As a business coach and trainer I have had some let say ‘interesting’ responses to mentioning servant leadership. Most of them center around a general misunderstanding of what servant leadership is. One such reaction even included a marked look of distaste and the comment “I thought we had moved on from the serving butler leader image. Another suggested that leaders should be there to add friction to employees work lives in order to get them to perform better. These examples demonstrate that servant leadership is often misunderstood as simply giving employees what they want, like a subservient butler.
In reality servant leadership is a disciplined, evidence‑based approach to helping people grow and perform at their best.
First coined by Robert K. Greenleaf servant leadership is about leaders as those who looks to support the team first and then lead, supporting team members to grow as people and become healthier and more self-determined. This focus on long‑term growth means leaders sometimes say no to short‑term preferences if they hinder development or the organization’s mission. Servant leadership is not about being the “nice” boss who says yes to all employee demands and not about popularity.
Servant leadership is about taking on stewardship for your people and the organisation they work in.
Empirical research backs this type of leadership up. Studies on Self‑Determination Theory demonstrate that servant leadership improves performance by satisfying three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
When leaders apply servant leadership by offering meaningful choice, coaching, and connection, employees reciprocate with higher task performance and organisational loyalty.
This holds even when leaders need to make tough, unpopular calls. Thriving at work increases not because employees always get what they want. Employees thrive because they feel supported in terms of their personal development.
So the main confusion on servant leadership is when it is equated with people‑pleasing.
Just to cover the basics (more in another article): People‑pleasing prioritizes being liked, popularity and avoiding conflict. Servant leadership prioritizes the purpose, clarity of expectations and sustainable well‑being.
Effective servant leaders
- set boundaries,
- hold others accountable,
- support sustainable growth,
- address conflict directly,
- and recognise that over‑accommodation leads to burnout and poor results.
Saying “no” to an unnecessary meeting, pushing for honest feedback, or insisting on performance standards can be deeply servant‑oriented decisions when they protect the team’s energy and help individuals grow.
In practice, servant leadership means enabling your team to do their best by listening carefully, clarifying needs, and then choosing actions that best serve people’s growth and the organization’s mission.
Even when those actions differ from what employees initially want. Hopefully this article has helped clarify what servant leadership is and isn’t about. If you have anymore questions, feel free to get in touch. Looking forward to hearing from you!
