| This descriptive survey study seeks to examine if both servant leadership practices and employee engagement are evident in a business setting. This study intends to build upon the original research on servant leadership conducted by Robert K. Greenleaf (1970), by evaluating the practice of servant leadership in an environment where employees also are considered engaged. Although servant leadership has been explored extensively in the church, the military, and the educational system, representation is less evident in the business setting. The business setting selected for this study had the presence of very strong leadership practices in various departments of an organization, according to the employees. To determine if employees perceived servant leadership to be present, the Organizational Leadership Assessment (OLA), developed by James L. Laub (1999), was utilized. To determine if employee engagement was evident, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), developed by Wilmar Schaufeli and Arnold Bakker (2003), was utilized. Conclusions drawn from this study will provide the leadership field with insights into what additional organizational behavioral traits may be present in servant-led business environments. Neither perceived servant leadership nor high levels of employee engagement were evident in the organization used in this study. Further examination of a potential relationship between the two variables would prove helpful. Doing so would help determine if the lack of presence of both variables in this study indicate a relationship does exist between the two variables, albeit positive or negative. Ultimately, such research may extend the impact of Greenleaf's original leadership theory. |
