The DOI matches its Crossref record; 42 of the 46 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Transformational versus servant leadership: a difference in leader focus
Abstract
This article examines transformational leadership and servant leadership to determine what similarities and differences exist between the two leadership concepts. The authors posit that the primary difference between transformational leadership and servant leadership is the focus of the leader. The transformational leader's focus is directed toward the organization, and his or her behavior builds follower commitment toward organizational objectives, while the servant leader's focus is on the followers, and the achievement of organizational objectives is a subordinate outcome. The extent to which the leader is able to shift the primary focus of leadership from the organization to the follower is the distinguishing factor in classifying leaders as either transformational or servant leaders. This article also looks at the next stage of developmental issues in servant leadership, such as the challenges facing empirical investigation and measurement, and the changes that are occurring in current thinking about the servant leadership approach. Ultimately, the case is made that although different, both transformational leadership and servant leadership offer the conceptual framework for dynamic leadership.
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“More particularly, a servant leader is genuinely concerned with serving followers (Greenleaf 1977), while transformational leaders have a greater concern for the strategic use of followers to reach organizational goals (Stone et al. 2004).”
From The Servant Leadership Survey: Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Measure (2011) · cites this paper as Stone et al. 2004
Citations
Cites
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- Lubin, K.A. (2001), “Visionary leader behaviors and their congruency with servant leadership characteristics”, Dissertation Abstracts Online, 3022943.
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Servant Leadership: A Review and Synthesis
van Dierendonck, D. (2011) · Journal of Management · doi:10.1177/0149206310380462 · Cited by 2,218
Servant Leadership: A systematic review and call for future research
Eva, N., Robin, M., Sendjaya, S., van Dierendonck, D., & Liden, R. C. (2019) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2018.07.004 · Cited by 1,858
“However, consistent with prior works (Barbuto Jr & Wheeler, 2006; Liden et al., 2008; Sendjaya, Eva, Butar-Butar, Robin, & Castles, 2018; Stone et al., 2004; van Dierendonck, 2011), we submit that conceptually servant leadership is distinct from other value-based leadership approaches in terms of its overarching motiv…”
ResultHoch, J. E., Bommer, W. H., Dulebohn, J. H., & Wu, D. (2018) · Journal of Management · doi:10.1177/0149206316665461 · Cited by 1,364
A systematic literature review of servant leadership theory in organizational contexts
Parris, D. L., & Peachey, J. W. (2013) · Journal of Business Ethics · doi:10.1007/s10551-012-1322-6 · Cited by 957
The Servant Leadership Survey: Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Measure
van Dierendonck, D., & Nuijten, I. (2011) · Journal of Business and Psychology · doi:10.1007/s10869-010-9194-1 · Cited by 1,096
“have a greater concern for the strategic use of followers to reach organizational goals (Stone et al. 2004).”
BackgroundInfluential
Metadata
- Authors
- Gregory Stone, A., Russell, R. F., & Patterson, K.
- Affiliations
- Emory and Henry College (US)
- Regent University (US)
- Venue
- Leadership & Organization Development Journal
- Publisher
- Emerald
- Published
- 2004-06-01
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 349-361
- ISSN
- 0143-7739 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2169205424
- Semantic Scholar
- 34bdf0f7db71489ddbef82754df7f79fe2d144d5
- Cited by
- 1,208
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 25 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 56 · 2023: 95 · 2022: 83 · 2021: 90 · 2020: 96 · 2019: 88 · 2018: 90 · 2017: 74 · 2016: 75 · 2015: 64 · 2014: 70 · 2013: 63 · 2012: 55
- FWCI
- 37.42
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Leadership & Organization Development Journal (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Leadership and Management in Organizations
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Employee Performance and Leadership
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior
- Keywords
- transformational leadership, servant leadership, follower commitment, organizational goals, leader-follower relationships, dynamic leadership, leadership assessment
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