Skip to main content

Integrating Servant Leadership and Ethical Leadership

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Ethical Leadership

Abstract

Leaders typically display the behavior needed to consistently influence and motivate subordinates, and are equipped with ethical and moral values and a zeal to serve. There is a need for more servant and ethical leadership. Ethical leadership is transformational leadership coupled with a moral foundation, while servant leadership refers to an attitude of serving followers through the principle of stewardship. This paper critically reviews servant leadership and ethical leadership models and offers a blended model of serving that fits into the organizational context. Their model stresses that leaders must be trained in morals to promote the common good.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Avolio, B. J., Walumbwa, F. O., & Weber, T. J. (2009). Leadership: Current theories, research, and future directions. Annual Review of Psychology, 60(2), 421–449. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163621.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Block, P. (1993). Stewardship: Choosing service over self-interest. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, M. E., & Trevino, L. K. (2006a). Ethical leadership: A review and future directions. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(6), 595–616.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, M. E., & Treviño, L. K. (2006b). Charismatic leadership and workplace deviance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(4), 954–962.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, M. E., Trevino, L. K., & Harrison, D. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97(2), 117–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butterfield, K., Trevino, L. K., & Weaver, G. R. (2000). Moral awareness in business organizations: Influences of issue-related and social context factors. Human Relations, 53(7), 981–1018.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carl, D., Gupta, V., & Javidan, M. (2004). Power distance. In R. House, P. Hanges, M. Javidan, P. W. Dorfman, & V. Gupta (Eds.), Culture, leadership, and organizations: The globe study of 62 societies (pp. 513–563). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christie, R. (1970). Studies in Machiavellianism. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conger, J. A. (2000). Motivate performance through empowerment. In E. A. Locke (Ed.), The Blackwell handbook of principles of organizational behavior (pp. 137–149). Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, J. H., Schoorman, F. D., & Donaldson, L. (1997). Toward a stewardship theory of management. Academy of Management Review, 22(1), 20–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Detert, J. R., Trevino, L. K., Burris, E., & Andiappan, M. (2006). Managerial modes of influence and counter productivity in organizations: A longitudinal business unit-level investigation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(2), 993–1005.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dienesch, R. M., & Liden, R. C. (1986). Leader–member exchange model of leadership: A critique and further development. Academy of Management Review, 11(3), 618–634.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edward, A. (2001). Integrating leadership styles and ethical perspectives. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 18(4), 244–256.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferch, S. (2005). Servant-leadership, forgiveness, and social justice. International Journal of Servant-Leadership, 1(1), 97–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferris, G. R., Liden, R. C., Munyon, T. P., Summers, J. K., Basik, K. J., & Buckley, M. R. (2009). Relationships at work: Toward a multidimensional conceptualization of dyadic work relationships. Journal of Management, 35(6), 1379–1403.

    Google Scholar 

  • George, J. M. (2000). Emotions and leadership: The role of emotional intelligence. Human Relations, 53(8), 1027–1055.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham, J. W. (1991). Servant leadership in organizations: Inspirational and moral. The Leadership Quarterly, 2(2), 105–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, J. (1990). Employee theft as a response to underemployment inequity: The hidden costs of pay cuts. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75(5), 561–568.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. New York: Paulist Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harter, S. (2002). Authenticity. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 382–394). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hind, P., Wilson, A., & Lenssen, G. (2009). Developing leaders for sustainable business. Corporate Governance, 9(1), 7–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jin, K. G., & Drozdenko, R. G. (2009). Relationship among perceived organizational core values, corporate social responsibility, ethics and organizational performance outcomes: An empirical study of information technology professionals. Journal of Business Ethics, 92(3), 341–359.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kabasakal, H., & Bodur, M. (2004). Humane orientation in societies, organizations, and leader attributes. In R. J. House, P. J. Hanges, M. Javidan, P. W. Dorfman, & V. Gupta (Eds.), Culture, leadership and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohlberg, L. (1969). Stage and sequence: The cognitive developmental approach to socialization. In D. A. Goslin (Ed.), Handbook of socialization theory and research (pp. 380–437). Chicago, IL: Rand McNally.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laub, J. A. (1999). Assessing the servant organization: Development of the organizational leadership assessment (OLA) model. Dissertation Abstracts International, 60(2): 308A. UMI No. 9921922.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lowe, K. B., Kroeck, K. G., & Sivasubramaniam, N. (1996). Effectiveness correlates of transformational and transactional leadership: A meta-analytic review of the MLQ literature. The Leadership Quarterly, 7(3), 385–425.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luthans, F., & Avolio, B. (2003). Authentic leadership development. In K. S. Cameron & J. E. Dutton (Eds.), Positive organizational scholarship (pp. 241–254). San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, D. M., Bardes, M., & Piccolo, R. F. (2008). Do servant-leaders help satisfy follower needs? An organizational justice perspective. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 17(2), 180–197.

