Youth Leadership Development Overview
Content
MONASH UNIVERSITY
Out of the Boardroom and into the Classroom:
Servant Leadership in Youth Leadership Development
Nathan Eva
In light of the research-practice gap in youth leadership development with research in many aspects lagging behind the youth leadership development practice, this study seeks to examine youth leadership development in Australia.
INTRODUCTION
The phrase ‘the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow’ is common in society, yet youth leadership development has been largely neglected in academic research. Although there is a plethora of organisational leadership research, leadership scholars have noted that society is experiencing a moral leadership crisis. This comes 30 years after Greenleaf first argued that the lack of moral leadership in society demands the establishment of a new style of leadership, namely servant leadership. There has been evidence which suggests that the leadership crisis is rooted in schools, thus highlighting the need to investigate the role that educational facilities play in leadership development. Therefore there is a need to examine the application of the servant leadership approach to Australian secondary college youth leadership development programs. Specifically this study analysed secondary colleges’ youth leadership development programs and the perceptions of secondary college teachers and youth leadership facilitators on youth leadership development on the basis of Sendjaya, Sarros and Santora’s servant leadership framework.
YOUTH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Leadership development is one of the most important outcomes in a student’s educational experience and has become big business for leadership facilitators and secondary colleges alike. To add to the numerous secondary college youth leadership development programs, private youth leadership development agencies have proliferating in the past decade. Even with the numerous students enrolled in these programs, youth leadership development research trails behind the practice. There are no definitive answers as to why there is limited research in youth leadership development although there is a strong support for research in this area. There are two main reasons why research is needed into youth leadership development. First, there is currently a lack of talented business leaders who are able and willing to undertake leadership roles within organisations. Second, there is a scarcity of community leaders resulting in a decrease of civic participation amongst communities.
SERVANT LEADERSHIP
Numerous scholars have agreed that servant leadership is the most effective style of leadership. Servant leaders have been attributed to high levels of employee motivation, a strong moral base, a vision and values based organisation and superior profitable returns. More importantly, servant leadership has emerged as a leadership style that can transcend the boundaries between financial gains and the increased ethical expectations on modern day managers. Servant leadership is comprised of six dimensions, namely Voluntary Subordination, Authentic Self, Covenantal Relationship, Responsible Morality, Transcendental Spirituality and Transforming Influence. These six dimensions are measured from 22 themes explained in Figure 1. A definition of each dimension is offered below. Voluntary Subordination: is the leader’s willingness to serve others in any given situation, when there is a legitimate for the service. The core element of servant leadership is service, both in the acts of a leader and their motives behind the service. Authentic Self: is the leader’s consistent display of integrity, accountability, humility, vulnerability and security.
Covenantal Relationship: is the leader’s attempt to foster genuine, profound and lasting relationships with others. Responsible Morality: a leader’s leadership interactions must be thoughtfully reasoned, morally legitimised and justified ethically in both the ends sought and the means employed. Transcendental Spirituality: is the leader’s attempt to fuse a sense of calling, meaning and direction in their own and other’s lives. Transforming Influence: is the leader’s desire to produce contagious effects in others in multiple dimensions and turn them into servant leaders. This influence alters the individual in multiple dimensions such as emotionally, spiritually and socially.
Figure 1 Themes in servant leadership Dimension Voluntary Subordination Theme Being a servant Acts of service Authentic Self Humility Integrity Accountability Security Vulnerability Covenantal Relationship Acceptance Availability Equality Collaboration Responsible Morality Moral actions Moral reasoning Transcendental Spirituality Religiousness Interconnectedness Sense of mission Wholeness Transforming Influence Vision Modelling Mentoring Trust Empowerment
THE STUDY
The purpose of the study was to examine the application of servant leadership in Australian secondary colleges on the basis of Sendjaya et al.’s servant leadership framework. An in-depth analysis was constructed by addressing the phenomena from six different viewpoints, youth leadership development programs, leadership literature, university student leaders, recent
secondary college graduates, secondary college teachers and youth leadership facilitators. The main findings of this research are summarised below.
RESEARCH QUESTION ONE
Research question one sought to determine what students are learning to become servant leaders. A document analysis of secondary college youth leadership development programs revealed that through these programs, students are being taught the dimensions of Covenantal Relationship, Transforming Influence and to a lesser extent Authentic Self and Voluntary Subordination. However, Transcendental Spirituality and Responsible Morality were not being taught. Interviews with secondary college teachers and youth leadership facilitators revealed that Transcendental Spirituality was not being taught due to its theoretical origins in religion. Responsible Morality was not being taught due to two reasons, first, some youth leadership facilitators believe Responsible Morality is too complex for students to understand and second, secondary colleges tend to focus on academic results and tangible skills than the internal personal development of their students.
