Introduction
Multiple factors determine the choice of leadership style. In particular, the decisive role is played by the personal characteristics of individuals and the goals they wish to achieve when managing a team. Henceforth, servant and authentic were the closest to me when studying various leadership styles, but the final choice was in favor of the former.
Servant leadership can be of particular value as part of positive leadership, as it primarily considers employees’ needs and desires. Thus, the most advantageous and effective workplace is established with its assistance. Thus, servant leadership, in comparison with authentic leadership, is a more promising and effective way to achieve the goals of the organization and leader, as it focuses on meeting the needs of the most valuable human resource.
Definition of Servant Leadership
Finding out what the servant leadership style is is crucial first. There is too much research on this topic (Eva et al., 2019; Garger, 2008). This calls for giving this issue more careful thought. Therefore, it will help him gain a concrete understanding of servant leadership for further examination.
A certain leadership style is a set of qualities, goals, and characteristics that will increase team members’ motivation and involvement in achieving a common task. Determining the right approach in this case plays a critical role. Research stated that “a great leadership style can make people appear more competent than they truly are, and a poor style can drag down a superior skill set” (Peterson et al., 2020).
Therefore, I chose the servant leadership style as the most suitable one for me. This approach “is based on the idea that leaders prioritize serving the greater good and leaders with this style serve their team and organization first” (Lopez Gomez, 2022, p. 2). I concluded that this style will work best because I believe that to achieve success, it is necessary to get rid of your prejudices and opinions and tune in to the team.
In addition, regardless of the leadership style, it should first work to build trust and psychological contracts in its environment (Begley, 2006; Erkutlu & Chafra, 2013). Nevertheless, in this case, servant leadership can result from building “trusting relationships” for all employees (Draina, 2013, p. 263). Hence, the study of this phenomenon will contribute to gaining a more detailed and consistent understanding of a company’s leadership style.
Vision of a Successful Servant Leader
Considering my vision of a successful leader with a servant leadership style is essential for this paper. Thus, based on the definition of this approach, an effective and productive leader within this style focuses on the needs and preferences of the team. Moreover, employees feel increased comfort and care from the leaders, contributing to their efficiency and productivity. Within the framework of this approach, managers also get rid of prejudices and personal judgments and consider the majority’s opinion.
Additionally, there are other benefits that set servant leadership apart from other approaches to personnel management. Therefore, Huning et al. (2020) emphasize that “it is based on the premise that leaders subordinate their interests and, presumably, those of the organization, for the interests of their followers” (p. 177). Thus, a workplace is formed in which the needs of employees are respected and the well-being of employees is maintained (Ortiz-Gómez et al., 2022; Su et al., 2020). Considering these aspects will help to entrench the opinion that servant leadership is the most effective.
Servant vs. Authentic Leadership
It also becomes essential to understand why servant leadership is the most appropriate alternative to the authentic style. It is important to note that the management style being studied and authenticity in general both help to increase employee productivity and efficiency. The study characterizes it “as a higher-order construct comprising four sub-constructs: internalized moral perspective, relational transparency, balanced information processing, and self-awareness” (Alok, 2014, p. 268). The main disadvantage of authentic leadership is that employees can form an unhealthy attachment to the leader (Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2014). On the other hand, with the servant management style, employees understand the value of their work and are more motivated to achieve the organization’s goals.
Impact of Servant Leadership Style in a Diverse Workplace and Global Economy
Building a healthy environment for employees is particularly important within the servant leadership framework. A critical component of this aspect is the development of diversity in the workplace. This is especially true of modern realities, in which companies hire representatives of various backgrounds and abilities. This is necessary to improve the organization’s productivity, obtain favorable results, and bring innovative ideas and solutions. The lack of diversity in the workplace is necessary to limit several negative company characteristics. Furthermore, it can be an increasingly stressful situation among employees, affecting the organization’s productivity. Moreover, this may lead to increased cases of burnout and dismissal of team members.
Thus, the style of servant leadership can help solve and limit the occurrence of possible problems due to the lack of diversity. Moreover, its main concepts contribute to increasing positive relationships within the team and between managers and employees. Research underlined that “servant leaders focus on people first and are considered moral, humble, accepting, empowering, and developing of others as socially responsible stewards” (Cynthia, 2018, p. 2). In addition, leaders who meet these characteristics have increased diversity intelligence and an understanding of how this aspect is vital in organizations.
