The Relationship Between the Servant Leadership Behaviors of Immediate Supervisors and Followers ’ Perceptions of Being Empowered in the Context of Small Business

The purpose of this study was to measure the relationship between followers ’ perceptions of the servant leadership of their immediate supervisor and followers ’ sense of empowerment in the context of small businesses. A quantitative survey was completed by 116 employees of small businesses, including measures of supervisors ’ servant leadership behaviors and followers ’ self-perceived empowerment. Followers ’ perceptions of being empowered were found to correlate positively with their ratings of the servant leadership behaviors of immediate supervisors. The findings support the researchers ’ assertions that followers ’ perceptions of being empowered will increase as supervisors ’ servant leadership behaviors increase. The power of servant leadership lies in the leader’s ability to unleash the potential and thus the power in those around them. Greenleaf (1977) ascribed greatness to the leader’s attention to followers, “When it is genuine, the interest in and affection for one’s followers that a leader has is a mark of true greatness ” (p. 34). In the foreword to the Anniversary edition of Greenleaf’s Servant Leadership, Covey (2002) related empowerment to servant leadership. He acclaimed the importance of empowerment to the sustainable success of organizations in the 21s