Religious Identity and Servant Leadership

Religious identity is a vital and vibrant influence on the nature and implementation of leadership in organizations and the workplace (Héliot et al., Hum Resour Manag 59(2): 153–173, 2020; Zigan, Héliot, & Le Grys, J Bus Ethics 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04358-7 , 2019). Servant leadership is explicitly values and morals based on character and practice and its foundational principles are embedded in all of the major world religions (Roberts, Christian scripture and human resource management: building a path to Servant leadership through faith. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2015). This chapter reviews the theological foundations of Christian servant leadership and illustrates its integration from a religious identity standpoint through qualitative interviews of United Kingdom church leaders, lay leaders, and followers (church members). The interface between a Christian religious identity and servant leadership coalesced around five servant leader attributes, God is the leader, promote the love of man, not the fear of man, servant leader accountability and humility, active listening, and servant leader trust. The interviews provided a rich and nuanced reflection on how church leaders model these servant leader attributes; how they influence the attitudes, behavior, and performance of the respondents; and how the absence of such attributes can lead to negative consequences. Hence, a genuine servant leader religious identity cultivates a positive climate consistent with healthy and thriving organizations.