RESEARCH QUESTION TWO
Research question two sought to determine how students should be taught to become servant leaders. Interviews with secondary college teachers and youth leadership facilitators showed trends towards the teaching of Voluntary Subordination and Responsible Morality. This echoes scholars stating that as society is in an ethical crisis of leadership, youth leadership development programs need to focus on the teaching of ethics. Structured interviews with university student leaders also identified Voluntary Subordination as a concept needed in secondary college youth leadership development programs. There was also a majority consensus from secondary college teachers, youth leadership facilitators and university student leaders that Transcendental Spirituality should not be taught in youth leadership development programs due to its theoretical origins in religion.
RESEARCH QUESTION THREE
Research question three sought to determine what elements of servant leadership are prevalent in recent secondary college graduates. A servant leadership survey completed by recent secondary college graduates revealed high results on all dimensions of servant leadership, in particular Voluntary Subordination, Transforming Influence and Responsible Morality. Transforming Influence was the most prevalent theme discovered in the document analysis therefore it was expected to rate highly amongst recent secondary college graduates. Although Responsible Morality was found lacking in youth leadership programs, recent secondary college graduates produced high results in this dimension on the SLBS. There is theoretical evidence to suggest that Generation Y learn Responsible Morality through mass media and a saturation of social cause lobby groups.
COMBINING SERVANT LEADERSHIP WITH YOUTH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
This study uncovered multiple dimensions of servant leadership already embedded in secondary college youth leadership development programs. Further, interviews revealed that almost all of the dimensions should be taught in youth leadership development programs, therefore servant leadership may be effective in fostering the next generation of leaders. This section outlines an adaptation of servant leadership in youth leadership development. As the hybrid system of leadership development which combines classroom training with leadership initiatives is the most beneficial system of leadership development, the discussion will present classroom training and leadership initiatives for each of the dimensions.
Teaching Voluntary Subordination fosters the creation of altruistic individuals. Youth leadership development programs should seek to engage students in acts of service within their secondary college and community, such as charity work and social causes. To accompany these servant behaviours, students need to understand why they are performing these acts of service and what it means to truly be a servant. The following comment alludes to this discussion: “Unless you have an opportunity to practice and see altruism working, for young people it is largely invisible. If it is not done in schools where else do they get the opportunity.” (Female, Principal, Public, VIC)
To develop the dimension of Authentic Self, students need to discover who they are, what they stand for and why they lead. This can be achieved through students learning about their own personal values, vision and how their life experiences shape who they are. Understanding these elements will assist students in fostering their security, integrity, humility and vulnerability. These skills can be developed through students’ involvement in leadership committees and help students create a holistic understanding of self. Accountability can be used in conjunction with these committees, making students accountable to their peers and mentor when completing projects. An example of accountability is seen in one of the youth leadership development programs: “It is the responsibility of the Co-ordinators [student leaders] to monitor the functioning of the committees. They need to check with staff regarding student attendance and participation and discuss with students if they are failing to meet their leadership obligations.” (Taken from one of the Secondary College Youth Leadership Development Programs)
Covenantal Relationship has been taught through secondary college youth leadership development programs with the use of different committees, such as Student Representative Councils. In order to maximise the effectiveness of students’ interactions in these committees, students need to be taught theoretical aspects of working with others such as cultural awareness and conflict resolution. The outcome of teaching Covenantal Relationship in youth leadership development programs is that students are able to work effectively in teams to achieve joint goals. The following remark depicts this thread: “...developing skills to be able to learn from each other [and] ways of developing understanding and acceptance of individual’s points of view” (Taken from one of the Secondary College Youth Leadership Development Programs)
In teaching Responsibly Morality, students need the opportunity to think rationally through problems faced in the real world, such as embezzlement, climate change and other ethically questionable practices. This enables students to understand the consequences of their actions. By actively engaging students about what they believe is right and wrong they will understand the implications of their actions once they are in the workplace. It should not be about enforcing one set of over-arching morals but simply opening up an ethical debate. This is highlighted in the following remark: “You are not teaching them what to think, you are teaching them how to think, to think!” (Male, Leadership Facilitator, Freelance, VIC)
