International Journal of Servant-Leadership
Abstract
Ethical and values-based forms of leading are particularly appealing for organizations that strive to manage human capital in socially conscious ways, while also meeting a concurrent expectation to increase firm effectiveness. Over the last several decades, servant-leadership has evolved to represent an ethical pathway of leadership marked by stewardship of the people, and has gained currency as a positive leadership framework across many organizational and cultural contexts within business, the non-profit sector, and education (Eva et al., 2019; Greenleaf, 1998; Parris & Peachey, 2013). Servant-leadership is a leadership model that centers followers and focuses on their development, and leader behaviors of listening, empathy, healing, foresight, stewardship, and persuasion are emphasized (Eva et al., 2019; Greenleaf, 1998). Explicit in this framework is a highly personal mode of leading, where the leader prioritizes the follower and sustainable organizational performance (Sendjaya, 2015). This holistic approach to individual and collective well-being potentially furthers inclusive efforts in the workplace. For example, servant-leaders appear to foster environments with decreased hierarchy based on gender, race, and ethnicity (Gotsis & Grimani, 2015), more inclusive climates (Nishii, 2013), and increased visibility of minority groups (Bell et al., 2011).
Recommended Citation
Chung, Helen H.; Lee, Don; and Solberg, Brie
(2025)
"A Critical Reflection on Servant-Leadership Through the Lens of Gender and Race-Ethnicity,"
International Journal of Servant-Leadership: Vol. 19, Article 19.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64749/2160-8172 & 2160-8164.1443
Available at:
https://repository.gonzaga.edu/ijsl/vol19/iss1/19
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright Information
Copyright 2025 The Author(s).