servant leadership

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

a leadership philosophy in which the primary role of the leader is to serve the needs of team members and the organisation rather than to exercise authority or accumulate power; coined by Robert Greenleaf in his 1970 essay The Servant as Leader, the philosophy holds that the best leaders ask first how they can serve their people and that organisations led by servant leaders achieve superior long-term performance because team members develop their full potential in environments of support rather than command and control; servant leadership is associated with practices including active listening, empathy, commitment to the growth of others, and building community