Servant-minded leadership and work satisfaction in Islamic organizations: A correlational mixed study

Abstract

The theory of servant leadership resonates with Muslims, and the founder of Islam exemplified servant leadership. Muslim organizations, however, are not necessarily in optimal health. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine the extent to which job satisfaction was correlated with perceptions of servant leadership in Muslim centers and schools in southeast Michigan and Toledo, Ohio. The literature review explored Muslim understanding of servant leadership. The Organizational Leadership Assessment (OLA) survey, designed by Laub (1999), was completed by 271 individuals. The instrument had previously been used in only Christian-centric studies with a Western cultural bias. Muslim organizations have almost excellent organizational health according to an OLA report. Developing people and providing leadership are necessary to improve Michigan and Toledo, Ohio organizations to excellent or optimal health. The results from the study may be applicable to other organizations given the high response rate (85%). Twenty-five individuals, representing 9.2% of the surveyed population, participated in a post-survey interview; 92% identified servant leaders in their organizations. The data collected was based on grounded theory methodology, and the findings indicated the importance of communication, empowerment, sound governance, high trust, and motivation.