Servant leadership contributes to the competitive advantage in a contemporary organization in several ways. Greenleaf, Senge, Covey, & Spears (2002) provides immense details regarding how servant leaders serve others first through listening, understanding, acceptance, empathy, awareness, perception, and persuasion. These qualities and characteristics of servant leaders not only benefit the individuals but also the organization. Servant leaders focus on helping and supporting others to succeed, they aim at helping others reach their potential, becoming the best that they can be, which ultimately improves the quality of the team (Northouse, 2016). Furthermore, servant leaders establish a collaborative and engaged work environment, which increases the trust and respect throughout the group (Northouse, 2016). Improving engagement and quality equates to increased productivity and ultimately bigger …show more content…
Additionally, improving the culture within a company can further propel the brand with consumers when compared to the competition (Lomax, 2014).
The competitive advantages of servant leadership can be seen clearly in organizations such as Whole Foods Market and Starbucks (Lomax, 2014). Whole Foods Market, focuses on providing natural and organic foods to consumers throughout the North America and the United Kingdom (“Whole Foods Market: Company info,” 2017). What sets this organization apart from its competitors is the focus on caring for the communities where a store is located (“Whole Foods Market: Company info,” 2017). The organization has several foundations which focus on providing the quality foods to kids, cities, and individuals who are less fortunate throughout the world (“Caring for Communities,” 2017). However, this is not the only area where servant leadership qualities can be seen; the organization focuses on creating and maintaining a culture were the most important people are their employees (“Why