With such examplars as Abraham Lincoln, Mohandas Gandhi, Albert Schweitzer, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, the (14th) Dalai Lama, and of course Jesus and Chanakya before them, it cannot be said that servant leadership does not "translate" globally. And yet, most of us would be hard put to cite other names. Why? Is it because, in rather exhaustively defining the characteristics of servant leaders, proponents such as Spears (2010) have—rather counterproductively in my opinion—set the bar so high than only someone who is imbued with a dozen cardinal virtues can ever be deemed worthy of the title? Why must we always exaggerate quality requirements with binary pronouncements? Is it to communicate certain traits, support a point of view, or (more often than not) just prove something? Besides, who is to say that such qualities as integrity, humility, flexibility, resilience, stewardship, empathy, emotional healing, commitment to the growth of people, etc. must be the exclusive preserve of servant leaders anyway? My experience is that toned-down versions of servant leadership are practiced by many, for example in schools; that it works here and there; but, that more prevalence is hampered in certain sectors and industries by organizational models that are (sometimes maniacally) focused on short-term results, none of which are suited to move servants to the top of hierarchies. (The irony is that Greenleaf, who did so much to formulate the servant leadership style, had to retire from AT&T where he occupied senior positions before he could wax lyrical about it). But, power-centered authoritarian leadership styles may be fine here or there: why should one particular style of leadership, servant leadership in this case, be applied wholesale all over the world? I see the need for ecologies of leadership and management theories in much the same way as I see the need for ecologies of organizations.

Reference

Spears, L. (2010). Character and servant leadership: The ten characteristics of effective, caring leaders. The Journal of Virtues & Leadership, 1(1), 25–30.

This presentation and two articles on servant leadership may be of tangential interest:

• Presentation The Servant Leadership of Gandhi

• Article Informal Authority and the Enduring Appeal of Servant Leaders

• Article Exercising Servant Leadership

Thanks Olivier & BR: Hartmut

Well servant leadership as the word says, you are here to serve. So It means that you have to think for your followers always.

Industries normally work on transformational and situational leadership as per situation and requirements this is my point of view.

Thank you

Best regards

YK

thanks

Dear Hartmund,

You can find advances the literature on leadership in emphasizing the importance of military leaders fostering servant leadership as an antecedent of proactive personality.

In Ruiz_Moreno et al. (2021) you can find recomendations educational and military contextsa and bout that military leaders should be trained in this style of leadership.

Ruiz-Moreno, A., Roldán-Bravo, M. I., García-Guiu, C., Lozano, L. M., Extremera, N., Navarro-Carrillo, G., & Valor-Segura, I. (2021). Effects of emerging leadership styles on engagement – a mediation analysis in a military context. Leadership & Organization Development Journal.

Best regards

Carlos

Thanks Carlos, I'm going to study your recommendation. BR: Hartmut