6 page Leadership style paper

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Types of Leadership: A Comparative Discussion of Servant Style and Charismatic Leadership

North Carolina Wesleyan College

Traditionally, there are about seven well known styles of leadership; servant, charismatic, transactional, transformative, situational, Laizze-Faire, innovative along with many more. For the purpose of this paper I am choosing to discuss the similarities and differences between servant style leadership and charismatic style leadership, which types of organizations benefit from these leadership styles as well as which types of individuals are best suited for these types of leadership.

Servanthood and servant style leadership has been historically documented for thousands of years. One of the most prominent written texts that documents servant style leadership and characteristics of a servant leader can be found in The Bible. An instance of service and humility indicated in the Bible is the washing of the feet. In the book of John, chapter 13, Jesus washes the feet of his disciples, then challenges them to wash the feet of another. Although servanthood and service is well documented in Judeo-Christian texts the term servant leadership was the concept of Robert K. Greenleaf in 1970."The servant leader os servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. The best test is: do those served grow as persons: do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit, or, at least, not be further deprived?" (Greenleaf, 1977).

Although most researchers agree components of servant style leadership, such as self-concept and primary intent separate it from transactional or charismatic leadership styles, there are some researchers that have, “...proved these leadership styles to be the same” (Kashyap & Ragnekar 2014). Servant leadership if often characterized by the leader’s ability or desire to put service to others before self-interest, collaborative decision making and often lets the team accept credit for team achievements instead of themselves. The Basic values of servant style leadership, according to Kashyap & Ragnekar are: vision, credibility, trust, service, appreciation for others and empowerment. Characteristics of servant style leadership were listening, empathy, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment and community building, healing (2014). Because servant leadership is driven toward a calling to serve others and not necessarily a desire for financial gain, power or fame, it is better suited for, “caring, not-for-profit corporations” (Hunt, T.S. 2002). However, that does not exclude for profit organizations from embracing this philanthropic philosophy. According to Hunt,” Many for profit corporations, educational institutions, churches and foundations use Servant style leadership as a philosophy for their leaders and managers, mission statements, or restructuring their organization with the ‘First among the equals model of servant as leader’” (2002). In fact, according to The Center for Association Leadership, organizations whose leaders effectively implement servant style leadership are often listed as “Best Places to Work” as it creates high morale and creates a positive work environment for all team members.

Although there is strong support for servant style leadership, specifically in the not-for-profit sector, there are also strong critics of servant style leadership. “Servant leadership is likely to constrain rather than to empower followers, discouraging their organizational commitment. In fact, followers could become reliant on the figure of the servant leader, thus being unwilling to adopt a proactive behavior to meet the organizational instances” and that “…followers could become dependent on the assistance of the leader” (Palumbo, R.,2016).

A similar leadership style to servant style leadership is charismatic leadership. Charismatic leadership is founded on the influence over others through personality or charisma. While some define charisma as, “the ability of a leader to exercise diffuse and strong influences over the beliefs, values, behaviors, and performance of followers through his/her vision, behaviors, beliefs, and personal examples” (Conger & Kanungo, 1987, House, Spangler & Woycke, 1991), charisma originated from the Greek language, loosely translated as meaning, ‘a gift’. Characteristics of charismatic leaders include: self-confidence, trendsetters or seek out change, exhibit out of ordinary behavior, strong faith in organizational vision. Individuals who lead through charisma often motivate others to move forward by inspiring passion through meaningful dialogue. “The charismatic leaders' actions are inspirational and the enthusiasms they prompt heavily influence the followers” (Mclaurin &Amari, 2008).

Charismatic leadership consists of three core components; envision, empathy, and empowerment. Envisioning provides followers the ability to see what the future through the lens of a charismatic leader. It also provides a charismatic leader with the framework to see their own potential. “Envisioning involves creating an overall picture of a desired future state with which people can identify and which can generate excitement. The creation and communication of a vision is one of the most prominent characteristics of charismatic leadership” (Conger & Kanungo, 1998). It is this vision that makes charismatic leaders, “more admirable and more worthy of being identified in the eyes of the followers” (Choi, J.,2006).

