From Humility to Servant Leadership: New Governance Ethics and Culture

Abstract

Cultural changes we see today call for a thorough study of servant leadership. They originate from the spread of conscious consumption and the formation of new norms. Within this novel set of expectations, the leader figure is not reduced to their professional characteristics but needs to meet specific personal qualities (virtues), for example, modesty and selfless willingness to serve one’s subordinates in their professional and personal growth. The literature review has revealed a growing number of works on servant leadership in English. At the same time, references to historical precedents indicate that imposing values outweigh a strictly theoretical analysis. The value-driven approach aims to impact means and instruments of governance at a conscious level, to match political leadership with sustainable development, and defy extensive consumption. We set to study prospects and limitations of applying new norms to modern societies and of assuming such a leadership style in various national cultures. The research focuses on governance discourse that embraces the concepts of service, humility, and modesty. The authors addressed the following research questions: what is the theory of servant leadership today? What is the role of value theory (axiology) in culture, both in its economic, political, and social dimensions? These questions are novel in modern Russian philosophy. Thematic analysis of literature on the topic has shown essential characteristics of a servant leader and made it possible to provide a compatible definition. The study concentrates on the understanding and functioning of the concept of service in Russian national culture and goes beyond its economic interpretation. The methods of anthropology and axiology, thick description, case study, and SWOT analysis were utilized. The paper finds conditions for implementing the servant type of leadership in Russia to achieve better results both in politics, and in business. Promotion of servant leadership is possible via PR strategies that exploit service as a general cultural phenomenon.