Servant Leadership in Sport: A Review, Synthesis, and Applications for Sport Management Classrooms

Abstract

Servant leadership is a style of leadership characterized by principles of other-centeredness and ethical behavior, and suggests that truly effective and legitimate leaders place service to others ahead of personal power and control. Studies on servant leadership in organizational and sport settings have consistently produced positive outcomes. However, the idea of servant leadership as a model for successful leadership in sport is only in the early stages of being accepted. Motivated by a need for adequate information and pedagogical resources, the present review describes the origin and conceptualization of servant leadership and summarizes the positive outcomes resulting from servant leadership. A model for understanding servant-leadership attributes and dynamics is presented along with recommendations for sport management educators.