Introduction
Leadership style is the method or approach employed by a person while managing or heading a team. The leadership style is determined by factors such as an individual’s personal characteristics or traits, behaviors, and goals. Christian leadership styles have been in existence for a long time, and different people and groups subscribe to different styles depending on their needs and objectives. Some examples of leadership styles are steward leadership and servant leadership.
The steward leadership style focuses more on other parties besides the leader and those being led, while in the servant style, the leader focuses more on the followers rather than themselves or other third parties. No one leader is supremely better than the other, and Christian leaders should decide for themselves which style suits them. Although steward leadership and servant leadership have many similarities in terms of their objectives and characteristics, they differ to some extent.
Differences
One of the differences between the two leadership styles is that, in servant leadership, the leader is influenced by natural feelings to serve the people. Leadership starts with the urge to serve people, prompting them to take the role first. After taking the leadership role, the leader’s conscious choice inspires them to lead and influence others (Setiawan & Irawanto, 2020). On the other hand, steward leadership is influenced by the urge to manage resources contributed by other people to accomplish certain objectives like saving or helping the less fortunate people in society (Kamer, 2018).
Steward leadership stems from the notion that God has chosen certain people to be stewards or managers over His creations (Eva et al., 2019). As such, a steward leader aims to use resources efficiently to benefit others. For example, a person may be attracted to the church priesthood to use the available opportunity and influence the church resources to help the church and community members. Thus, servant leaders have a calling to serve others, whereas steward leaders seek to use resources to bring positive change.
Another difference between the two leadership styles is with regard to their goals and primary actions. The main goal of a servant leader is to inspire followers by embodying desirable traits and attributes that can motivate followers to emulate the leader. The leader also aims to serve the needs of the followers. On the other hand, a steward leader aims to utilize the available resources and opportunities to help the organization and fulfill its mission where applicable. Additionally, the primary action of the steward leadership style is to enable the organization to accomplish the stakeholders’ desires and objectives (Peshawaria & Toh, 2021). While the primary focus of servant leadership is on followers, steward leadership looks out for all stakeholders.
Next, the leadership styles differ in terms of how much each is able to accomplish. Servant leadership does not accomplish the objectives of all aspects of the organization’s leadership (Setiawan & Irawanto, 2020). For example, in a Christian setting, the style is more focused on the well-being of the followers but does not focus on achieving certain objectives, such as helping people in the community who are not within the organizational setting. As such, this leadership style can be termed leader-and-team-oriented. In contrast, steward leadership accomplishes the objectives of all organizational leadership aspects.
The main aim of this leadership style is to use the available resources to serve and address the needs of other people who are not part of the leadership (Kamer, 2018). However, for the leader to accomplish this objective, they must ensure all the followers are on board and well prepared. Thus, in the process of organizing the team, their objectives are realized, as well as objectives related to serving the needy in the community.
The other difference between the two styles is that in servant leadership, the leader is assumed to know all the answers. It operates on a top-bottom approach where the leader has command and control over the followers (Mareus,2018).
In this approach, the leader has all the information and answers to inspire the followers. For their leadership to be effective and successful, servant leaders motivate their followers through rewards for those who engage in the right and commendable practices and punishments for those who go against the rules and policies. In contrast, the steward leadership style uses horizontal communication, and all members play essential roles in developing ideas and solutions that could help the organization accomplish its objectives and goals (Peshawaria & Toh, 2021). Since the style is not concerned with the leader or the follower, there are no rewards or punishments among the followers. However, the organization generally celebrates its achievements and accomplishments in addressing other people’s needs. For example, a non-profit organization such as a church usually celebrates its milestones in solving the community’s needs.
Similarities
Despite the many differences between steward leadership and servant leadership, the two share some similarities. First, both steward and servant leaders have Christ-like traits of caring for other people. The two are not selfish in their leadership as they take care of other people’s needs, as Christ taught. Though the two serve different objectives, they are involved in the care and concern for others.
For example, the servant leader is concerned first with the needs of the followers by using their leadership roles and traits to inspire them (Setiawan & Irawanto, 2020). Similarly, the steward leader serves the needs of other people who are not part of the followers. In both cases, the leaders are selfless and love their neighbors as they love themselves. This gesture is what Christ requires of people to use their strengths and opportunities to help others. Such gestures contribute to making the world a better place.
Both leadership styles help accomplish the vision of God by equipping and empowering specific groups. For the servant, the leader is involved in empowering their followers by sharing their skills to motivate and influence them, enabling them to achieve various organizational goals and objectives (Setiawan & Irawanto, 2020).
Similarly, steward leadership helps empower various members of the community. In this leadership style, the leader uses the resources they are entrusted with to help certain members of the community who require their intervention (Kamer, 2018). Additionally, the two styles help the organization accomplish its objectives since the leaders in the two styles direct and guide the followers in achieving the organization’s goals and vision. For example, organizations have different personnel executing different roles though aligned to the organization. Thus, for the personnel to work together, a leader needs to coordinate and enforce policies, regardless of the style. Hence, both steward and servant leadership help bring order to the organization, enabling all the personnel to carry out their mandates effectively.
Further, in both leadership styles, the leaders are servants to the higher authority. These leaders are inspired by Christ’s teachings that require leaders to have a calling and some specific traits that match God’s will (Kamer, 2018). Everyone is below the higher master, and they turn to Him for interventions and guidance to help them succeed in their leadership roles. Although the two leadership styles are different, the leaders ensure their followers follow and engage in the right behaviors and practices for the organization to accomplish its objectives. In both leadership styles, leaders are change agents by initiating policies that affect their followers and the organization.
Conclusion
Leadership is critical for any organization to succeed and accomplish its objectives. Steward leadership and servant leadership are similar and different in some aspects. Some similarities include their Christ-like traits of caring for other people and helping in accomplishing the vision of God by equipping and empowering specific groups. Another similarity is that in both leadership styles, the leaders are servants to the higher authority, and the leaders are the agents of change.
The differences include that in servant leadership, the leader’s urge to serve is influenced by natural feelings to serve the people. In contrast, the steward style is influenced by the desire to manage resources contributed by other people to accomplish specific objectives. Another key difference is in terms of the leader’s accomplishments. Servant leadership does not achieve the goals of all aspects of the organization’s leadership, while steward leadership accomplishes all these objectives. A Christian leader must decide which leadership style works best depending on their personality and the institution’s objectives.
References
Eva, N., Robin, M., Sendjaya, S., Van Dierendonck, D., & Liden, R. C. (2019). Servant leadership: A systematic review and call for future research. The Leadership Quarterly, 30(1), 111-132. Web.
Kamer, J. (2018). Steward leadership and Paul. Journal of Biblical Perspectives in Leadership, 8(1), 126-131. Web.
Mareus, R. (2018). Exploring servant leadership in a top-down environment (Doctoral dissertation, Regent University). Web.
Peshawaria, R., & Toh, Y. (2021). Steward leadership: A win-win-win model for the post-pandemic business landscape. Asian Management Insights, 8(1), 56-63. Web.
Setiawan, R. P. S. M., & Irawanto, S. D. W. (2020). Servant leadership characteristics, organisational commitment, followers’ trust, employees’ performance outcomes: A literature review. European Research Studies Journal, 23(4), 902-911.