Transcendental Spirituality has its focus in religion, being connected to the world and understanding the bigger picture. As many secondary colleges are non-denominational, religious ideals being put forward under the Transcendental Spiritually framework are unable to be incorporated into their youth leadership development programs. Therefore, it is suggested that the servant leadership framework be manipulated for use in non-denominational secondary colleges removing the factor of Transcendental Spirituality. Within religious secondary colleges the outcomes of Transcendental Spirituality development should be to understand that as leaders they are part of a bigger system. This can be taught in non-denominational secondary colleges if the themes of interconnectedness, sense of mission and wholeness are focused on from a non-religious base, as alluded to in the following comment: “I don’t think it is linked to religion as such, it is I’ve been linked to this cosmos and I’ve been given this opportunity at this point in time to make a difference.” (Female, Teacher, Private, NSW)
As previously identified, Transforming Influence is the most prevalent dimension in secondary college youth leadership development programs. Practically, this has been achieved through mentoring by either teachers, ex-students or members of the wider community, students mentoring younger students, developing students’ visionary skills by creating different events and being empowered through numerous leadership committees. Theoretically, secondary colleges need to address the influence students can have on others and gaining trust from peers by displaying the characteristics of Authentic Self. The outcomes of exposing students to Transforming Influence are that students are empowered and engaged within their secondary college and look to create positive change. The following comment attends to the advantages of the above discussion: “I found that when I was put in a situation where I needed to be the leader and make important decisions I excel, whereas if I’m a bystander I tend to become lazy and unmotivated.” (University Student Leader) In summary, a conceptual model of the application of servant leadership in secondary colleges is presented in Figure 2. Sample activities and outcomes corresponding to the six dimensions of servant leadership derived from the findings of this study are outlined. As this is a generic model, there is a need for customisation on the basis of the needs and wants of students in each secondary college.
CONCLUSION
The servant leadership framework was found to be very beneficial in youth leadership development programs, confirmed both by the literature and by interviews with secondary college teachers and youth leadership facilitators. It was found that the teaching of servant leadership dimensions should continue to be taught but with a renewed focus on Voluntary Subordination and Responsible Morality. Given their prominent role in developing the next generation of leader, there is a need for secondary colleges to develop a holistic and systematic youth leadership development program as recommended in this study.
Figure 2 Application of the servant leadership framework in secondary college youth leadership development programs
Out of the Boardroom and into the Classroom:
Servant Leadership in Youth Leadership Development
Nathan Eva
In light of the research-practice gap in youth leadership development with research in many aspects lagging behind the youth leadership development practice, this study seeks to examine youth leadership development in Australia.
INTRODUCTION
The phrase ‘the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow’ is common in society, yet youth leadership development has been largely neglected in academic research. Although there is a plethora of organisational leadership research, leadership scholars have noted that society is experiencing a moral leadership crisis. This comes 30 years after Greenleaf first argued that the lack of moral leadership in society demands the establishment of a new style of leadership, namely servant leadership. There has been evidence which suggests that the leadership crisis is rooted in schools, thus highlighting the need to investigate the role that educational facilities play in leadership development. Therefore there is a need to examine the application of the servant leadership approach to Australian secondary college youth leadership development programs. Specifically this study analysed secondary colleges’ youth leadership development programs and the perceptions of secondary college teachers and youth leadership facilitators on youth leadership development on the basis of Sendjaya, Sarros and Santora’s servant leadership framework.
YOUTH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Leadership development is one of the most important outcomes in a student’s educational experience and has become big business for leadership facilitators and secondary colleges alike. To add to the numerous secondary college youth leadership development programs, private youth leadership development agencies have proliferating in the past decade. Even with the numerous students enrolled in these programs, youth leadership development research trails behind the practice. There are no definitive answers as to why there is limited research in youth leadership development although there is a strong support for research in this area. There are two main reasons why research is needed into youth leadership development. First, there is currently a lack of talented business leaders who are able and willing to undertake leadership roles within organisations. Second, there is a scarcity of community leaders resulting in a decrease of civic participation amongst communities.
SERVANT LEADERSHIP
Numerous scholars have agreed that servant leadership is the most effective style of leadership. Servant leaders have been attributed to high levels of employee motivation, a strong moral base, a vision and values based organisation and superior profitable returns. More importantly, servant leadership has emerged as a leadership style that can transcend the boundaries between financial gains and the increased ethical expectations on modern day managers. Servant leadership is comprised of six dimensions, namely Voluntary Subordination, Authentic Self, Covenantal Relationship, Responsible Morality, Transcendental Spirituality and Transforming Influence. These six dimensions are measured from 22 themes explained in Figure 1. A definition of each dimension is offered below. Voluntary Subordination: is the leader’s willingness to serve others in any given situation, when there is a legitimate for the service. The core element of servant leadership is service, both in the acts of a leader and their motives behind the service. Authentic Self: is the leader’s consistent display of integrity, accountability, humility, vulnerability and security.
