Service-Learning and Servant Leadership Development in Students

Introduction

Leadership can be found in many forms. Some leaders are self-serving, seeing everything in their possession as a tool to be used for personal gain. Other leaders seem to have a special spark that inspires people — a strong desire to give something back to their community and a sense of moral responsibility toward their positions. These leaders are what researchers refer to as servant leaders. Cultivating this type of leadership is the goal of most institutions of higher education around the world. This research study examines the effects of the service-learning experience at two major universities on students' ability to develop the characteristics of the servant leader, using an experimental design to investigate this area of interest.

The servant leader embodies the concept that the only true leader is one who recognizes the needs of those they lead as the top priority. The servant leader differs from the self-serving leader in attitude and philosophy, prioritizing the good of the many over personal power and financial gain. Leadership goes beyond simple management of resources; it is represented by the ability to inspire others and to elicit their cooperation through a desire to emulate strong leadership. Development of the servant leader is therefore a primary goal of universities, which seek to produce the kind of servant leader that will be needed in the future.

The central research question asked by this study is: "Does a service-learning experience help students develop the characteristics of servant leadership?" Although this question centers on two specific university settings, the findings obtained will be useful in other university settings as well.

The development of servant leaders has received considerable attention in academic literature. This research trend is driven by the need to find ways to instill servant-leader attitudes in future CEOs and upper managers. Servant virtues include love, humility, trust, vision, and empowerment (Waddell, 2006). These values are reflected in the manner in which a leader interacts with the world around them.

Research into servant leaders has found that they tend to be introverts rather than extroverts (Waddell, 2006). They require less recognition and positive feedback from the outside world than extroverts do. They are motivated by their own internal drives, attitudes, and ambitions rather than by which actions are likely to earn recognition from others (Waddell, 2006). They are self-motivated and more likely to prefer being the "giver" rather than the "receiver" in a relationship. They possess an inner solitude that stems from placing others first, experiencing a certain detachment from their own needs.

Robert Greenleaf helped to define what is meant by the servant leader. His definition includes the following question: "Do those around the servant-leader become wiser, freer, more autonomous, healthier, and better able themselves to become servants? Will the least privileged in society be benefited, or at least not further deprived?" (Greenleaf, Spears, & Covey, 2002, p. 27). This question embodies the spirit of servant leadership and sets the standard for its practice. It is the driving concept behind efforts to develop servant leaders.

For the purposes of this study, servant leadership will be defined using the subscales contained within the survey instrument. A servant leader is defined as someone who scores high on the positive traits of servant leadership and low on the negative traits contained within the scale. These scales are discussed further in the methodology section.

The development of servant leaders is important to the future of business and society. To meet this need, many universities require a service-learning experience for students enrolled in programs that lead to leadership positions. The service-learning experience is an integral part of this educational process; it cannot be separated from the concept of the servant leader. Until students experience the world from someone else's perspective, they cannot fully recognize themselves as part of a broader whole.

Much of the previous research in this area focused on defining and categorizing the servant leader. The constructs and concepts of the theory are well established, and instruments have been developed to assess the degree of servant leadership within a person. Research highlights the importance of becoming a servant leader and the need to develop these qualities in future business leaders. However, few studies investigate a specific method for developing these qualities.

This study plays a significant role in advancing the ability to develop servant leaders by investigating a specific component of the educational experience — the service-learning requirement. It will help determine the value of the service experience in developing servant-leader qualities in university students. One of the key questions, and biggest controversies, in this field is whether servant leaders can be created or whether these qualities are innate. This study will help answer the question of whether servant leaders are made or born, and will aid universities in validating the use of service experiences in their leadership development curricula.

The research question leads directly to the following hypothesis, which will serve as the guiding statement for this study:

H1: University students who have completed a service-learning experience will score significantly higher on a servant leadership characteristics scale than students who have not completed a service-learning experience.

The alternative (null) hypothesis states that no difference will be found on servant leadership scales between those who have completed service-learning experiences and those who have not.

