Leadership and psychological capital : influence of servant leadership on followers’ psychological capital.

Abstract

Do servant leaders, who primarily emphasize the needs and desires of followers before the needs of the leader increase followers’ psychological capital (PsyCap)? This study answers this question. A total of 53 female and 24 male undergraduates were randomly assigned to either a servant leadership or leaderless condition. They completed a 10-minute group activity with a confederate who posed either as a servant leader or a laissez-faire leader. Participants filled out two questionnaires that measured their perception of the leader and their level of PsyCap. Participants were able to recognize the different leadership style in each condition (p < .05). Participants in the servant leadership condition had significantly higher PsyCap (M = 4.54, SD = .53) than those in the leaderless condition (M = 4.33, SD = .47), t(75) = 1.86, p = .0335. The result indicated servant leadership increased followers’ PsyCap. Based on these results, it is expected that servant leadership is likely to be an antecedent to positive organizational behavior in the workplace.