Covenantal Relationship: is the leader’s attempt to foster genuine, profound and lasting relationships with others. Responsible Morality: a leader’s leadership interactions must be thoughtfully reasoned, morally legitimised and justified ethically in both the ends sought and the means employed. Transcendental Spirituality: is the leader’s attempt to fuse a sense of calling, meaning and direction in their own and other’s lives. Transforming Influence: is the leader’s desire to produce contagious effects in others in multiple dimensions and turn them into servant leaders. This influence alters the individual in multiple dimensions such as emotionally, spiritually and socially.
Figure 1 Themes in servant leadership Dimension Voluntary Subordination Theme Being a servant Acts of service Authentic Self Humility Integrity Accountability Security Vulnerability Covenantal Relationship Acceptance Availability Equality Collaboration Responsible Morality Moral actions Moral reasoning Transcendental Spirituality Religiousness Interconnectedness Sense of mission Wholeness Transforming Influence Vision Modelling Mentoring Trust Empowerment
THE STUDY
The purpose of the study was to examine the application of servant leadership in Australian secondary colleges on the basis of Sendjaya et al.’s servant leadership framework. An in-depth analysis was constructed by addressing the phenomena from six different viewpoints, youth leadership development programs, leadership literature, university student leaders, recent
secondary college graduates, secondary college teachers and youth leadership facilitators. The main findings of this research are summarised below.
RESEARCH QUESTION ONE
Research question one sought to determine what students are learning to become servant leaders. A document analysis of secondary college youth leadership development programs revealed that through these programs, students are being taught the dimensions of Covenantal Relationship, Transforming Influence and to a lesser extent Authentic Self and Voluntary Subordination. However, Transcendental Spirituality and Responsible Morality were not being taught. Interviews with secondary college teachers and youth leadership facilitators revealed that Transcendental Spirituality was not being taught due to its theoretical origins in religion. Responsible Morality was not being taught due to two reasons, first, some youth leadership facilitators believe Responsible Morality is too complex for students to understand and second, secondary colleges tend to focus on academic results and tangible skills than the internal personal development of their students.
RESEARCH QUESTION TWO
Research question two sought to determine how students should be taught to become servant leaders. Interviews with secondary college teachers and youth leadership facilitators showed trends towards the teaching of Voluntary Subordination and Responsible Morality. This echoes scholars stating that as society is in an ethical crisis of leadership, youth leadership development programs need to focus on the teaching of ethics. Structured interviews with university student leaders also identified Voluntary Subordination as a concept needed in secondary college youth leadership development programs. There was also a majority consensus from secondary college teachers, youth leadership facilitators and university student leaders that Transcendental Spirituality should not be taught in youth leadership development programs due to its theoretical origins in religion.
RESEARCH QUESTION THREE
Research question three sought to determine what elements of servant leadership are prevalent in recent secondary college graduates. A servant leadership survey completed by recent secondary college graduates revealed high results on all dimensions of servant leadership, in particular Voluntary Subordination, Transforming Influence and Responsible Morality. Transforming Influence was the most prevalent theme discovered in the document analysis therefore it was expected to rate highly amongst recent secondary college graduates. Although Responsible Morality was found lacking in youth leadership programs, recent secondary college graduates produced high results in this dimension on the SLBS. There is theoretical evidence to suggest that Generation Y learn Responsible Morality through mass media and a saturation of social cause lobby groups.
COMBINING SERVANT LEADERSHIP WITH YOUTH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
This study uncovered multiple dimensions of servant leadership already embedded in secondary college youth leadership development programs. Further, interviews revealed that almost all of the dimensions should be taught in youth leadership development programs, therefore servant leadership may be effective in fostering the next generation of leaders. This section outlines an adaptation of servant leadership in youth leadership development. As the hybrid system of leadership development which combines classroom training with leadership initiatives is the most beneficial system of leadership development, the discussion will present classroom training and leadership initiatives for each of the dimensions.
