What are the four core principles of servant leadership?

There are four core areas to consider when aiming to develop as a servant leader: 1) encourage diversity of thought; 2) create a culture of trust; 3) have an unselfish mindset; 4) foster leadership in others.

What are the five essential functions of an effective leader?

Leaders are most effective when they: 1) model exemplary behaviour; 2) provide a clear and meaningful vision; 3) challenge the norm; 4) empower others to take responsibility; 5) lead from the heart.

When would a servant leader be most needed?

Servant leadership is important when there is a need to create a work environment where employees feel valued, empowered and appreciated. Leaders who adopt a servant leadership approach typically achieve improved working cultures with greater levels of employee morale and engagement.

Can servant leadership be developed?

Whilst some principles of servant leadership imply there is a need for a natural calling and an inherent desire to lead in this way, the majority of skills attributed to servant leaders can certainly be developed over time with practice and reflection. These would include listening, awareness and decision making skills.

What are the 12 principles of servant leadership?

Robert Greenleaf originally proposed 10 principles of servant leadership but this was later added to by Larry Spears who included an additional two principles: 11) having a calling; 12) nurturing the spirit.

Servant Leadership Questionnaire
Self-Assessment

[FREE Download With Auto-Generated Results]

Assess your leadership performance by downloading and completing this Servant Leadership Questionnaire Self-Assessment.

The questionnaire has 28 questions to answer and should take around 5 minutes to complete.

FREE to download and NO email required.

Here's a VIDEO which talks you through how to download and complete the Servant Leadership Questionnaire

Below Is An Example Of
The Questions You Will Be Asked...

Below Is An Example Of What
Your Results Will Look Like...

Servant Leadership Questionnaire Structure

The Servant Leadership Questionnaire contains 28-items and will measures your leadership performance against seven major servant leadership dimensions:

Emotional Healing
Creating Value for the Community
Conceptualizing
Empowering
Helping Followers Grow and Succeed
Putting Followers First
Behaving Ethically

This Servant Leadership Self-Assessment Questionnaire is a modified version of the Servant Leadership Questionnaire (SLQ) first produced by Linden et al. (2008).

The original version was designed for other people to assess your leadership performance but this modified version is designed to allow for self-assessment.

However, if you wish to use this questionnaire for others to assess your leadership performance you can. The questions will just need to be reconsidered as ‘He/She’ rather than ‘I’.

Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, Linden et al. (2008) established the multiple dimensions of this scale and described how it is uniquely different from other leadership measures.

By completing this questionnaire you will gain an understanding of how servant leadership is measured and explore where you stand on the different dimensions of servant leadership.

Servant leadership is complex to understand and apply so completing this questionnaire is one way to discover the dynamics of how it works in relation to your own leadership performance.

What Is Servant Leadership?

Servant leadership was first proposed by by Robert Greenleaf in his 1970 work entitled, ‘The Servant as a Leader.’

Greenleaf defined servant leadership as follows:

"Servant leadership is a philosophy and set of practices that enriches the lives of individuals, builds better organizations and ultimately creates a more just and caring world."

Robert K Greenleaf

Servant leadership completely re-thinks the hierarchical model of leadership and turns it on its head.

Read this article to find out more about servant leadership; the advantages and the disadvantages: What is Servant Leadership?

The 10 Principles of Servant Leadership

You can become a servant leader by developing these principles and characteristics:

Listening
Empathy
Healing
Awareness
Persuasion
Conceptualization
Foresight
Stewardship
Commitment to the Growth of People
Building Community

Read this article to find out more about the 10 principles of servant leadership: The 10 Principles of Servant Leadership

Liden, R.C., Wayne, S.J. Zhao, H., & Henderson, D. (2008). Servant Leadership: Development of a multidimensional measure and multi-level assessment. Leadership Quarterly, 19, 161-177.

Jonathan Sandling

I have an interest in humour and how it can enhance teaching, learning and leadership. I am a senior leader within the higher education sector in the UK and an EdD candidate at the University of Cambridge.

Servant Leadership Questionnaire Self-Assessment