Servant Leadership Theory

Abstract

Valid and reliable measurement instruments grounded in theory are essential to move the field of servant leadership forward. Since the turn of the millennium, starting with Laub’s (1999) Organizational Leadership Assessment (OLA), we have seen several instruments enter the field – for example, Page and Wong (2000; Wong and Pace, 2003), Dennis (2004), Barbuto and Wheeler (2006), Liden et al. (2008), and Sendjaya et al. (2008). This chapter describes the development and validation of a measure based on Patterson’s (2003) theory of servant leadership: the Servant Leadership Assessment Instrument (SLAI) (Dennis and Bocarnea, 2005). Through its direct link to Patterson’s theory ( including the constructs of love, humility, altruism, vision, trust, service, and empowerment), this instrument allows for a test of the proposed theoretical framework in various populations. The chapter will address in detail the development of the 42-item Likert-type Servant Leadership Assessment Instrument. Information about its reliability, validity, and availability will also be included. Furthermore, the chapter will offer a thorough review of current servant leadership literature on the usage of the SLAI in leadership research. Finally, the SLAI will be compared and contrasted with other servant leadership instruments.