Servant Leadership and Public Service

Class Post on Servant Leadership and Public Servants

Good Morning R:

I believe servant leadership is a style that persons who serve the public in any manner should know and embody. Several researchers agree that if people were more self-transcendent (a sense of spirituality) then their servant leadership behavior is better. Servant leadership, as discussed by Greenleaf (1977), is exemplified leaders who embody servant leadership values and the desire to serve others, in his or her own workplace and in the greater world (Sendjaya, 2005).

Spears (1996), Sendjaya and Perkerti (2010), and Joseph and Winston (2005) highlighted servant leadership is assisting others to become spiritually conscious of and to place trust in others. Sendjaya and Perkerti (2010) along with other scholars (Beazley, 2002; Beazley & Gemmill, 2005; Liden et al, 2008; Reave, 2005; Sendjaya, Sarros, & Santora, 2008; Stupak & Stupack, 2006) found evidence supporting the relationship between spirituality (self-transcendence) of leaders and his or her servant-leader behaviors. So, does this mean that politicians are not spiritually enlightened? Well, some scholars believe there is a definite connection, and that this connection can be seen directly through the leader’s work and interaction with their followers.

Reference

Beazley, D. A. (2002). Spiritual orientation of a leader and perceived leader behavior: A

correlational study. Dissertation Abstracts International, 63(04), 1436A.

Beazley, D. A., & Gemmill, G. (2005, January). Spirituality and servant leader behavior:

A correlational study. Paper presented at the International Conference on Applied

Management and Decision Sciences, Athens, Georgia

Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate

power and greatness. New York, NY: Paulist Press.

Joseph, E. E., & Winston, B. E. (2005). A correlation of servant leadership, leader

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10.1108/01437730510575552

Liden, R. C., Wayne, S. J., Zhao, H., & Henderson, D. (2008). Servant leadership:

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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1048984308000040

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Leadership Quarterly, 16(5), 655-687. Retrieved from

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.07.003

Sendjaya, S. (2005). Servant leadership: A quiet revolution in the workplace. Newsletter

of the MLQ Network, 7(3), 1-2.

Sendjaya, S., & Pekerti, A. (2010). Servant leadership as antecedent of trust in

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doi:10.1108/01437731011079673

Sendjaya, S., Sarros, J. C., & Santora, J. (2008). Defining and measuring servant

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10.1111/j.1467-6486.2007.00761.x

Stupak, R., & Stupak, K. (2005). Finding organizational reality in paradise: A team of

two. Public Administration Quarterly, 29(3), 481-492. Retrieved from

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