SpringerLink
Log in

The New Servant Leader

How the Pandemic Evolved Citizen Perspectives of Leadership

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
The Palgrave Handbook of Servant Leadership

  • 1324 Accesses

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the global landscape across a number of dimensions, including political and economic stability, public health policy, including norms around social interaction, how businesses run, and where employees work. Concepts of leadership have also shifted amid the backdrop of the coronavirus crisis. Servant leadership theory espouses that the role of the leader is to be in service of the follower. The purpose of this study is to explore servant leadership in the (theorized) post-pandemic world and to understand which servant leadership traits are needed more than, less than, or the same as pre-pandemic times. A research study will investigate the citizen voice on post-pandemic servant leadership through a quantitative survey. It is hypothesized that servant leadership will be more needed in the post-pandemic world with a particular focus on empathy, altruism, and healing. The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced myriad global challenges and presents a timely, relevant, and critical opportunity to investigate leadership approaches necessary for the future.

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

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
GBP 19.95
Price includes VAT (United Kingdom)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
GBP 399.99
Price includes VAT (United Kingdom)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
GBP 549.99
Price includes VAT (United Kingdom)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free ship** worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Avolio, B., & Locke, E. (2002). Contrasting different philosophies of leader motivation: Altruism versus egoism. Leadership Quarterly, 13(2), 169–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1048-9843(02)00094-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barbuto, J. (2014). An examination of emotional intelligence as an antecedent of servant leadership. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 21(3), 315–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barbuto, J., & Wheeler, D. (2006a). Scale development and construct clarification of servant leadership. Group Organization Management, 31(3), 300–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barbuto, J., & Wheeler, D. (2006b). Servant leadership questionnaire. PsycTESTS. https://doi.org/10.1037/t21447-000

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

    Google Scholar 

  • Borowy, I. (2021). Perspectives on COVID-19 vaccine; the incredible success versus the incredible failure. Historical Social Research. Supplement, 33, 147–172. https://doi.org/10.12759/hrs.suppl.33.2021.147-172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brockner, J., & James, E. (2008). Toward an understanding of when executives see crisis as opportunity. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 44(1), 94–115. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886307313824

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, N. (2021). Authentic leadership in crisis scenarios: A phenomenological examination of the lived experience of corporate leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic (Theses and dissertations, 1219). https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd/1219

  • Brown, N., & Schockman, H. E. (2022). Forging a roadmap for post-pandemic global leadership: A preliminary empirical study of citizen perspectives. In S. K. Dhiman, & J. F. Marques (Eds.), Leadership after COVID-19: Working together toward a sustainable future. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84867-5_30

  • Brown, F., et al. (2020). How will the coronavirus reshape democracy and governance globally. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. https://carnegieendowment.org/2020/04/06/how-will-coronavirus-reshape-democracy-and-governance-globally-pub-81470

  • Chaleff, I. (2009). The courageous follower: Standing up to and for our leaders (Ser. A bk business book) (3rd ed.). Berrett-Koehler.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaleff, I. (2015). Intelligent disobedience: Doing right when what you’re told to do is wrong (1st ed.). Berrett-Koehler.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farling, M. L., Stone, A. G., & Winston, B. E. (1999). Servant leadership: Setting the stage for empirical research. Journal of Leadership Studies, 6(1–2), 49–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/107179199900600104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freedom House. (2020a, October 2). New report: Democracy under lockdown – The impact of COVID-19 on Global Freedom [press release]. https://freedomhouse.org/article/new-report-democracy-under-lockdown-impact-covid-19-global-freedom

  • Freedom House. (2020b). Democracy under lockdown: The impact of COVID-19 on the global struggle for freedom. https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/2020-10/COVID-19_Special_Report_Final_.pdf

  • Gettier, E. L. (1963). Is justified true belief knowledge? Analysis, 23(6), 121–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldman, A. (1976). Discrimination and perceptual knowledge. Journal of Philosophy, 73(20), 771–791.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. Bantam Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goleman, D. (2017). Leadership that gets results. Harvard Business Review Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

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

    Google Scholar 

  • Hale, J. (2007). Exploring servant leadership across cultures: A study of followers in Ghana and the USA. Leadership, 3(4), 397–417. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715007082964

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heyler, S. G., & Martin, J. A. (2018). Servant leadership theory: Opportunities for additional theoretical integration. Journal of Managerial Issues, 30(2), 230–243. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45176580

  • Hu, J., He, W., & Zhou, K. (2020). The mind, the heart, and the leader in times of crisis: How and when COVID-19-triggered mortality salience relates to state anxiety, job engagement, and prosocial behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105(11), 1218–1233. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000620; https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000620.supp (supplemental).

