Servant Leadership an Effective Approach for All Generations
2014 Academy of Management Annual Conference, Philadelphia
The Challenge of Generational Cohorts
It seems that leaders today are bombarded with all kinds of information and advice from academic and popular press on how to lead members of the different generational cohorts working in our organizations today. Generational cohort theory has gained popularity over the last decade, and research has identified characteristics of each generational cohort, creating what are “stereotype” profiles for each cohort. Much of the advice for leaders has been that they need to adjust their approach to meet the needs of each cohort. Many leaders ask how to do this when members of each generation are often members of the same team and in the room simultaneously.
Does Servant Leadership Work for All Humans?
Is there a leadership style that is desirable and effective for members of all generational cohorts? A study was conducted to test the notion that the effectiveness of servant leaders varied among three of the main generations working in the US today (Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Gen Y). Four hundred fifty-two participants responded to the 30-item servant leadership survey, the abridged Job in General, the abridged Job Descriptive Index, and the Affective Commitment Scale. After confirmatory factor analysis (structural equation modeling) was conducted to validate the van Dierendonck and Nuijten (2011) survey in the US, a MANOVA found no significant relationships between scores for servant leadership attributes and organizational outcomes based on generational cohort affiliation.
Good News!
This study is the first to investigate generational cohort perceptions and organizational outcomes regarding servant leadership utilizing the newly designed and validated servant leadership survey by Dirk van Dierendonck and Inge Nuijten. Based on these results, there appears to be little need to use differentiated leadership approaches to accommodate specific generational cohort leadership preferences when applying servant leadership principles. This is good news for leaders everywhere!
The Research
This research project originated with Tatiana Zimmerer’s Ph.D. dissertation and investigated three key issues related to servant leadership in the United States (Zimmerer, 2013). First, validate the multi-dimensional Servant Leadership Survey (SLS), developed, and previously validated by Dirk van Dierendonck and Inge Nuijten in a European context in the United States. Second, compare the levels of servant leadership displayed by leaders in the United States with those in the UK, Netherlands, and Italy. Third, determine if there is a relationship between the level of servant leadership and follower job satisfaction and affective organization commitment in the United States.
A sample of 452 was obtained from a pool of adults employed in the US. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to validate the eight dimensions of servant leadership in the U.S. Servant leadership expressed by leaders in the US was significantly lower in six of the eight dimensions compared to the UK, Netherlands, and Italy. SLS scores in the US were positively correlated with job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment. Overall, the SLS and the associated servant leadership model were validated in the US.
The second part of this study explores the question, is there a leadership style that is desirable and effective for members of all generational cohorts? A study was conducted to test the notion that the effectiveness of servant leaders varied among three of the main generations working in the US today (Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Gen Y). After confirmatory factor analysis (structural equation modeling) was conducted, a MANOVA found no significant relationships between scores for servant leadership attributes and organizational outcomes based on generational cohort affiliation. This study is the first to investigate generational cohort perceptions and organizational outcomes regarding servant leadership utilizing the newly designed and validated servant leadership survey by Dirk van Dierendonck and Inge Nuijten. Based on these results, there appears to be little need to use differentiated leadership approaches to accommodate specific generational cohort leadership preferences when applying servant leadership principles. | Download Paper
Zimmerer, T. E., & Latham, J. R. (2014). One size fits all: Servant leadership an effective approach for all generations. Paper presented at the 74th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Philadelphia.
Reference
van Dierendonck, D., & Nuijten, I. (2011). The servant leadership survey: Development and validation of a multidimensional measure. Journal of Business and Psychology, 26(3), 19. doi:10.1007/s10869-010-9194-1
