Robert K. Greenleaf first envisioned the concept of servant leadership after reading Herman Hesse's Journey to the East. The story revolved around the leader of a special society who demonstrated remarkable patience and humility by acting as the servant of the expedition, unknown to the group at the time. Greenleaf proposed that essential leadership can best be demonstrated through acts of service. Since his early theses in the late 1970s, many researchers and authors have greatly expanded the requisite attributes of servant leadership and attempted to develop a concensus around particular values of the theory. Current literature is significantly influenced by fundamental Christian perspectives, and the theory has been criticized for having a predominantly western and masculine voice. At the heart of servant leadership is a willingness of the leader to put forth actionable service for the mutual benefit of all participants in the community or organization, not just personal benefit.
Research Papers
Servant Leadership and the Individual, Greenleaf
Servant Leadership Attributes, Russell & Stone
Scale Development of Servant Leadership, Barbuto & Wheeler
Development of the Servant Leadership Assessment Instrument, Dennis & Bocarnea
Leadership, Moral Development, and Citizenship Behavior, Graham
Defining Servant Leadership, Laub
From Paternalism to the Servant Organization, Laub
Servant Leadership, Waddell
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