Academic and managerial opinion has been divided for years over the respective merits of servant leadership and transformational leadership styles. However, a new study suggests that one can be

just as effective as the other

Dierendonck, D. (Dirk) van

Stam, D.A. (Daan)

Erasmus University Digital Repository

ROTTERDAM SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT, ERASMUS UNIVERSITYThe business school that thinks and lives in the future Thinking smart about  knowledge sharing Rebecca Morris talks with Rob Zuidwijk and Bart Kuipers What value ethical  leadership? In discussion with Marius van Dijke,  Steffen Giessner and Rob van Tulder A radical approach to radical innovation By Dirk Deichmann and Jan van den Ende Close-tie  entrepreneurial  inspiration and business  survival  By Jeroen P.J. de Jong Exploring the differentials between servant and  transformational leadership By Dirk van Dierendonck and Daan Stam  Politics and percep-tions in the demand  for movies By Jason Roos Sustainability bonuses: a credible sign of cor-porate responsibility? By Paolo Perego 2nd Quarter 2014Management KnowledgeRSM DISCOVERYWe conducted two experimental surveys and one field study to try to understand more about the impact of each kind of leadership. For the first study, 184 people from one of the co-authors’ networks took a paper-and-pen test and were asked to imagine they were employees working for a transformational leader in a period of an uncertain business environ-ment. For the second, 200 employees working in a hospital (mostly nurses and doctors) also took a hypothetical survey in which we asked them what it would be like to work for either a serv-ant leader, a laissez-faire leader, or a transactional leader. For the final study, we talked to 200 people employed as support staff for a major university and asked them to compare the levels of engagement they would feel working for a transforma-tional leader versus a servant leader.Traditionally, the transformational leader has attracted the most attention in the media and in business schools – the charismatic, visionary individual who puts the needs of the organisation ahead of the needs of the individual. In the 1970s, a few scholars identi-fied another type of leader who pro-ceeded in the exact opposite way, yet still succeeded: the servant leader, a humble person who puts the needs of the individual ahead of the organi-sation and lets the employees take the lead. Even today, however, transforma-tional leaders get most of the glory, and servant leaders tend to be seen more as caretakers for mature organi-sations in stable markets. To find out whether this prejudice is justified, we undertook some empirical research with three of our students at RSM – Pieter Boersma, Ninotchka de Windt, and Jorrit Alkema. The three studies we conducted demonstrated that although the sources of a servant leader’s popular-ity are different than those of a trans-formational leader, the underlying behaviours of each leadership style complement one another in achieving employee engagement. Which is better?Transformational leaders encourage their followers to perform beyond expectations: they emphasise collec-tive values and needs rather than the values and needs of the individual. Employees like them because they of-fer an inspiring vision and are inclined to present themselves as a role model. Charisma is a primary tool of the trade for the transformational leader, who is seen as the centre of a process driving greater organisational effectiveness. Servant leaders, on the other hand, focus on developing employ-ees to their fullest potential. They rely on one-on-one communication to achieve their goals. Servant leaders at-tribute success to their followers rather than themselves. Which is better? Scholars have found theoretical advantages in ei-ther kind of leadership, but some have speculated that a servant leader is more suited to an organisation fo-cused on preserving the status quo, while a transformational leader makes a better captain when the world is in flux. Before our three studies, however, no one had actually tried to prove this assertion empirically.In our studies, we focused on the impact of servant leaders and trans-formational leaders on the emotional factor that matters most to the enter-prise in the end: the employees’ level of commitment to the organisation. 16   |   2nd Quarter 2014Academic and managerial opinion has been divided for years over the respective merits of servant leadership and transformational leadership styles. However, a new study suggests that one can be just as effective as the other.Exploring the differentials between servant and trans-formational leadershipBy Dirk van Dierendonck and Daan StamManagement KnowledgeRSM DISCOVERYAmong our findings• Respondents considered leaders who show transformational quali-ties to be more effective, while leaders who demonstrate servant qualities are better at fulfilling the needs of their followers. • However, neither kind of leader-ship has a special effect on organi-sational commitment: both kinds correlate to the strength of organi-sational commitment.  • This is not a feature of all kinds of leadership. We found levels of en-gagement to be lower for follow-ers of either transactional leaders (leaders who focus mostly on con-centrating on the task at hand) or laissez-faire leaders (leaders who leave their followers alone and shirk making decisions). • We could not prove that servant leaders have a greater impact on the degree of engagement in sta-ble times than in uncertain times. Nor did we find that an uncertain environment enhances transforma-tional leaders’ effectiveness. In both cases, tough times reduce the level of engagement, but good servant leadership or good transformation-al leadership can mitigate the lower degree of connection employees feel with the organisation.ConclusionsFor most executives, our conclusion is good news: whether you’re able to summon up your inner Churchill or not when you face your next crisis may not matter. Our work suggests that the servant leader does not appear to be at a special disadvantage in an uncer-tain environment, as other scholars have asserted. Employees appear to care less about the style of leadership than the substance, ie, they require evidence that the person at the top is aware of the challenges the organisa-tion faces and is taking action. This article is based on the paper Same difference? Exploring the differential mecha-nisms linking servant leadership and trans-formational leadership to follower outcomes, written by Dirk van Dierendonck, Daan Stam, Pieter Boersma, Ninotchka de Windt, and Jorrit Alkema. It has been published in The Leadership Quarterly, Volume 25, Issue 3, June 2014, Pages 544–562. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.11.014Dirk van Dierendonck is Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour, Department of Organisation and Personnel Management, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.  EMAIL   dvandierendonck@rsm.nlDaan Stam is Associate Professor of Innovation Management, Department of Technology and Operations Management, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.  EMAIL   dstam@rsm.nlWatch Dirk van Dierendonck explain the findings and implications of this research at:  WEB  http://bit.ly/1k0LJJz“…the underlying behaviours of each leadership style complement one another in achieving employee engagement.”2nd Quarter 2014   |   17

Exploring the differentials between servant and transformational leadership

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Exploring the differentials between servant and transformational leadership

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