Is Servant Leadership A ‘Christian Theory’? A Critical .

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International Journal of Research in Humanities and Social StudiesVolume 6, Issue 3, 2019, PP 71-78ISSN 2394-6288 (Print) & ISSN 2394-6296 (Online)Is Servant Leadership a ‘Christian Theory’? A CriticalExamination of Greenleaf's Servant Leadership ConceptStephen Gichuhi KimothoDepartment of Communication,United States International University, Nairobi, Kenya.*Corresponding Author: Stephen Gichuhi Kimotho, Department of Communication, United StatesInternational University, Nairobi, Kenya. sgkimotho@usiu.ac.keABSTRACTSince Robert Greenleaf put down his seminal leadership ideas dubbed The Servant as Leader, in 1970, therehas been a tremendous growth in interest in his ideas and philosophy of servant leadership. Varied reasonshave been attributed to this growth of interest. Though this paper will not review the reasons for the growthin interest in Greenleaf ideas, by various scholars, this paper will try to establish whether there are anyjustifications for labeling Servant Leadership “Christian theory.” To do this, this paper looks into thebackground of the proponent of the theory of servant leadership- Greenleaf and assesses the definition of theconcept of servant leadership. Then the paper raises four key arguments that lead to the current argument ofwhether or not there are any justifications for labeling servant Leadership “Christian theory”? Finally, thepaper critically dissects into the philosophical grounding of the concept of servant leadership and illustratesits spiritual vacuity and dogmatic distortion. This study found that there were significant conceptualdifferences between Greenleaf‟s and the biblical perspective of servant leadership. In general, this studyconcludes that, Greenleaf concept of servant leadership is deficient in its foundation and cannot be labelledas a Christian theory of leadership.Keywords: Greenfield, servant, leadership, Christian, theoryINTRODUCTIONThe purpose of this paper was to review conceptof servant leadership and examine whether therewere justifiable grounds for referring toGreenleaf‘s concept of Servant Leadership, as a―Christian Theory‖- despite the fact thatGreenfield acknowledges that the word servantoccurs 1,300 times in the bible.In order to understand if there are any justifiablegrounds to call Greenleaf‘s ‗Servant Leadership‘concept a Christian theory, it is important tounderstand what Robert Greenleaf meant by‗Servant Leadership.‘ Greenleaf use of the term―servant leader‖ was deduction of his personalreflections, experiences and observationsconcerning the state of leadership then, inorganizations, and the reading of a metaphoricalstory written by Hermann Hesse (Boyum,2006). Hesse‘s story A Journey to theEastnarrates an experience of a group ofpilgrims who set off to discover the ultimate‗Eastern order.‘ Though the pilgrims wentthrough many tribulations and visitations, Leo aloyal servant kept them moving. When Leofinally left the journey, there arose various selfproclaimed leaders from among the pilgrims.The narrator observes that although the missionto discover the order failed, one pilgrim reunitedwith the faithful servant Leo, and discoveredthat Leo was the actual leader of the ‗Easternorder‘ that they sought. Greenleaf concludedthat the nature of true leaders is their willingnessto be first and primarily, to be a servant toothers. It is this very desire to serve others,which makes one great (Greenleaf, 1977, p. 13).As Greenleaf notes, ―Servant-Leadership is apractical philosophy which supports people whochoose to serve first, and then lead as a way ofexpanding service to individuals andinstitutions.‖ Spears, (2004) observe thatservant-leaders may or may not hold ages collaboration, trust, foresight,listening, and the ethical use of power andempowerment. In addition, Greenleaf suggestssuch traits as, listening, empathy, healing,awareness, persuasion, stewardship and buildingcommunity as important to servant leadership(Pierce, 2011)To a large extent the notion of servantleadership runs counter-culture as far astraditional leadership is concerned (Greenleaf,International Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Studies V6 I3 201971