According to their literature regarding emotional intelligence, Peter Salovey and John Mayer describe empathy as being, “the ability to understand another person’s motives, values and emotions” (1990). In order for a charismatic leader to be effective in communicating and meeting objectives, charismatic leaders take the followers' interests into consideration when making decisions” (Choi, J.,2006). Often indicating empathy or empathic tendencies to be the most crucial core value of charismatic leadership as it generates a sense of comm(unity) between leaders and followers.

Empowerment is defined as, “enhanced perceptions of self-efficacy or belief in one’s ability to perform work activities with skill” (Gist, S., 1987). Not only do charismatic leaders often describe themselves as feeling a sense of empowerment among and over their followers, empowerment is used as a tool of charismatic leaders in which a group of less than capable individuals are encouraged and delegated to complete tasks that they otherwise wouldn’t have without the push of their superior. This type of behavior contributes to the fostering of confidence within these individuals as well as contributes to followers becoming more, “independent in the initiation and continuation of work behavior processes” (Choi, J., 2006).

Charismatic leaders can be found both in the field of business as well as fields related to social reform and justice, politics and religion. Although most charismatic leaders adhere to a position of ethical standards. The benefits of implementing a charismatic style leadership often outweigh the negatives of it. However, there are risks associated with charismatic leadership. “Charisma can lead to blind fanaticism in the service of megalomaniacs and dangerous values, or to heroic self-sacrifice in the service of a beneficial cause” (Howell & Avolio, 1992). Charisma is not exclusive to the morally and ethically well adjusted. Just as Jesus Christ could be considered a charismatic leader, so too, was Adolf Hitler.

There is no one style of leadership that is better than the other. However, there are certain styles of leadership that are better suited for specific situations than others. For instance, servant style leadership or servant styled leaders are often ill equipped to make instantaneous decisions whereas, charismatic leaders have the benefit of being able to envision the future, both for themselves and for their organization. Leaders and styles of leadership can only be determined by the objectives of the organization for which they intend to represent.

References

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Conger, J. A., Kanungo, R. N. and Menon, S. T. (2000), Charismatic leadership and follower effects. J. Organiz. Behav., 21: 747–767. doi:10.1002/1099-1379(200011)21:7<747::AID-JOB46>3.0.CO;2-J

Gist, M. (1987). Self-Efficacy: Implications for Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management. The Academy of Management Review, 12(3), 472-485. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/258514

Greenleaf, R.K. (1977) The Servant As Leader

House, R., Spangler, W., & Woycke, J. (1991). Personality and Charisma in the U.S. Presidency: A Psychological Theory of Leader Effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 36(3), 364-396. doi:1. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2393201 doi:1

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Hunt, T. S. (2002). Servant leadership: Billy graham (Order No. 3060178). Available from ABI/INFORM Collection. (305499539). Retrieved from http://proxy.ncwc.edu/docview/305499539?accountid=12726

Kashyap, V., & Rangnekar, S. (2014). The moderating role of servant leadership: Investigating the relationships among employer brand perception and perceived employee retention. Review of HRM, 3, 105-118. Retrieved from http://proxy.ncwc.edu/docview/1655998255?accountid=12726

https://www.asaecenter.org/resources/articles/an_magazine/2013/january/8-common-leadership-styles

McLaurin, J. R., & Amri, M. B. A. (2008). DEVELOPING AN UNDERSTANDING OF CHARISMATIC AND TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP. Allied Academies International Conference.Academy of Organizational Culture, Communications and Conflict.Proceedings, 13(2), 15-19. Retrieved from http://proxy.ncwc.edu/docview/192410979?accountid=12726

Palumbo, R. (2016). Challenging servant leadership in the nonprofit sector: The side effects of servant leadership. The Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership, 6(2) Retrieved from http://proxy.ncwc.edu/docview/1796239305?accountid=12726

Salovey, P. & Mayer, J.D. (1990). Emotional Intelligence. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 185-211