In every company and organization, the central role belongs to its leader as he or she is responsible for its prosperity and success. There are different kinds of leaders, and it is hard to disagree that the best leaders are the ones who care about their employees. The purpose of this paper is to provide the parameters of servant leadership and explain the downside to its practice.
Parameters of Servant Leadership
Servant leadership is a special philosophy that has the main goal of a leader’s serving. This concept differs from traditional leadership, where the leader is aimed at the thriving of the organization. There are some characteristics of a servant leader, and the first one is empathy. Such a leader should care about other people and experience their emotions. Listening is the second characteristic because, by paying attention to others’ words, a servant leader is able to understand all interpersonal situations that he or she deals with. Servant leaders should be completely aware of their weaknesses, strengths, emotions, and values. By promoting the emotional and mental health of employees, such leaders achieve an exceptional level of trust from others.
The sixth characteristic is persuasiveness, as in this way, a servant leader may easily and positively influence the actions and opinions of others. Servant leaders take complete responsibility for managing and planning all resources for the prosperity of the company, stakeholders, and employees. They are able to predict the organization’s future and to foster a sense of community and team spirit and create a feeling of belonging to something that is much bigger than each individual. Finally, they are ready to help their employees to start a promising career and provide them with necessary resources.
The Drawback of Servant Leadership
Undoubtedly, the concept of servant leadership seems to be appropriate and proper, especially in the healthcare field. However, there are always some downsides to every perfect concept. “A possible drawback of servant leadership may be that when leaders focus on prioritizing the needs of followers, followers may begin to feel entitled” (Stouten & Liden, 2020, p. 28). Although this may happen only if the leader lets the workers avoid responsibilities and consequences for their failures. If that does not occur, the employees respect their leader and do not allow themselves feel entitled.
Reference
Stouten, J., & Liden, R. C. (2020). Social loafing in organizational work groups: The mitigating effect of servant leadership. Academic Press, 1–41.