The Downside (?) of Servant Leadership
Servant Leadership isn’t an easy leadership style, especially in the short-term. But don’t just take my word for it.
Sometimes, those airline magazines really pay off. I was on a domestic flight, and desperate to occupy my mind (invariably, I forget a book unless it’s a lengthy international flight). The Star Trek movie my husband was engrossed in was not engrossing, so I started digging through the “seat back pocket in front of you”.
An article in the airline magazine focused on an applicable report from the Harvard Business Review, titled “Why Fair Bosses Fall Behind”.
We’ve looked at the upside of Servant Leadership, the style which helps those whom we lead to reach their full potential. It seems Harvard is in agreement so far, under the section “When Can Fair Bosses Get Ahead?”
Managers whose style is based on fairness can gain power under the following circumstances:
- When they cultivate a reputation for ethics and morality
- When the organizational culture is highly cooperative
- When they are going for positions that are… uncontentious and that draw on their mentoring and collaborative skills
- When they cultivate a reputation for ethics and morality
- When the organizational culture is highly cooperative
- When they are going for positions that are… uncontentious and that draw on their mentoring and collaborative skills
Harvard’s research asks “Can you have (both) respect and power? Decisions about high-level promotions most often center on perceptions of power, not of fairness.”
The article considered students observing two different managers as they interacted with employees, Manager Rude and Manager Respectful. At the end of the study, students rated Manager Rude as the powerful person.
Even though the costs are higher, companies often make the same choice as these students. Many see servanthood and power as polar opposites.
The conclusion revealed that companies and employees are benefitted more when led by people of fairness, or use the Servant Leadership style (for our purposes here). “Our early follow-up research suggests that managers whose style is based on respect can gain power. Their path upward may be difficult, but it’s one worth taking, for their company’s sake as well as their own.”
Well said!