Teaching Voluntary Subordination fosters the creation of altruistic individuals. Youth leadership development programs should seek to engage students in acts of service within their secondary college and community, such as charity work and social causes. To accompany these servant behaviours, students need to understand why they are performing these acts of service and what it means to truly be a servant. The following comment alludes to this discussion: “Unless you have an opportunity to practice and see altruism working, for young people it is largely invisible. If it is not done in schools where else do they get the opportunity.” (Female, Principal, Public, VIC)
To develop the dimension of Authentic Self, students need to discover who they are, what they stand for and why they lead. This can be achieved through students learning about their own personal values, vision and how their life experiences shape who they are. Understanding these elements will assist students in fostering their security, integrity, humility and vulnerability. These skills can be developed through students’ involvement in leadership committees and help students create a holistic understanding of self. Accountability can be used in conjunction with these committees, making students accountable to their peers and mentor when completing projects. An example of accountability is seen in one of the youth leadership development programs: “It is the responsibility of the Co-ordinators [student leaders] to monitor the functioning of the committees. They need to check with staff regarding student attendance and participation and discuss with students if they are failing to meet their leadership obligations.” (Taken from one of the Secondary College Youth Leadership Development Programs)
Covenantal Relationship has been taught through secondary college youth leadership development programs with the use of different committees, such as Student Representative Councils. In order to maximise the effectiveness of students’ interactions in these committees, students need to be taught theoretical aspects of working with others such as cultural awareness and conflict resolution. The outcome of teaching Covenantal Relationship in youth leadership development programs is that students are able to work effectively in teams to achieve joint goals. The following remark depicts this thread: “...developing skills to be able to learn from each other [and] ways of developing understanding and acceptance of individual’s points of view” (Taken from one of the Secondary College Youth Leadership Development Programs)
In teaching Responsibly Morality, students need the opportunity to think rationally through problems faced in the real world, such as embezzlement, climate change and other ethically questionable practices. This enables students to understand the consequences of their actions. By actively engaging students about what they believe is right and wrong they will understand the implications of their actions once they are in the workplace. It should not be about enforcing one set of over-arching morals but simply opening up an ethical debate. This is highlighted in the following remark: “You are not teaching them what to think, you are teaching them how to think, to think!” (Male, Leadership Facilitator, Freelance, VIC)
Transcendental Spirituality has its focus in religion, being connected to the world and understanding the bigger picture. As many secondary colleges are non-denominational, religious ideals being put forward under the Transcendental Spiritually framework are unable to be incorporated into their youth leadership development programs. Therefore, it is suggested that the servant leadership framework be manipulated for use in non-denominational secondary colleges removing the factor of Transcendental Spirituality. Within religious secondary colleges the outcomes of Transcendental Spirituality development should be to understand that as leaders they are part of a bigger system. This can be taught in non-denominational secondary colleges if the themes of interconnectedness, sense of mission and wholeness are focused on from a non-religious base, as alluded to in the following comment: “I don’t think it is linked to religion as such, it is I’ve been linked to this cosmos and I’ve been given this opportunity at this point in time to make a difference.” (Female, Teacher, Private, NSW)
As previously identified, Transforming Influence is the most prevalent dimension in secondary college youth leadership development programs. Practically, this has been achieved through mentoring by either teachers, ex-students or members of the wider community, students mentoring younger students, developing students’ visionary skills by creating different events and being empowered through numerous leadership committees. Theoretically, secondary colleges need to address the influence students can have on others and gaining trust from peers by displaying the characteristics of Authentic Self. The outcomes of exposing students to Transforming Influence are that students are empowered and engaged within their secondary college and look to create positive change. The following comment attends to the advantages of the above discussion: “I found that when I was put in a situation where I needed to be the leader and make important decisions I excel, whereas if I’m a bystander I tend to become lazy and unmotivated.” (University Student Leader) In summary, a conceptual model of the application of servant leadership in secondary colleges is presented in Figure 2. Sample activities and outcomes corresponding to the six dimensions of servant leadership derived from the findings of this study are outlined. As this is a generic model, there is a need for customisation on the basis of the needs and wants of students in each secondary college.
CONCLUSION
The servant leadership framework was found to be very beneficial in youth leadership development programs, confirmed both by the literature and by interviews with secondary college teachers and youth leadership facilitators. It was found that the teaching of servant leadership dimensions should continue to be taught but with a renewed focus on Voluntary Subordination and Responsible Morality. Given their prominent role in developing the next generation of leader, there is a need for secondary colleges to develop a holistic and systematic youth leadership development program as recommended in this study.
Figure 2 Application of the servant leadership framework in secondary college youth leadership development programs
