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A Conceptual Framework to Operationalise Servant Leadership Within an Organization

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Practicing Servant Leadership

Abstract

A framework to operationalise servant leadership is introduced in this chapter. It describes three dimensions of servant leadership, namely the heart, the head, and the hands of a servant leader. The four functions of a servant leader are presented in addition, which are clustered into strategic servant leadership and operational servant leadership, and four analogies are used to simplify the objectives of each function. The framework furthermore defines the characteristics and competencies in support of each function and includes a talent wheel to develop servant leaders within organisations. The chapter concludes with a standard implementation procedure to apply this framework effectively within any organisation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wisdomy (Pty) Ltd, Pretoria, South Africa

    Michiel Frederick Coetzer

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  1. Michiel Frederick Coetzer
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Dirk van Dierendonck

  2. School of Business and Leadership, Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA, USA

    Kathleen Patterson

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Coetzer, M.F. (2018). A Conceptual Framework to Operationalise Servant Leadership Within an Organization. In: van Dierendonck, D., Patterson, K. (eds) Practicing Servant Leadership. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75644-8_9

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