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The notion of servant leadership is not new ([54] Sendjaya and Sarros, 2002) but has been practiced for centuries in virtually all cultures ([43] Nyabadza, 2003). [38] Laub (1999) defined a servant leader as one who emphasizes the good of followers over the self-interest of the leader. That is, according to Laub, servant leadership promotes development of people through:
- the sharing of power;
- community building;
- the practice of authenticity in leadership; and
- the provision of leadership for the good of followers, the total organization, and clients or customers of the organization.
[27] Greenleaf (1977) introduced the concept of servant leadership in his essay The Servant as Leader . Greenleaf envisioned a servant leader as one who facilitates achievement of a shared vision via the personal development and empowerment of followers. This concept of servant leadership emphasized the interests, development, and empowerment of followers in order to achieve a shared vision ([27] Greenleaf, 1977; [58] Smith et al. , 2004; [60] Spears, 1998). Moreover, Greenleaf suggested a first-among-equals approach to leadership as "key to [a servant leader's] greatness" (p. 21). Greenleaf further explained:
The servant leader is servant first [...] It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve [...] first. Then, conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead [...] The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant - first to make sure that other people's highest-priority needs are being served. The best test and the most difficult to administer is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, [and] more likely themselves to become servants? And what is the effect on the least privileged in society[?] [W]ill they benefit or, at least, not be further deprived? (pp. 13-14).
The notion of servant leadership has received growing attention and recognition in recent years ([54] Sendjaya and Sarros, 2002). Various researchers have espoused servant leadership as a valid theory of organizational leadership ([53] Russell and Stone, 2002) with great promise for theoretical and practical development ([2] Bass, 2000). In fact, servant leadership has been advocated and practiced in some of America's most successful companies ([39] Levering and Moskowitz, 2000). For instance, Southwest Airlines, TDIndustries, and Synovus, companies all...