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Funeral directors have labeled the typical American society a "death-denying culture." For example, parents may try to shield children from the death event because of previous occurrences with death and the funeral home (Mahon, 2009). Unfortunately, by protecting others, the death-denying culture is perpetuated (Mahon, 2009). Therefore, it is no surprise that research on funeral directors, and funeral homes, may be underdeveloped. To address the scarcity of research literature on the impact of funeral directors, this article discusses the importance of the death care industry and provides an overview of servant-leadership theory as a framework for understanding the role of the 21st century funeral director.
The funeral home industry has been studied through a servant-leadership framework (Long, 2009) yet, research on the funeral director as servant-leader is scarce. While it is true that funeral homes have been studied through a servant-leadership framework mostly through the lens of vocational effectiveness (Adnot-Haynes, 2013), relationships with the bereaved (Mahon, 2009), and trending professional developments (Granquist, 2014), research on the role of the funeral director as a servant-leader remains underdeveloped. Funeral directors, an often ignored population in leadership and communication study, may display tendencies of servant-leadership and, potentially, communicate with clients primarily as servant-leaders. Despite a clear connection between funeral directing as a "servant' ' profession, and the necessity for servant-leaders to communicate compassionately and effectively with the bereaved, this vocation remains under-examined. Therefore, this article addresses the servanthood nature of leadership as demonstrated by funeral directors.
FUNERAL SERVICE
Death is an ever-present cultural phenomenon and burying the dead is a primary cultural universal. In fact, the act of burying the dead is one of the oldest known cultural universals, an ultimate foundation of society. For example, there is evidence of man exhibiting concern for the dead, as far back as 50,000 years ago (Lensing, 2001). Death, as a societal norm, has perpetuated the role of the funeral director and the necessity of someone to lead the bereaved through the end-of-life process.
Funeral directing is multifaceted and often misunderstood by family and friends. According to Adnot-Haynes (2013), mortuary studies students should approach the subject discerningly when speaking to others. There is great excitement but also significant mystery involved in funeral directing. Some may assume that the primary task of...