Servant leadership: The best type of management pushes aside power

Leadership and power may be synonymous in the minds of many, but the very best leaders aren’t driven by ambitions of personal power but a genuine desire to empower. A great boss lifts up everyone around them, prioritizing the needs of their employees above their own, as opposed to a tyrannical leader flippantly wielding authoritative power.

You’ve no doubt encountered at least a few bad managers in your time. Oppressive, vindictive, or just plain lazy bosses are a dime a dozen across countless workplaces. Indeed, if a good boss is hard to find, it’s difficult not to stumble upon at least one awful boss while carving out a career for oneself. 

So, while living under the regime of a bad manager constitutes something of a rite of passage for us all at some point in our lives, it’s vital to remember that being a boss doesn’t invariably mean being a bad boss. There are plenty of great leaders out there as well, and many are all too familiar with the typical pitfalls associated with assuming a leadership or managerial position. 

One piece of research, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, even found that employees with first-hand experience working under abusive or petty bosses are actually more likely to tread in the opposite direction if assigned a leadership role. In other words, upon being offered a managerial position of their own, workers who once had to report to a bad boss tend to learn from those earlier experiences and treat their own subordinates much better.  

Plenty of new, first-time managers quickly realize they don’t want to be like the awful bosses of their past, but remain uncertain of how precisely to approach leadership. Servant leadership, an approach to managing others that downplays authority while prioritizing inspiration, represents a fantastic way forward for novice supervisors.

What is servant leadership?

While it may sound like an oxymoron at first, servant leadership has proven to be an incredibly effective way of managing others. Ironically, however, the approach – as the name implies – is all about serving others. The servant leader isn’t interested in wielding power simply for pleasure, payment, or acclaim. Instead, they hope to inspire their workers by building genuine, synergistic relationships characterized by the free exchange of ideas and empowerment. 

Anyone who has dealt with a bad manager can relate to feeling stifled, and perhaps even set up to fail, by their boss. An ideal servant leader is the exact opposite. Servant supervisors want to see their workers succeed and grow in their respective roles. For example, when a servant leader is tasked with overseeing a new project, their main concern isn’t simply “getting things done” or “meeting deadlines,” but working to make the lives of their subordinates easier. What will everyone need to succeed in their assigned role? Are there obvious roadblocks in need of immediate clearing? These are the types of questions servant leaders ask themselves when embarking on a new challenge or assignment. 

So many managers simply rely on delegation, while servant managers prioritize delivering results for their teams. They look out for workers’ best interests, always encourage active participation, and never hesitate to lend an empathetic ear. 

Consequently, employees reporting to a servant leader are typically much more motivated to deliver results than others who find themselves working under an oppressive regime. Feeling like your boss is actually fighting for you and in your corner goes a long way toward fostering a positive work environment and larger sense of community in the office. Respect is a two-way street. The quintessential servant leader makes sure the lowest-level worker is made to feel just as vital to operations as anyone else.

Research supporting servant leadership

Servant leadership isn’t going to fit every single managerial scenario. For example, if an entire division has been poorly run for years and a new supervisor is brought in to turn things around, they may have to adopt a somewhat sterner, more traditional approach to management at the start as they begin to break down bad habits.

That being acknowledged, servant leadership has been linked to a number of positive work outcomes. One study published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology tells us this selfless style of management is linked to an increase in productivity among employees. The positive work culture encouraged by servant leaders helps workers feel better about their job, tap into creativity, and increase their productivity. They also note servant leadership is great when it comes to building positive, valued working relationships between supervisors and subordinates.

Another study, this one published in the Academy of Management Journal, came to similarly glowing conclusions regarding the influence of servant leadership. Researchers say that when employees know their boss is looking out for them, and even putting their needs above their own, it can lead to notable improvements in both job performance and customer satisfaction, as well as lower turnover rates. 

Finally, a third piece of research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and published in the Journal of Applied Psychology reports servant leaders were especially helpful among stressed out employees. Study authors explain that for workers who felt particularly worried about the pandemic, servant managers helped foster lower stress levels and increased work engagement. Notably, employees lucky enough to have a servant leader to rely on also displayed more prosocial behaviors during the pandemic, like volunteering to help others in the local community.