Why Servant Leadership is not Prevalent

Servant leadership is not prevalent simply because it is not practical in the current world. The people in leadership positions are mostly there for the money and prestige in the current times. These types of leaders cannot be expected to make themselves servants of their employees yet they are the bosses. The servant leadership principles works on the principle of a leader not being noticed. In the current times, however, the people in leadership positions want to be known, noticed and duly acknowledged. Leadership in all parts of the world is about the title and what the company achieves under the individual’s leadership. This mentality kills the servant leadership principle.

In as much as servant leadership is important and effective where it is applied, the failure of the same can be attributed to employees taking advantage of their leaders. For instance; a servant leader may not come off as serious when trying to implement policies. Employees may deliberately perform poorly because they feel that their leader is not strict enough. The employees may also feel that the leader is overstepping his responsibility by working among the employees instead of sitting behind a desk and issuing directives (Heskett, 2013). A good leader is one who can let employees get creative and stretch their imagination, servant leadership does not encourage the growth of employees (Why Servant Leadership is a bad idea, 2010). For instance; when a tech company like Apple needs to produce a new phone, the technology has to be upgraded (admin, 2013). If the leader was in the way of the employees, the growth and development would be slow and inhibited. The leader would prevent the employees from getting creative because he makes them comfortable with their performance and see no reason to improve even when it makes sense to do better. 

References

admin. (2013, December 14). HR Strategy at Apple Make Their Employees Creative and Innovative. Retrieved from HR STRATEGY TOOLS: management-training-gurur.com/2013/12/hr-strategy-at-apple-make-their-employees-creative-and-innovative/

Heskett, J. (2013, May 1). Why isn’t Servant Leadership More Prevalent? Retrieved from Forbes: www.forbes.com/sites/hbsworkingknowledge/2013/05/01/why-isnt-servant-leadership-more-prevenalent/#36078fd03acb

Why Servant Leadership is a bad idea. (2010, August 16). Retrieved from Management Issues: www.management-issues.com/opinion/6015/why-servant-leadership-is-a-bad-idea/