These hypotheses have significant ramifications for future studies in servant leadership. If the primary hypothesis holds true, it supports the position that experiences during the learning process can lead to the development of servant leadership traits — suggesting that servant leaders can be made, not merely born. If the null hypothesis holds true, it may suggest that these traits cannot be taught. While many variables can affect the outcome and limit the ability to establish direct causality, the results are expected to support one position or the other regarding the learnability of servant leadership traits.

The conceptual variables for this study are derived from the existing body of theoretical research on servant leadership. The central research construct is the idea that servant leadership traits can be developed through the service-learning experience of university students. This study approaches that development from the theoretical position that the service-learning experience will have a significant emotional impact on students and may change the attitudes and perceptions of those not already oriented toward servant leadership.

The conceptual variables will be operationalized through a pretest-treatment-posttest design. Variables for the pretest will be identical to those on the posttest. The dependent variable will be the change in attitude or servant leadership orientation as compared between two research groups. The service-learning experience will serve as the independent variable. It is expected that this independent variable will affect changes in the servant leadership trait scores of the two groups. Differences between the groups on posttest scores will reflect the degree of change the independent variable produced in the dependent variable.

The concept of servant leadership has been part of academic discourse since it was first introduced by Greenleaf in 1977 (Sendaya & Sarros, 2002). Conceptually, there is broad agreement about what constitutes a servant leader, although many variations of these characteristics can be found in the literature. The terms "servant" and "leader" may seem contradictory, which is one of the greatest barriers to operationalizing the concept in modern organizations. The following examines key literature on the ability to operationalize the servant leader concept.

Literature Review: Defining and Developing Servant Leaders

The largest body of literature on servant leadership comprises works that attempt to define it at the most basic level. The concept is abstract and subjective at best. Several themes arise in defining the servant leader and identifying distinguishing characteristics. Lists of subjective characteristics often serve as the foundation for these definitions. Whether a person actually possesses these traits, or how many traits are required to qualify as a servant leader, are often left to the judgment of the reader. These definitional challenges permeate research on the topic.

The servant leader can be defined using traits, actions, or outcomes, depending on the theorist consulted. These traits have been refined many times over the past several decades. Among the most common recurring themes, self-sacrifice stands out as the most prominent: the servant leader is expected to sacrifice personal or professional gain if it will benefit the group (Matterson & Irving, 2006).

All agree that the servant leader is a servant first and a leader second (Matterson & Irving, 2006). Other traits vary by author and context, but together they paint the picture of a distinct personality type characterized by altruism, trust, vision, credibility, appreciation for others, and a commitment to empowering them (Matterson & Irving, 2006). These characteristics will be used in developing the survey instrument for this study.

The central issue of this study is whether servant leaders are born or made. When students graduate from college, they often pledge to give back to their community and institution, but only the true servant leader follows through on that commitment (Grizzell, 2008). Somewhere in the educational process, the concept of serving others is frequently lost to competition for personal gain and professional advantage. The focus shifts toward outperforming others rather than succeeding for the good of the community (Grizzell, 2008). This represents a disconnect between university education as typically practiced and the development of the servant leader.

The educational process typically addresses the "technical" portion of learning. However, substantial evidence exists that leaders can be made through a developmental process that empowers individuals to engage with issues that matter to them (Grizzell, 2008). This can only happen when "personal development" becomes an accepted component of the curriculum.

Greenleaf (1977) suggests that the desire to serve begins with a "natural" feeling — an innate wish to serve others. This definition implies that one must already possess an internal inclination in order to become a servant leader. Although Greenleaf does not state this directly, he implies throughout his work that certain people are gifted with the qualities of the servant leader. This raises the logical question of whether these qualities can be "taught" to those who do not naturally possess them. Greenleaf's position suggests that the tendency toward servant leadership must already be present in some form for those traits to manifest outwardly.

Several cultural aspects of servant leadership emerge in the literature. For instance, an examination of leadership in Bedouin cultures, with their tribal roots, finds generosity and concern for others as key virtues necessary for tribal chiefs. Self-sacrifice for the sake of the tribe is deeply embedded in Bedouin culture (Sarayrah, 2004), and these values later became central concepts in Islamic traditions as well (Sarayrah, 2004).