Is Servant Leadership a ‘Christian Theory’? A Critical Examination of Greenleaf's Servant LeadershipConcept1977). Greenleaf‘s wish in conceptualizing theidea of servant leadership was that leaderswould serve with skill, understanding, and spirit.In Greenleaf‘s view, greatness in leadershiparose out of being a servant first. Greenleafconsidered servant leadership as less coerciveand more collaborative- than the dominatingnotions of conventional leadership. As Ngunjiri(2006) observes, a servant leader does notwithdraw from engagement with the system butrather critically engages the system in search ofsocial justice; “that is, servant leaders do notmerely criticize issues like corruption, injustice,and other structural evils; rather, a servantleader ponders what she can do about it andengages in action and advocacy” (Ngunjiri,2006). As Greenleaf observed, ―criticism has itsplace, but as a total preoccupation, it is sterile‖(p. 11). For Greenleaf, ―the servant leader isservant first It begins with the natural feelingthat one wants to serve, to serve first. Thenconscious choice brings one to aspire to lead”(p. 13). Several scholars have established thatservant leaders exhibited servant leadercharacteristics, such as deep spirituality, keensense of vision and direction, strong sense ofefficacy, dedication to community building,collaborative leadership styles, and commitmentto their mission or calling (BeauboeufLafontant, 2002; Jones, 2003; Mabokela, 2003a;Murtadha-Watts, 1999).Core concepts of servant leadership include aninnate value and desire to serve, and willingnessto act on the desire to serve by the leader, andtrust from those led. Foresight of the leader isderived from their ethics and is a foundationalcomponent, as well as the ability to actconstructively on that knowledge, when given achance to act (Greenleaf, 1977, p. 26). Insummary Greenleaf‘s initial premise was asfollows: (1) the leader is a servant first. It beginswith the natural feeling of wanting to serve first,(2) the servant first makes sure that the highestpriority needs of others are being met, (3)success is when those who are served becomehealthier, freer, more autonomous, and wiserand as a result become servants themselves andthat (4) a servant can only become a leader if aleader remains a servant. (Greenleaf 1977, p.13)There are some historical events which lendinsight to Greenleaf‘s conceptual developmentof servant leadership that are worth mention inthis paper. For instance, by the 1960‘s UnitedStates College campuses were undergoing anextreme amount of turmoil as a result of the72United States‘ involvement in the Vietnam War.Students and adults alike began to questioncultural values, morals, and authority. It wasduring this time Greenleaf began to question thecurrent state of leadership in eenleaf recognized in the 1960‘s the culturalcrossfire in which war, capitalism, industrialeducation, political agendas, socio-economicclass spread, religious debate and secularseparation of religion and society, the mobilityof people, and globalization, caused America tomove from social efficiency to self-efficiency.Humanism he believed was the cause of theleadership crisis (Greenleaf, 1977). However,the philosophical system in which he aligned hisspiritual and cognitive thoughts requires furtherdiscussion.POSSIBLE JUSTIFICATIONS FOR SERVANTLEADERSHIP AS ‘CHRISTIAN xford English Dictionary describes the termservant as ―one who is under obligation to workfor the benefit of a superior and to obey his orher commands‖ (Oxford English Dictionary,2008). As Sendjaya and Sarros, (2002) observe,the original term servant leader is accredited toChristianity and the ancient teachings of Jesus.Instruction given by Jesus on the qualities of aleader, the role of the leader and the issue ofpower or (authority) are captured in varioustexts in the bible.The Bible specifically identifies Jesus as aservant or expounding on the concept of servanthood in several places: Matthew 12:18, Acts3:13, 4:27, 4:30, Romans 15:8, Philippians 2:7,and Matthew 20:25-28. In Matthew 20:25-28 forinstance, Jesus says the following on being aservant “You know that the rulers of theGentiles lord it over them, and their highofficials exercise authority over them. Not sowith you. Instead, whoever wants to becomegreat among you must be your servant, andwhoever wants to be first must be your slave –just as the Son of Man did not come to beserved, but to serve, and to give His life as aransom for many.”One major statement of Jesus in the versequoted above is His specification of theprerequisite for greatness in the kingdom of God– “whoever wants to become great among youmust be your servant and whoever wants to beInternational Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Studies V6 I3 2019

