The servant-leadership philosophy incorporated in the corporate culture of a culturally-diverse retail company in New Zealand : a case study approach

Abstract

Leader’ is often heard referring to senior managers of organisations. They are ‘managers’ in this context. Leadership is about influencing others to willingly and enthusiastically direct their efforts and abilities towards organisational goals. This research focused on servant leadership (SL); surveyed one of NZ’s biggest organisations with 12,000 staff as a case study. Survey results show that SL is embraced; the majority participants are positive towards SL. To measure effectiveness of leadership, this research determines ‘motivation’ and ‘commitment’ as the key indicators. SL motivates the participants to face and overcome challenges and go beyond their differences to cooperate with their supervisors and co-workers as they move towards the organisation’s goals. Recommendations are how SL could enhance relationships in culturally-diverse organisations.