Servant Leadership Impact on Organizational Performance

Leadership matters because individuals desire to improve their personal, social, and professional lives; corporations seek individuals with specific leadership qualities to improve organizational and financial performance and gain a competitive advantage; and universities provide programs in leadership studies. Leadership encompasses influence over others to accomplish a specific or common goal (Northouse, 2019). This qualitative research study focused on a contemporary leadership approach, servant leadership, and its influence on organizational performance. Researchers have acknowledged a positive relationship between servant leadership and organizational performance (Chiniara & Bentein, 2016; Saleem et al., 2020; A. Wong et al., 2018). This qualitative case study corroborates existing research and was primarily based on interview data from 26 individuals across five companies within the oil and gas sector, survey data from 51 participants, and a review of publicly available documents. Servant leadership is an effective leadership style that can positively influence organizational performance from the perspective of organizational culture, employee engagement, and business strategy. Servant leaders effect this influence through empowering and holding employees accountable, creating a sense of community within their organizations, prioritizing helping followers grow and succeed, maintaining proper business ethics and integrity, adhering to core values regardless of national cultural dimensions, and placing greater emphasis on diversity and inclusion and corporate social responsibility