Others
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Servant leader principals support stewardship of the community
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Servant leader principals focus on the best interests of others
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through a desire and sense of responsibility to open the school to
the community.
by being active and present within the community.
through expressing the philosophy of service to the community
through serving its children.
through promoting what is best for students as a bottom line.
through the dedication of providing a valuable service to others.
Servant leader principals demonstrate selflessness and selfsacrifice
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through extra personal time spent on the job even to the point of
losing time with family.
by expressing a need for and striving to achieve a balance between
their professional life and personal life.
Servant Leadership
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Personal Character
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Connecting with People
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Service Attitude
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Personal Reflections
1.
2.
3.
4.
Humility
Serving Others
Courageous Leadership
Visionary Leadership
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Actions with Others
5.
6.
7.
Empowering and Developing Others
Open, Participatory Leadership
Inspiring Leadership
Humility
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“Who am I?” Self-reflection as a tool for personal growth
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Humble Character
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Providing a role model of Humble Leadership
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Absence of ego, jealousy, and self-promotion
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Putting needs of others first
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Team membership (walk and talk)
Elevating and praising others
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Vulnerability - Risks and rewards of an open, humble
leadership style
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Tenderhearted Leadership
Serving Others
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Personal Mission of Serving Others
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Nurturing Leadership
Healing Leadership – Making People “Whole”
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Listening and empathy
Understanding others’ situations
Accepting others’ unique gifts and spirits
Stewardship – Accountability to the Community
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Servant role and attitude – Master vs. Servant Leadership
Living and articulating a personal mission of service
Holding an institution in trust for the greater good of society
Active service in the community
Making Service-minded Decisions
Sacrifice
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Living a life of giving to others
Balancing personal and professional life
Courageous Leadership
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Integrity
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Authenticity
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Genuine leadership
Admitting to mistakes and asking forgiveness
Awareness
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Examining one’s integrity – values, beliefs, and guiding principles
Actions of high integrity leaders – taking the high road
Integrity killers
Self-awareness and awareness of others
Understanding issues involving ethical dilemmas
Altruism – Doing what is right
How Fear Affects Leaders and Organizations
Visionary Leadership
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Conceptualization
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Foresight
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Seeing the big picture and dreaming great dreams
Reflecting on the organization beyond day-to-day issues
Leader intuition
Using lessons from the past and realities of the present
to predict consequences of decisions for the future
Vision
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Providing direction and purpose for an organization
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Articulating personal vision
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Creating a shared vision and buy-in from the team
Navigating an organization through shared vision
Empowering and Developing Others
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Connecting with Others
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Commitment to the Growth of Others
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Making a commitment to grow others
How to help others grow
Professional and Personal Development
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Getting to know and understand one another on a personal level
Getting to know and understand one another on a professional level
Building long-lasting relationships
Focusing on the needs of those in the organization - personal, professional, and
spiritual
Learning for continuous improvement
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Fighting isolation
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Creating professional learning communities
Growing New Leaders
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Providing a model for servant leadership
Mentoring new leaders
Delegating
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Matching abilities and interests to tasks
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Sharing power
Open, Participatory Leadership
Effective Communications in an Organization
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Listening
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Listening to individuals
Listening to the will of the group
Promoting kindness, trust, honesty, and openness in all
interactions
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Setting high standards for self and others
Promoting vital conversations in organizations
Dealing with confrontations
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Visibility and Accessibility
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Building Cooperative and Collegial Teams (School and
Community)
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Shared decision-making and shared power
Trust building
Building positive culture
Inspiring Leadership
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Influencing Others
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Persuasion vs. position authority
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Becoming a leader of influence
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Getting others to embrace the vision and mission
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Getting the Best from Others
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What makes a leader inspiring
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Connecting with, believing in, and motivating
people
Questions to Ask Ourselves
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Teachers: How can I best serve my
kids?
Principals: How can I best serve the
servant leaders who serve my kids?
Support: How can I best serve the
servant leaders who serve the servant
leaders who serve my kids?
Next Study
Create surveys to gather data to answer
the following questions:
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Which servant leader traits/actions do school leaders
perceive as their strengths?
Which servant leader traits/actions do school faculty
and staff believe to be most important?
How can administrators utilize this information to
improve their servant leadership?
www.ServantLeadersInEducation.com