  • Hunter, E. M., Neubert, M. J., Perry, S. J., Witt, L. A., Penney, L. M., & Weinberger, E. (2013). Servant leaders inspire servant followers: Antecedents and outcomes for employees and the organization. Leadership Quarterly, 24(2), 316–331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2012.12.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • James, W., & Herman Finkelstein Collection (Library of Congress). (1907). Pragmatism: A new name for some old ways of thinking: Popular lectures on philosophy. Longmans, Green.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Johansen, B. (2017). The new leadership literacies: Thriving in a future of extreme disruption and distributed everything (1st ed.). Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johansen, B. (2020). Full-spectrum thinking: How to escape boxes in a post-categorical future; how to escape boxes in a post-categorical future. Berrett-Koehler.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kant, I. (1978). Anthropology from a pragmatic point of view (trans: Dowdell, V. L.). Southern Illinois University Press. (Original work published 1798).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanungo, R., & Conger, J. (1993). Promoting altruism as a corporate goal. Academy of Management Executive, 7(3), 37–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keith, K. (2008). The case for servant leadership. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lapointe, É., & Vandenberghe, C. (2018). Examination of the relationships between servant leadership, organizational commitment, and voice and antisocial behaviors. Journal of Business Ethics, 148(1), 99–115. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45022427

  • Lee, P., & Jackson, S. (2015). Leadership for the 21st century: Creating a culture of serving and giving through core values. International Journal of Servant-Leadership, 11(1), 277–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linuesa-Langreo, J., Ruiz-Palomino, P., & Elche-Hortelano, D. (2018). Integrating servant leadership into managerial strategy to build group social capital: The mediating role of group citizenship behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 152(4), 899–916. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45022776

  • Ma, Y., Faraz, N. A., Ahmed, F., Iqbal, M. K., Saeed, U., Mughal, M. F., & Raza, A. (2021). Curbing nurses’ burnout during COVID-19: The roles of servant leadership and psychological safety. Journal of Nursing Management, 29(8), 2383–2391. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.13414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahembe, B., & Engelbrecht, A.S. (2014). The relationship between servant leadership, organisational citizenship behaviour and team effectiveness. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 40(1), Art. #1107, 10 pages. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v40i1.1107

  • Minner, W. (2015). Leading global organizations. Journal of Management Policy and Practice, 16(2), 122–126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parris, D., & Peachey, J. (2013). A systematic literature review of servant leadership theory in organizational contexts. Journal of Business Ethics, 113(3), 377–393. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1322-6

  • Plato. (1945). The republic of Plato (trans: Cornford, F. M.). Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plato, & Jowett, B. (1999). Apology. Project Gutenberg.

    Google Scholar 

  • Price, T. L. (2008). Leadership ethics: An introduction. Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, R. (2020). Burnout on the front lines: Physicians and nurses as servant-leaders during COVID-19. International Journal of Servant-Leadership, 14(1), 429–455.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russell, R., & Stone, A. (2002). A review of servant leadership attributes: Develo** a practical model. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 23(3), 145–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sayyadi, M., & Provitera, M. J. (2021). Post-pandemic transformational leadership: Resilience, recovery and renewal. Industrial and Systems Engineering at Work, 53(12), 38–41. OCLC number/unique identifier: 9331976090.

    Google Scholar 

  • Secka, E. (2017). Servant leadership: The ultimate key designed for the success of political alliances and leadership. Performance Improvement, 56(9), 40–45. https://doi.org/10.1002/pfi.21736

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spears, L. (1995). Servant leadership and the Greenleaf legacy. In L. C. Spears (Ed.), Reflections on leadership. Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spears, L. C. (2002). Tracing the past, present, and future of servant leadership. In L. C. Spears & M. Lawrence (Eds.), Servant leadership: Developments in theory and research (pp. 11–24). Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. (2021). Covid-19 brief: Impact on democracy around the world. https://www.usglc.org/coronavirus/democracy/

  • Uhl-Bien, M. (2014). Followership theory: A review and research agenda. Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 83–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Unger, R. (1975). Knowledge & politics. Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization. (2021). WHO coronavirus (COVID-19) dashboard. https://covid19.who.int/

  • Young, M., Camp, K. M., & Bushardt, S. C. (2020). Leadership development: A hierarchy of followership skills during a crisis. Journal of Leadership, Accountability, and Ethics, 17(5), 127–133.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Global Leadership and Change, Pepperdine University, Portland, OR, USA

    Natasha Brown

  2. Center for Leadership, Woodbury University, Burbank, CA, USA

    H. Eric Schockman

Authors
  1. Natasha Brown
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. H. Eric Schockman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Natasha Brown .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

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

    Gary E. Roberts

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Brown, N., Schockman, H.E. (2023). The New Servant Leader. In: Roberts, G.E. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Servant Leadership. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-01323-2_17

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation