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Servant Leadership: Philosopher’s Perspective

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Servant Leadership in Sport

Abstract

This chapter is the first of three chapters to take an in-depth look at servant leadership. In this chapter, some of the philosophical approaches to servant leadership are explored. Key topics in this chapter include self-awareness, authenticity, morality, love, trust, and spirituality. Greenleaf (The servant as leader. Center for Applied Studies, Cambridge, MA, 1970) referred to self-awareness as psychological self-insight and stated that it is the most dependable aspect of a servant leader. One’s ability to focus on others would be dictated by their level of self-awareness. Authenticity is important to a servant leader as it is not a management technique but a way of life. Key aspects of authenticity (e.g., humility, integrity, vulnerability) better enable a servant leader to connect with followers. The morality of a servant leader does not allow them to use followers as a means to an end and love, as a verb, is the operationalization of servant leadership (e.g., love is patient, kind, selfless, and honest). Trust is the mechanism through which needs are met, followers are empowered, and enabled to become leaders. Connections are also made between servant leadership, spirituality, religion, and, meaning. Finally, this chapter addresses on the mechanics of servant leadership, how it aids in conflict resolution, and the reluctance to embrace servant leadership.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA

    Gregory S. Sullivan

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  1. Gregory S. Sullivan
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Correspondence to Gregory S. Sullivan .

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Sullivan, G.S. (2019). Servant Leadership: Philosopher’s Perspective. In: Servant Leadership in Sport. Palgrave Studies in Workplace Spirituality and Fulfillment. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11248-6_3

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