    Google Scholar 

  • McClelland, D. C., & Burnham, D. H. (1976). Power is the great motivator. Harvard Business Review, 54(2), 100–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCullough, M. E., Hoyt, W. T., & Rachal, K. C. (2000). What we know (and need to know) about assessing forgiveness constructs. In E. McCullough, K. I. Pargament, & C. E. Thoresen (Eds.), Forgiveness: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 65–88). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee-Cooper, A., & Looper, G. (2001). The essentials of servant-leadership: Principles in practice. Waltham, MA: Pegasus Communication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, K. A. (2003). Servant leadership: A theoretical model (Regent University). Dissertations Abstract International, 64(2). UMI No. 3082719.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rabindra, N. K. (2001). Ethical values of transactional and transformational leaders. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 18(4), 257–265.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rabindra, N. K., & Manuel, M. (2001). Ethical leadership and governance in organizations: A preamble. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 18(4), 241–244.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, R. F. (2001). The role of values in servant leadership. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 22(2), 76–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, R. F., & Stone, A. G. (2002). A review of servant leadership attributes: Developing a practical model. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 23(23), 145–157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spears, L. C. (1995). Reflections on leadership: How Robert K. Greenleaf’s theory of servant leadership influenced today’s top management thinkers. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trevino, L. K. (1986). Ethical decision making in organizations: A person–situation interactionist model. Academy of Management Review, 11(3), 601–617.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trevino, L. K., Hartman, L. P., & Brown, M. (2000). Moral person and moral manager: How executives develop a reputation for ethical leadership. California Management Review, 42(4), 128–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trevino, L. K., Brown, M., & Hartman, L. P. (2003). A qualitative investigation of perceived executive ethical leadership: Perceptions from inside and outside the executive suite. Human Relations, 56(1), 5–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tupes, E. C., & Christal, R. E. (1961). Recurrent personality factors based on trait ratings (Tech. Rep. ASD-TR-61-97). Lackland Air Force Base, TX: US Air Force.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, N., Barling, J., Epitropaki, O., Butcher, V., & Milner, C. (2002). Transformational leadership and moral reasoning. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(2), 304–311.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Dierendonck, D. (2011). Servant leadership: A review and synthesis. Journal of Management, 37(4), 1228–1261.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Dierendonck, D., Nuijten, I., & Heeren, I. (2009). Servant leadership, key to follower well-being. In D. Tjosvold & B. Wisse (Eds.), Power and interdependence in organizations (pp. 319–337). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Victor, B., & Cullen, J. B. (1988). The organizational bases of ethical work climates. Administrative Science Quarterly, 33(1), 101–125.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2016 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Reddy, A.V., Kamesh, A.V.S. (2016). Integrating Servant Leadership and Ethical Leadership. In: Chatterji, M., Zsolnai, L. (eds) Ethical Leadership. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60194-0_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics