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Palgrave Studies in Workplace Spirituality
and Fulfillment
Series Editors
Satinder Dhiman
School of Business
Woodbury University
Burbank, CA, USA
Gary Roberts
Regent University
Virginia Beach, VA, USA
Joanna Crossman
University of South Australia
Adelaide, SA, Australia
Satinder Dhiman
Editor-in-Chief
Gary Roberts and Joanna Crossman
Associate Editors
By way of primary go-to-platform, this Series precisely maps the terrain of
the twin fields of Workplace Spirituality and Fulfillment in the disciplines of
business, psychology, health care, education, and various other allied fields.
It reclaims the sacredness of work—work that is mind- enriching, heart-
fulfilling, soul-satisfying and financially-rewarding. It fills the gap in schol-
arship in the allied disciplines of Workplace Spirituality and Flourishing.
Using a comprehensive schema, it invites contributions from foremost
scholars and practitioners that reflect insightful research, practices, and lat-
est trends on the theme of workplace spirituality and fulfillment. The
uniqueness of this Series lies in its anchorage in the moral and spiritual
dimension of various positive forms of leadership—such as Authentic
Leadership, Servant Leadership, Transformational Leadership, and Values-
Based Leadership.
We welcome research monographs and multi-authored edited volumes
representing myriad thought-positions on topics such as: Past, Present
and Future Directions in Workplace Spirituality; Workplace Spirituality
and World Wisdom/Spiritual Traditions; Culture Studies and Workplace
Spirituality; Spiritual, Social and Emotional intelligence; Nature of
Work; Mindfulness at Work; Personal Fulfillment and Workplace
Flourishing; Workplace Spirituality and Organizational Performance;
Inner Identity, Interconnectedness, Community and Transcendence;
Managing Spiritual and Religious Diversity at Work; Spirituality and
World Peace Imperative; Sustainability and Spirituality; Spirituality and
Creativity; and Applied Workplace Spirituality in Health Care, Education,
Faith-based Organizations, et al.
More information about this series at
http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/15746
James Laub
Leveraging the
Power of Servant
Leadership
Building High Performing
Organizations
James Laub
Palm Beach Atlantic University
West Palm Beach, FL, USA
Palgrave Studies in Workplace Spirituality and Fulfillment
ISBN 978-3-319-77142-7 ISBN 978-3-319-77143-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77143-4
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018944424
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
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Praise Page
“Dr. Jim Laub’s book Leveraging the Power of Servant-Leadership is wise, stun-
ning, and incisive. His contributions to define and help leaders be aware of the
grave differences between autocratic, paternalistic, and servant-leadership are
among the most radiant research findings in contemporary leadership studies.
Dr. Laub’s experience and understanding of leadership are vital and immutable,
shown in the ancient truth he uncovers: that leadership is not only dangerous
and therefore requires uncommon discernment and self-responsibility, but that
leadership also evokes in leaders the responsibility to lead with great love and
devoted sacrificial service to others and the world.”
—Shann Ray Ferch, Professor of Leadership Studies, Gonzaga University, USA
“Dr. Laub has given us a magnificent synthesis of leadership stories, studies,
metaphors, and history that often reads like a page-turning novel. This book is
the place to start for a comprehensive and readable introduction to servant-
leadership and leadership studies in general.
While reading Dr. Laub’s magisterial volume, I filled my own small notebook
with quotes and insights new to me. While deeply rooted in Greenleaf’s writ-
ings, Leveraging the Power of Servant Leadership goes further to begin answer-
ing the questions: “So what?” “What does research say?” “How do I implement
and measure the effects of servant leadership?” and finally, “What are the deepest
roots of servant leadership in my own experience?”
v
vi Praise Page
Bravo to Jim Laub! He has shown that when fine writing joins deep scholar-
ship and infectious passion for the topic, the result is a high gift for readers and
learners—a textbook replete with fresh, thoughtful, wisdom-filled pages.”
—Don M. Frick, PhD, Greenleaf Academy, Viterbo University, USA
“This book provides an excellent introduction to servant leadership, including a
rich historical perspective on how servant leadership fits among an array of
approaches to leadership. Laub clearly distinguishes servant leadership from
other approaches, and does a great job of addressing many of the key criticisms
of servant leadership. I highly recommend this book!”
—Robert C. Liden, Professor of Management,
University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
“Grounded in the seminal work of Robert K. Greenleaf, Jim Laub’s book dis-
cusses a quarter century of servant leadership research. He expands on existing
scholarship and uses his Organizational Leadership Assessment model to explore
the fundamental disciplines of servant leadership. Laub presents findings that
support the bottom-line benefits to organizations pursuing this approach. And,
importantly, he offers a practical how-to guide to leveraging the power of servant
leadership tenets and values within organizations and institutions.”
—Lea E. Williams, Adjunct Instructor, ESOL, Guilford
Technical Community College, USA
“In the midst of all worklife turbulence, servant leadership is more timely than
ever, and without a doubt, James Laub has written the book about servant lead-
ership. It’s thorough, it’s engaging, it’s practical and what’s best, it’s also theory-
driven and research-based. I warmly recommend this book to anyone who wants
to develop a servant leader mindset and thus become a good leader.”
—Jari Hakanen, Research Professor, University of Helsinki, Finland
“Jim Laub’s approach to servant leadership is unique and his model is well
grounded in research and practice. This book is important and most useful for
those interested in learning about successful leadership for creating a healthy
work environment.”
—Sigrún Gunnarsdóttir, Associate Professor of Leadership at
University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
“An invaluable resource to anyone interested in servant leadership. Laub pro-
vides a comprehensive summary of the origins of servant leadership as well as
Praise Pag e vii
contemporary research findings. Through the use of metaphor and practical
examples, he demonstrates how servant leaders can reshape their organizations
to become more ethical and effective.”
—Craig Johnson, Emeritus Professor of Leadership Studies,
George Fox University, USA
“The Servant Leadership community reveres Jim as one of the top thinkers and,
for as long as I’ve known him, he’s shown the ability to paint a picture of what
Servant Leadership looks like in a compelling manner. This book proves that! If
you want to understand Servant Leadership, this book will start your journey by
showing you the joy of serving others, the challenges of doing so, and then con-
vincing you it is worthwhile.”
—Kathleen Patterson, Professor and Director of the Doctorate of Strategic
Leadership Program, Regent University, UK
“Jim Laub’s latest book on servant leadership is a ‘must read’ book, that students as
well as practitioners will find invaluable. I love the way the book starts by addressing
the ‘purpose of leadership.’ The unanswered question is ‘leadership for what?’ This
aspect is well addressed. The book draws out the historical development of leader-
ship, situates servant leadership in its proper context, and makes the valuable con-
nection that servant leadership behaviors emanate from a true identity of a servant.
Practitioners will find the latter half of the book particularly valuable. These chapters
show how a servant leadership mindset is developed, how systems and structures
support a servant leadership culture, and various models and tools that will help
develop servant led organizations. I highly recommend this book …. well done Jim.”
—Dr. Peter Sun, Associate Professor, University of Waikato, New Zealand
“Jim Laub is indisputably an expert on servant leadership. His new book goes
more than one mile further. By reminding the fundamentals of all leadership
and differentiating servant leadership from paternalistic leadership, Jim addresses
a fundamental issue. This book offers profound insights that readers will want
not only to reflect, but to act on.”
—Vincent Giolito, Lead researcher, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
“Leveraging the Power of Servant Leadership is an indispensable resource and a well-
researched tool for any student, practitioner or organization with a compelling
resolve to serve and steward healthy, high performing servant led organizations.”
—Sally Chew, Chairman of The Greenleaf Centre
for Servant Leadership, Singapore
viii Praise Page
“Jim Laub provides a compelling case for the priority of servant leadership. Laub
calls us to see servant leadership not simply as another theory, but rather a mind-
set that places the good of the led over the self-interest of the leader. In Leveraging
the Power of Servant Leadership, Laub presents research-based insights for lead-
ers. Take time to discover servant leadership’s capacity to positively transform
teams and organizations in this important and timely resource.”
—Justin A. Irving, Interim Co-Vice President and Dean, Bethel University, USA
“A high performing organization is successfully built from its roots in order to
ensure the foundation is solid for growth. The OLA instrument has proven to be
a great tool for tracking the organization’s health in areas that are critical for it to
reach the type of cruising altitude that supports sustainability. What is delightful
about this book is learning from an author who lives servant leadership that is a
precursor of high performance.”
—Dale Dan, President, Kaieteur Falls University, Guyana
“Jim Laub is a servant leadership pioneer, bridging academic rigor with practical
relevance. His model is both comprehensive and easy to understand. This book
will sharpen your thinking on servant leadership, provide a deeper understand-
ing where it comes from and how it relates to other leadership theories; it will
help introduce servant leadership in your organizational practice.”
—Dirk van Dierendonck, Professor in Human Resource Management,
Erasmus University, The Netherlands
“The structure of this book is excellent and takes the reader from theory to prac-
tice to understand and apply servant leadership in organizations to ultimately
transform a company into a servant organization. It also provides valuable
insights to understand how to measure a servant organization or the progress to
become a servant organization. I can highly recommend this book to any leader,
organization, practitioner, or individual wanting to make a long-lasting positive
impact in the world.”
—Charl Coetzer, CEO of Wisdomy, South Africa
For Barbara, Wanda, Joy, and Jenny
four servants who lead by example
faithfully following the One who modeled it first and best