Servant leadership is of great importance not only for creating a diverse workplace but also for the productive existence of the company within the global economy. Thus, economic development has a central place in the functioning of the organization, and companies spend a lot of effort achieving stability and growth in this area. Therefore, this section of activity includes not only economics but also personnel education, technology implementation, infrastructure, strategy development, and work to ensure the welfare of society.
Further, the servant leadership style can provide special assistance in solving problems related to the global economy. This is because it primarily concerns the welfare and satisfaction of subordinate parts of the organization’s functioning. Thus, leaders who resort to this style can limit the possibility of problematic situations, which may concern the processes of ensuring economic stability.
Moreover, participation in the global economy implies compliance with the principles of diversity and equality, which are integral concepts of servant leadership. This aspect can be explained by the fact that organizations face entirely different cultures and concepts of the company’s activities when interacting with other countries. Thus, servant leaders can provide the most effective communication and interaction process that will consider all the unique characteristics of the global economy.
Literature Review on Servant Leadership Style: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Ideal Conditions for Effectiveness
The next stage in this work is the study of previously published academic writing regarding the servant leadership style. Conducting an analysis of literary sources can provide a deeper understanding of the concept being studied and provide information about its strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, this procedure will explain what conditions must be present for this specific style to be the best leadership style within an organization.
The first research paper allocated for this scientific paper is an article by Alok titled “Authentic Leadership and Psychological Ownership: Investigation of Interactions.” This study is helpful for research as it sets the task of studying the relationship between authentic leadership and psychological ownership. The value of this source is that it provides a look at an alternative leadership style quite close to servant leadership. Thus, examining this aspect contributed to forming an opinion on which of these approaches can be more effective in the work of the organization and personnel management.
Based on the information received, the author concludes that authentic leadership increases the efficiency of organizations and has a positive effect on psychological ownership. “A higher-order construct comprising four sub-constructs: self-awareness, relational transparency, balanced processing of information, and internalized moral perspective” is how genuine leadership is defined (Alok, 2014, p. 268). Thus, based on this article, positive aspects of authentic leadership can be isolated, which can be implemented into the work of a servant manager.
There are several vital aspects that echo servant and authentic leadership, which can be taken for implementation in the organization to ensure efficiency. Hence, when performing an activity, the leader must be self-aware and know their strengths and weaknesses (“It matters to me!” 2014). Moreover, when working with staff, leaders need to recognize their emotions, values, and motivation and gain a clear understanding of what goals they face.
The critical aspects are the presence of healthy and full-fledged self-esteem and the construction of truth in relationships. This will ensure the building of trust and activity in the workplace. In addition, the functions of the servant leader should include informed and balanced decision-making, which is based on consideration of all aspects of the problem.
In the work of a leader, such components as self are of particular importance, such as knowledge, capacity, and sensitivity. This is necessary for more successful activities within the framework of ensuring the satisfaction and motivation of employees. Begley (2006) emphasizes the importance of a professional setting in forming these aspects and implementing a practice-grounded approach.
Another important article was a study by Daina called “Insights on leadership: Service, stewardship, spirit, and servant-leadership.” This work is a collection of essays on the topic of service, stewardship, spirit, and servant-leadership, which can be used to gain a deeper understanding of the topic under study. It is noted that “it summarizes for readers a practical perspective on how servant-leadership is implemented and the results of “trusting relationships” enjoyed by all employees” (Draina, 2013, p. 263). Therefore, based on the information given in the article, it can be concluded that one of the conditions that must be in the organization for the effective implementation of servant leadership is the establishment of relationships between employees and a balanced and healthy workplace.
The value of the article by Erkutlu and Chafra entitled “Effects of Trust and Psychological Contract Violation on Authentic Leadership and Organizational Deviance” was important when studying the occurrence of deviant behavior among employees. The paper is important for this scientific work, emphasizing the value of trust and psychological counterattacks in the workplace. Henceforth, the authors note that how employees treat and perceive the leader in the workplace has a greater impact on job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and job performance. Moreover, these aspects will reduce employee deviant behavior and increase staff productivity.
