Phase 1: Development of the Servant Leadership
Survey
In his seminal work ‘‘The Servant as Leader’’, Greenleaf
(1977) introduced his basic ideas on servant leadership.
This booklet did not give a concise conceptual definition of
servant leadership. According to Greenleaf ‘going beyond
one’s self-interest’ was the core characteristic of servant
leadership; although mentioned in other leadership theories,
it has never been given a central position as in servant
leadership theory. The servant leader is governed by creating
opportunities for followers to help them grow (Luthans
and Avolio 2003).