Is Servant Leadership a ‘Christian Theory’? A Critical Examination of Greenleaf's Servant LeadershipConceptfirst must be your slave” (Matthew 20:26-27;Mark 10:43).The Greek word for Servant isdiakonos. It refers to the ―servant of someone‖(Bauer et al., 1979, p. 184) or ―the servant of amaster‖ (Beyer, 1964, p. 88). Diakonos is theroot word for deacon, a position of servant hoodin the body of Christ (I Timothy 3:8-13). TheGreek word for slave is doulos. It refers to a―slave – to the master‖ (Bauer et al., p. 205). AsRengstorf puts it, we hence have a service whichis not a matter of choice for the one who rendersit, - he has to perform whether he likes it or not,because he is subject as a slave to an alien will,to the will of his owner . . . in doulos the stressis . . . on the slave‘s dependence on his lord‖(Rengstorf, 1964, p. 261). Given the underlyingmeaning of the critical words, the text indicatesthat greatness in the kingdom of God does notcome through power or authority but ratherthrough service. According to Ladd (1974),these passages speak of love, which ―meansutterly selfless service – the willingness to fillthe most humble and menial tasks of service toone‘s fellows‖ (p. 280).The other critical area of the quoted passage andimportant as far as our discussion of servantleadership is concerned, is Jesus‘ identificationof His own servant nature. He stated, “The Sonof Man did not come to be served, but to serve”(Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45). Cullman arguesthat from the perspective of Christ, the phrase―Son of Man‖ replaced the designation Messiah;it is a comprehensive term that ―embraces thetotal work of Jesus‖ (Cullman, 1959, p. 137). AsBauer et al. observe, in this verse, the Greekverb ―served‖ and the infinitive ―to serve‖belong to the same word family as the noundiakonos (Bauer et al., 1979, p. 184).Consequently, Jesus indicated that although Hewas the totality of the Messiah, He did not cometo be the king served by others but rather to bethe servant of humanity. Ladd observes on of His entire life of service to Godand man‖ (Ladd, 1974, p. 187).The biblical perspective of servant leadership isbased on an individual being ―a servant to bothGod and others.‖ Snodgrass (1993, p. 13)supports this perspective, noting that Christiansunderstand their role of being servants onaccount of the role model of Christ and ―servanthood cannot be conjured up by disciplines orspecial acts.‖ Like the Christian conception ofservant hood, Greenleaf (1997) keeps onunderscoring the need for an emphasis on―prioritizing being servants first, and thenleading‖ (p. 13). From this point of viewGreenleaf concept of servant leadership reallymarries well with Christ description of servanthood.In conclusion, it is also important to highlightthat believers also are called servants at manypoints through the scriptures (i.e., Matt 10:24,20:27, 25:21; John 15:15: Rom 1:1, 16:1; 1 Cor9:19; Gal 1:10; Col 4:12; 2 Tim 2:24; Heb 3:5; 2Pet 1:1; Jude 1—to cite only a few). While Iacknowledge that the space to develop thevarious meanings of servant hood in the NewTestament or even the diverse biblical terms thattranslate to ―servant‖, is limited- it is importantthough to note that servant hood is part andparcel of the biblical composites known to manyin and out of leadership platforms and there isno denying this fact.Servant Leadership and SpiritualityAnother area that may justify Greenleaf‘sservant leadership concept as a tenable Christiantheory is the connection between servantleadership and spirituality. Greenleaf (1977),Spears (1995a; 2002) and Williams (1998)define servant leadership as those called to leadby serving. These researchers furtheremphasized that the spirit of servant leadershipis a spirit of moral authority and moralconviction. In addition to servant leadershipbeing a moral imperative, servant leadershipthrives on the concept of reciprocity. In thisregard, Greenleaf, Spears, and Williamsdemonstrate the interconnections of their moralcode and a willingness to serve through theirleadership roles.Servant leadership is based on teamwork andcommunity, it seeks to involve others in makingdecisions, it is strongly based in an ethicalimperative and caring behavior, and it attemptsto enhance personal growth of those beingserved as well as the overall quality of theinstitution in which the leaders serve (Greenleaf,1977). As Spears (2002) puts it servant leadersare those who are ―deeply committed to thegrowth of each and every individual to nurturethe personal, professional, and spiritual growth.‖The interconnectedness of spirituality andservant leadership is about getting people to ahigher level of self-fulfillment or selfactualization by leading people at a higher level.These ideas resonate very well with Christ‘semphasis on selflessness and caring behavior asillustrated in the story of a Good Samaritan inInternational Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Studies V6 I3 201973