It is worth noting that a large number of researched sources focus on the fruitfulness of the servant leadership style and note its most prominent strengths. The data obtained by the research by Eva et al. (2019) contributed to an understanding of how servant leadership stands out from other types of leadership and highlighted the theoretical and nomological network with previous works and theirs. Therefore, the work emphasizes that “it seeks first and foremost to develop followers on the basis of leaders’ altruistic and ethical orientations” (Eva et al., 2019., p. 111). Henceforth, one of the criteria in the workplace is the importance and criticality of creating conditions that will allow employees to grow both professionally and personally. This will have a positive impact not only on improving the quality of their work but also on the relationships within the team and between employees and managers.
The study of previously written literature provided valuable insight into what qualities a leader should not have and what disadvantages servant leadership may have when implemented into the organization’s activities. Thus, Garger (2008) stated that individuals “should not fake their leadership, must not lead for status, honor, or other personal rewards, and must be leaders whose actions are based on values and convictions” (p. 14). Thus, personnel managers should eliminate any personal judgment and prejudices that can essentially interfere with the successful activities of the leader.
Furthermore, one of the main drawbacks of servant leadership is a rather long decision-making process. This is because many people take part in this procedure, and their opinions must be taken into account. Rapid response to changing external and internal factors can be complex. The following negative aspect is cases of abuse of leaders’ employees. In other words, there are cases when subordinates can force managers to do whatever they want, which contributes to the erasure of official roles and understanding of who has more power. To limit this aspect, it is necessary to provide a clear understanding of how servant leadership will act within the organization and that this approach does not imply blind fulfillment of any needs and desires of employees.
With the effective limitations of the negative aspects of servant leadership, this strategy of running an organization can be of the greatest value for gaining improved quality of functioning and competitiveness. Huning et al., in their scientific work “The Effect of Servant Leadership, Perceived Organizational Support, Job Satisfaction, and Job Embeddedness on Turnover Intentions: An Empirical Investigation,” provide the positive aspects of the style being studied. The authors stress that “it is based on the premise that leaders subordinate their interests and, presumably, those of the organization, for the interests of their followers” (Hunting et al., 2020, p. 177). Thus, in the framework of this work, the staff’s opinion is of particular importance. Moreover, this source can be used in future work to deepen knowledge about the impact of servant leadership on the outcomes of the company’s activities.
Servant leaders in an organization contribute to the improvement of employees’ subjective well-being. In addition, Ortiz-Gómez et al. (2022) emphasized that “leadership is a fundamental mechanism in guiding efforts to achieve the goals, as it exerts a significant influence on subordinates and is the most significant source of emotions at work” (p. 2622). The authors also stress the need of adhering to the code of ethics, particularly for businesses with limited patient participation.
Consequently, the condition for the effective use of servant leadership also becomes compliance with ethical principles. This is especially important when a diverse workplace is involved in the global economy. Hence, the company must have an ethics code, and all staff must be aware of it. In this case, human resources is critical and most valuable for the company’s functioning.
The article had a special connection to the topic under study by Su et al.: “How does servant leadership influence employees’ service innovative behavior? The roles of intrinsic motivation and identification with the leader.” The authors of this scientific paper underline that servant leadership can become an effective tool for increasing engagement and productivity. Moreover, the authors emphasize servant leadership’s unique role in forming innovative behavior and the ability to accept and adapt to change. As a result, servant leadership is a useful strategy for fostering collaboration and partnerships inside a company.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this work was engaged in research and proof that servant leadership is the most effective and appropriate approach to organizational personnel management. Thus, it provided a basic understanding of its basic concepts and concepts. Moreover, special attention was paid to the role of servant leadership in developing and strengthening diversity. Compliance with this aspect in the workplace limits stressful situations, burnout, and dismissal.
Hence, servant leadership has exceptional productivity, as it considers employees’ needs and desires. Among the main disadvantages of servant leadership is the loss of authority, which may result from the boundaries of understanding the separation between the leader and the staff. In addition, the duration of the decision-making was noted, which may have affected the effectiveness of the issue’s solution.
The servant and authentic leadership styles were compared based on the studied literary sources. The analysis showed that the first type provides higher motivation and employee engagement, contributing to higher productivity indicators for the company. Some features of authentic leadership can be successfully applied when working with staff, as this will further improve the relationship between managers and staff and deprive the presence of any prejudices and personal judgments. Furthermore, a study was conducted on the role of servant leadership in the global economy. Thus, this scientific work concluded that the examined approach could allow the company to gain growth and balance in this area.
References
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