Servant Leadership: Antecedents, Processes, and Outcomes

Abstract

Servant leadership was first introduced in 1970, but was slow to attract the attention of academic researchers until recently. Today research on servant leadership is being conducted at an accelerated pace. Psychometrically sound measures are available, and servant leadership has passed the test of showing incremental validity after controlling for the two most widely studied approaches to leadership, leader-member exchange, and transformational leadership. Now that servant leadership has established legitimacy in the academic field, theory development is needed to guide its further advancement. The purpose of the current chapter is to offer a comprehensive theoretical model that captures the development (antecedents) of servant leadership, its consequences (outcomes), and the mediating and moderating processes through which servant leadership behaviors result in key outcomes.