What Is Servant Leadership?
How Relevant Is the Servant Leader Concept in Business?
Servant leadership means serving the needs of followers, but business leaders need to be hyper-competitive to succeed, even if this means sacrificing employee needs.
The servant leader's driving motivation is to be of service. The very act of leading people means serving their needs according to advocates of servant leadership. If you want to become a leader, they argue, you need to learn how to serve your prospective followers. Robert K. Greenleaf launched the idea of servant leadership in the 1970s. He had read a novel by Herman Hesse in which a group of traveling companions had a servant with them who arranged everything for their journey and looked after them along the way. However, at one point the servant left and the group fell apart. Greenleaf felt that the servant was actually the group's leader and this inspired him to develop servant leadership.
The idea of the leader as servant can be traced back to ancient times, however, where some kings were regarded as servants of their people. It's a popular idea with Christians as well. Servant leadership works best in politics and community clubs - wherever someone is elected for the sole purpose of serving the electorate or membership. It's not such a good idea in business because the essential drive that gets people to the top in this context is their drive to win, not the motivation to serve employees. To be successful in the shark-invested waters of business, a CEO needs to be hyper-competitive. Success in business requires a drive to win, almost at all costs, provided ethical and legal standards are not violated. To inspire employees, a CEO must be a competitive role model, someone who conveys a sense of urgency and determination to beat the competition. Yes, management needs to consider and cater to the needs of employees, but they really need to serve the needs of shareholders and customers ahead of those of employees. When there is a clash between the two, employees always lose. Compare business to sports. The team captain must have a great drive to win and be a hard worker in order to set an example for team mates. No one would could be team captain just by looking after everyone else. First and foremost, you need an unrelenting drive to win.
The Selfless Leader
Another way of capturing part of what servant leadership is getting at is to look at what it means to be selfless. In politics selfish leaders campaign for policies that are designed to win votes, such as cutting taxes or funding popular social programs. A selfless leader or candidate would campaign on policies that are in the best interest of the country even if unpopular. Obviously there is a fine line to be struck. No presidential candidate who campaigned on very unpopular policies would get elected.
Selfless CEOs make decisions that are for the good of the business even if such decisions are not in their own interest. Less selfless leaders would only act in ways that would be good for them personally. Political candidates who only advocate the most popular policies are naturally regarded with cynicism. We can see through their blatant efforts to buy votes and we wouldn't likely call such action leadership anyway.
Selfless leaders, by contrast, are determined to serve a higher cause. For example, CEOs of polluting companies who risk the wrath of shareholders by instituting changes that are environmentally friendly but costly in the short term risk losing their jobs but are guided by principles of right and wrong. But this idea has nothing to do with serving the needs of the organization's employees. CEOs who are dedicated to doing what is best regardless of the cost to themselves might still be highly competitive and ruthless about getting rid of employees who were poor performers.
In conclusion, the concept of servant leadership is very popular and it has some applicability in the public sector but it has no relevance for business except in the sense of selflessness. The image of the leader as servant is the other end of the spectrum from leaders as tyrants but it is still an extreme position. It is much more productive to think of leaders and employees as partners. A total focus on serving anyone's needs is paternalistic. Partnership implies a more adult-adult relationship.