Another illustration of the servant leadership approach appears in first- and second-generation Chinese-American Protestant churches. A recent study found that in order to manage followers effectively, church leadership needed to adopt a servant-leader approach. More aggressive leadership styles were not culturally compatible with Chinese culture, particularly among first-generation Chinese immigrants (Baldomir, 2008).

A comparative study of servant leadership across cultures revealed several common themes. Large corporate scandals — including those involving Enron and WorldCom — increased public demand for trustworthy leaders, elevating the importance of servant leadership as a topic (Hale & Fields, 2007). A study comparing experiences of individuals in Ghana with those in the United States found that respondents in Ghana reported experiencing servant leadership behaviors significantly less frequently than those in North America (Hale & Fields, 2007). The study also found that vision was associated with servant leadership more strongly among the Ghana population than among North Americans (Hale & Fields, 2007), while both populations considered service and humility to be important leadership qualities (Hale & Fields, 2007).

These cultural studies found significant differences in leadership expectations and attitudes across societies. Certain cultures embody servant leadership as a fundamental social tenet, while others have only recently begun to prioritize it in business leadership. Because culture itself is a learned trait, the fact that servant leadership is highly valued in some cultures suggests it was instilled through social learning. These cross-cultural differences support the hypothesis that servant leadership can be fostered through deliberate student experiences.

Religion and business education seldom intersect in academic settings. However, they cannot be easily separated when the research involves service learning. Many academic sources consider service learning to be a component of the student's moral development, reinforcing the concept that leadership differs fundamentally from management. Leaders must often make moral decisions concerning the welfare of those they lead, and the servant leader is more likely to make decisions that serve those they are responsible for, rather than decisions that serve personal gain.

Service leadership often requires the leader to recognize both the good and the bad in all of their experiences. This capacity for honest self-evaluation is referred to as self-transcendence. The leader deliberates and evaluates the potential benefits and harms of their actions before making a just decision. Self-transcendence and servant leadership are closely related: the servant leader must achieve self-transcendence in order to make correct decisions for the group.

Literature on self-transcendence addresses the internal changes required within the student, sometimes referencing spiritual dimensions of those changes (Wei, 2007). Transcendence can occur on both an intellectual and a moral level. Research indicates that students can achieve self-transcendence through service-learning experiences (Wei, 2007), findings that align closely with the theories and assumptions underlying the proposed research. Specifically, Wei (2007) found that the service-learning experience at a university resulted in achievement of self-transcendence in the areas of intellectual and moral conversion — changes consistent with the servant leadership model.

Service Leadership, Morality, and Cultural Context

Gorman, Duffy, and Hefferman (1982) also explored the connection between service-learning and the moral development of college students. Their study examined whether the service-learning experience would have a measurable effect on principled thinking, focusing on Kohlberg's stages of moral development, particularly stages 5 and 6. These stages are important in the development of principles related to consensus governance and basic human rights — concepts essential for social cooperation. In stage 6 of Kohlberg's theory, people are viewed as ends in themselves rather than as tools for the attainment of other goods (Gorman, Duffy, & Hefferman, 1982).

The findings of that study indicated that students who engaged in community service work demonstrated an increase in moral reasoning on the Rest Defining Issues Test, while the control group did not demonstrate similar increases (Gorman, Duffy, & Hefferman, 1982). The results did not reveal significant gender differences, though the mean scores of women were higher than those of men on both the pretest and posttest (Gorman, Duffy, & Hefferman, 1982).

Like Wei's study, Gorman and colleagues' research demonstrates that service can create a change in mental attitude consistent with servant-leader development. Both studies indicate that the service experience results in fundamental internal changes in students that align with the characteristics necessary for future servant leaders. The fact that Wei (2007) found results similar to those of Gorman et al. (1982) supports the validity of both studies across time and lends additional support to the hypotheses and research design of the proposed study.