Is Servant Leadership a ‘Christian Theory’? A Critical Examination of Greenleaf's Servant LeadershipConceptthe Holy Bible. From this point of view servantleadership‘s picture of Jesus is consistent withthe exemplary model of Christ‘s life and moraland spiritual expectations.Servant Leadership and the Concept of LoveThe concept of love forms foundation of anotherreason that could be used to justify servantleadership as a Christian theory. Stone, Russelland Patterson (2003) along with Winston (2002)point out that servant leaders have a high regardfor their followers. Winston (2002) calls thishigh regard, ‗Agapao love‘, the foundationalconstruct of servant leadership. According toWinston (2003), as the foundational construct ofservant leadership, Agapao love is athermometer that plays an important role indetermining the success of the servant leader inrelation to his followers. As a servant leaderpractices humility, altruism, vision and trust, thefollowers will necessarily experience increasedhope and will be empowered to become highlyeffective followers who are set for success andfuture leadership service. Dedicated andeffective servant leaders also inspire thesevirtues in their followers, and the response oftheir followers to the leader‘s behavior ischaracterized by Agapao love, commitment, andhope that will result in increased intrinsicmotivation, altruism towards the leader and theleader‘s interests, and high levels of service, as adirect consequence.Servant Leadership and the PhilosophicalSystemPhilosophical concepts are not derived in avacuum (Senge, 1990). Revealing a philosophyis a twofold task, namely to expose thephilosopher‘s system and to explain how thehistorical context contributes to this system(Catana, 2005, p. 78). A philosophicalframework as proposed by Ruona and Lynham,(2004) was utilized to make explicit the natureof being, values, beliefs and assumptions thatinform the act of servant leadership. I argue withBoyum (2006) that knowledge is sociallyconstructed as well as socially appliedandtherefore, we can trace the historical issueswhich influenced Greenleaf. Boyum suggestthree historical themes that offer insight into theGreenleaf‘s observations and resultant essays –the movement in industry from collectivismtoward empirical and pragmatic efficiency; theparallel the debate at that time on the purpose ofvocational education; and the social movementof humanism, individualism and moral74fragmentation (Greenleaf, 1977; Lazerson &Grubb, 1974). What is or is not servantleadership? Since philosophy is a system inwhich the ontology, epistemology and axiologyinforms and impacts ones view of the world(Ruona & Lynham, 2004, p. 152) the answer tothis question arguably is to make explicit thephilosophical system of servant leadership(Boyum, 2006).Sendjaya and Sarros (2002) offered the mostnotable contribution to any discussion on aphilosophical framework for servant leadership.They contend Judeo Christian and biblicalteaching are foundational to Greenleaf‘sontology and thus inform and direct the act ofservant leadership. As Boyum (2006) observes,the original work of Greenleaf and how heviewed the world was grounded in what hedescribed as an eastern paradigm (Greenleaf,1996). Gioa & Pitre, (1990) describe the termparadigm as the collective related concepts ofphenomena. His thoughts were formulated outof his spiritual beliefs, how he lived and hisvalues. As a self-proclaimed Quaker, his wasinfluenced by community and commitment, thelatter being a commitment to grow in spiritualfaith. Notably, the Quaker faith is grounded inJudeo Christian philosophy and biblicalscripture, and advocates for the integration ofspiritual faith in all aspects on one‘s life(Boyum, 2006).The Biblical precedent for servant leadership isundeniable. In fact, Warren (2002) contends thatthere is specific biblical scripture and JudeoChristian teaching associated with servantleadership and that serving others is one of thefive main tenets within the Biblical worldview.Consequently, Warren argues that humans arecreated to serve, to make ourselves available toserve, to pay attention to the needs of others, todo the best with the resources available to us, todo everything with equal dedication, to befaithful and humble (p. 257-264).In conclusion, as Boyum (2006) observes, theBiblical worldview promotes the concept ofgrace, which is foundational to the altruisticnature, and focus of a servant leader. Theintegration of grace from God into ones being,by following the teachings of Christ, allows oneto interact with others in the same manner.Others then do not need to do or act they receivelove and serve simply because of whom they areas fellow human beings (Schaeffer, 1978;Warren, 2002).International Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Studies V6 I3 2019

Is Servant Leadership a ‘Christian Theory’? A Critical Examination of Greenleaf's Servant LeadershipConceptWHY SERVANT LEADERSHIP CANNOT BEJUSTIFIED AS ‘CHRISTIAN THEORY’While I have raised four compelling reasonswhy servant leadership concept qualifies as aChristian theory, I will use this section to arguethat there exist equally compelling andimportant reasons why servant leadershipconcept cannot be justified as ‗Christian theory.‘Servant leadership theory is such alluring theorythat many Christians can hardly reject. Thereare several reasons for this scenario but the mostcompelling one is the fact that servantleadership theory strikes many Christians as atheory built on the life, death and resurrection ofJesus Christ. The scripture ultimately recognizesJesus Christ as the perfect example of servanthood, that is - by leaving all the glory of heavento come as a human and accepting the way ofthe cross. It is on his earthly ministry that thechurch was built that spread his life givingmessage to the ends of the earth after hisascension in

idea of servant leadership was that leaders would serve with skill, understanding, and spirit. In Greenleaf‘s view, greatness in leadership arose out of being a servant first. Greenleaf considered servant leadership as less

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