Understanding servant leadership dimensions: Theoretical and empirical extensions in the Portuguese context

This paper aims to identify and discuss the concept of servant leadership, find some dimensions and understand how staffs in organizations make sense of this style of leadership.

Multiple exploratory case studies in six Portuguese organizations/firms were performed. As data-collecting instruments, several interviews, direct observations made on-site and documentary analysis were used.

From thematic analysis, the authors found nine dimensions associated with servant leadership in the organizations/firms studied: empowering, helping subordinates grow and succeed, putting subordinates first, ethical behaviour, altruistic calling, wisdom or vision, organizational stewardship, family atmosphere and identification with the leader.

Based on these dimensions identified, the authors constructed an analytical framework for servant leadership. This study contributes to theoretical development by integrating the servant leadership literature and organizational behaviour literature and should help servant leadership gain legitimacy as an important and relevant leadership theory.

This study is innovative because contributes to knowledge about organizations that follow a servant style of leadership, and in so doing form consistent dimensions that can represent benchmarking for other organizational structures.