What is it about?
Servant leadership is a paradox. Specifically, the paradox is that service implies followership, whereas leadership is inherently about influencing others. However, this study supports the notion that genuine servant leadership (i.e., humility, standing back, and authenticity) is not associated with weakness or even a loss of power. Rather, by showing authenticity and humility and by stepping out of the spotlight to let others shine, servant leaders can gain their followers’ respect. A notable contribution of this research is that this relationship was found in different samples coming from two different countries: Germany and Lithuania.
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Why is it important?
Taken together, by elucidating whether and how genuine servant leadership facilitates followers’ respect for leaders, this study informs the existing leadership literature, which remains divided about genuine servant leadership’s effectiveness and cross-cultural applicability.
Perspectives
This study is certainly not the answer to everything (which is, as we all know, 42) and it has a number of limitations. Yet, it adds to the growing evidence that conceptions of servant leadership as passivity or meekness are inaccurate and misleading. This may be a valuable talking point for practitioners who strive to advance servant leadership.
Armin Pircher Verdorfer
TUM School of Management
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The paradox of serving: Can genuine servant leadership gain followers’ respect for the leader? Evidence from Germany and Lithuania, German Journal of Human Resource Management Zeitschrift für Personalforschung, September 2018, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/2397002218793840.
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