Servant-leadership is term which was first pointed out by Robert K Greenleaf in 1970. However if we go into history we will discover that this leadership system was already there though it is predominately found in the religious cycles. The leadership system assist in the motivation and also promoting the fulfillment of job satisfaction for subordinates. ".... The great leader is seen as servant first..." Robert K Greenleaf. The practise of the
leadership strategy is when the manage become the servant of the subordinates and serves them so that they can do better. Thus the manager assist the subordinates in doing his or her task so that better result are produced instead of the manager just revealing the tasks that will have been conducted by the subordinate. According to Larry Spears (1996) defined servant-leadership as; "…A new kind of leadership model – a model which puts serving others as the number one priority. Servant-leadership emphasizes increased service to others; a holistic approach to work; promoting a sense of community; and the sharing of power in decision-making."
This leadership helps the organization to grow through the encouragement by the leader for the achievement of greatness by his or her subordinates. Therefore for the management style to work properly there is need for the leader to have the patience and the motive to see your subordinates achieve greatness. The implementation of the system in Zimbabwe organization can result in the growth of those companies at the same time will lead to having highly motivated stuff that does not Shane to go to work every morning. The managers will need to be selfless for the system to work which presents a challenge to most of the organizations in the country who are of the view that subordinates need to forced to work (Douglas Mcgregor's theory X). As result the manager believe he or she have to be feared so that work can be done on time, the practice of this kind of system is mainly seen in a lot government institutions to the extend that the top management will award themselves hefty salaries because they regard themselves important for the survival of the organization.
Servant-leadership is of the view that work, people and community are inseparable condition that leads to the success or downfall of organization. The notion behind this style is that the work is for the people in as much the people are of the work. Thus the leadership style seek to address that for the organization to flourish there is need by the manager to realize that success is banked on having highly motivated skilled workforce who seek to achieve their desired end result with all their effort. The adoption of this leadership style will require the complete transformation of the way managers think of their role towards their subordinates. They need to also understand that the success of their subordinates also reflect on them so it will beneficial to them if they assist their subordinates to carrying out their prescribed task. This also support by other motivational theory in business thus the Hawthorne Effect which was conducted by Elton Mayo (1927- 32). In this study the results showed that people perform better when they know that their are being observed. However with servant-leadership it goes further from just observing to providing assist to your subordinates.
This leadership system have a high potential of transforming most organization in Zimbabwe if adopted. However the mindset of the entire organisation will have to shift the management have to let go the fear that their subordinates replace them. When this is achieved the management will find it easy to go and assist their subordinates in conducting their task and also a close look of the system mighty also result in the cut back on time taken to identify problems to implementing solutions. The management team will need also to change their approach towards associating with their subordinates.
