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The History of Leadership Focus

Servant Leadership’s Coming of Age

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The Palgrave Handbook of Servant Leadership

Abstract

The phenomenon of leadership has roots in the beginning of civilization. Over time, organizations have evolved from those with a focus on tasks (authoritarian styles) to ones with a focus on employees (participative styles), and while leadership styles have also evolved from autocratic styles to more comfortable work environments, the shift was then to organizations where people were empowered, encouraged, and supported in their personal and professional growth. And yet there is still movement and progression in how leadership, specifically servant leadership, is evolving. This chapter examines how leadership focus has changed over time, how the nuances of leader focus as captured in the chronological progression of leadership theory has shifted, and the recent emergence of servant leadership and servant followership theoretical frameworks have developed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business & Leadership, Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA, USA

    A. Gregory Stone & Kathleen Patterson

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  1. A. Gregory Stone
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  2. Kathleen Patterson
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Correspondence to A. Gregory Stone .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business, Woodbury University, Burbank, CA, USA

    Satinder K. Dhiman

  2. Robertson School of Government, Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA, USA

    Gary E. Roberts

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Stone, A.G., Patterson, K. (2022). The History of Leadership Focus. In: Dhiman, S.K., Roberts, G.E. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Servant Leadership. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69802-7_38-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69802-7_38-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-69802-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-69802-7

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