The literature reviewed here is by no means exhaustive. It is estimated that thousands of studies have been conducted on servant leadership, though the majority have focused on defining the characteristics of the servant leader. While important from a theoretical standpoint, these works have largely failed to move the topic from the theoretical development stage into the operational stage. Early literature treated servant leadership as an inherent personality trait, largely ignoring the question of whether it could be learned. In the early 1990s, however, a paradigm shift occurred, and scholars began expressing interest in the development of servant leadership qualities through experience.

This research extends earlier work on the ability to develop servant leadership through service experiences in university settings. It builds on Gorman, Duffy, and Hefferman (1982) as well as Wei (2007), but attempts to fill the gap in the literature by focusing on operationalizing these theories — enabling universities to produce more consistent leadership development outcomes in their student bodies.

Several studies examined in the literature review explored research topics similar to the proposed study. This research design uses a pretest/posttest design similar to that used by Gorman, Duffy, and Hefferman (1982). However, this study differs in the sample population selected, the research instrument employed, and the nature of the students' service experience. It employs an experimental design with a test group and a control group. The test group receives the treatment (the service-learning experience) while the control group does not. Changes in attitude will be measured over time using the test instrument.

The study will be quantitative in nature and will use a natural testing setting. Subjects will not be exposed to any circumstance beyond what they would ordinarily experience as part of their normal educational program. Conclusions will be based solely on the data collected during the experimental process and will either support or refute findings from previous research.

The rationale for this design is grounded in standard empirical methodology, which requires comparison of two test groups to allow precise isolation of the dependent variable and consistent application of the independent variable. Similar study designs have produced satisfactory results in this topic area, lending further support to this approach.

The target population consists of university students enrolled in leadership programs that require a service-learning experience as a graduation requirement. The target sample will be 100 students per group — 50 from each of the two universities — divided into a test group and a control group. The study population will reflect the average student enrolled in these programs in terms of age, gender, and other demographic characteristics. Random sampling from the pool of eligible students will help ensure the sample is representative of the targeted student population.

It should be noted that the sample is not intended to represent the entire student population at either university, but only the population enrolled in leadership programs requiring service learning. This enhances the applicability of the results to comparable university populations enrolled in similar programs. The exact demographic profile cannot be determined in advance, as sample selection will occur on a voluntary basis from within the selected programs.

Sample selection will take place with the cooperation of the relevant academic departments. Students will be recruited from programs that require service-learning experiences and must not yet have completed their service-learning requirement. They will be from among those expecting to fulfill that requirement within one or two semesters following sample selection. Professors will encourage participation to enhance the academic programs in which students are enrolled, and participants will be informed of the value of their contribution to the research.

This method of recruitment uses a random sampling technique in which the researcher has no control over the final study population, other than confirming that participants meet the necessary inclusion criteria. No exclusionary rules will apply beyond the requirement that participants must be scheduled to complete the service-learning experience within one to two semesters after selection.

It is recognized that some students will already possess natural tendencies toward servant leadership while others will not. Those already oriented toward servant leadership may be more likely to enhance those characteristics through the experience, whereas those at the opposite end of the spectrum may not respond as readily. The presence of a heavily skewed sample in either direction could affect the changes observed on the posttest survey.

The study will use a 62-question instrument covering seven factors: developing and empowering others; power and pride (vulnerability and humility); authentic leadership; open or participatory leadership; inspiring leadership; visionary leadership; and courageous leadership. Servant leadership in this instrument is defined by the presence of certain positive qualities and the absence of certain negative qualities. The positive qualities are: (a) servanthood, (b) leadership, (c) visioning, (d) developing others, (e) empowering others, (f) team-building, (g) shared decision-making, and (h) integrity. The negative qualities are: (a) abuse of power and control and (b) pride and narcissism.

Conclusion

Sarayrah, Y. (2004). Servant leadership in the Bedouin-Arab culture. Global Virtue Ethics Review, July 1, 2004.

Sendaya, S., & Sarros, J. (2002). Servant leadership: Its origin, development, and application in organizations. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 9(2).

Waddell, J. (2006). Servant leadership. Servant Leadership Research Roundtable, August 2006. Regent University.

Wei, C. (2007). The lived meaning of self-transcendence: Service learning as an example. Journal of Holistic Education, 1, 139–154.