Servant Leadership: Developments in Theory and Research

In the context of socially responsible business, hybrid working, demographic changes to the workforce and the renewed focus on employee well-being, the concept of the leader as servant has only continued in prominence. Indeed, servant leadership may be the answer to the demand for more ethical, people-centred leadership where working from humility with a focus on contribution are key elements.

This second edition of the seminal text in the field provides a completely up-to-date overview of current thinking and empirical research on the determinants, underlying processes, and consequences of servant leadership. Updated throughout to reflect the current context, it includes new chapters covering the gender perspective on servant leadership, inner development goals, the servant-follower, and how to study servant leadership. A definitive resource for anyone studying or practicing servant leadership, this book provides a foundational approach that is rooted between theory and practice and takes a global approach to the topic.

Dirk van Dierendonck is Professor of Leadership and Management at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, The Netherlands. Within the leadership field, his expertise and focus is on servant leadership, with specific attention to its influence on the flourishing of people within organizations and the responsibility of business for the long-term. He teaches on leadership at all levels, from pre-experience to post-experience programmes. He has published in academic and professional journals and has contributed several chapters to edited books. With Kathleen Patterson he is also the co-author of Practicing Servant Leadership (2018, Palgrave Macmillan).

Kathleen Patterson is a professor and doctoral program director at the School of Business & Leadership, Regent University, where she has been since 1999. She is noted as an expert on servant leadership and has coordinated 3 Global Servant Leadership Research Roundtables in the Netherlands, Australia, and Iceland with Dirk van Dierendonck, and hosts annual Servant Leadership Research Roundtables at Regent University. Additionally, Dr Patterson is involved in numerous consulting projects nationally and abroad and sits on the boards of the Larry C. Spears Center, CareNet, and the MENA (Middle East and Northern Africa) Leadership Center.