A current view into implicit leadership theories and the applicability of servant leadership in Polish universities
A current view into implicit leadership theories and the applicability of servant leadership in Polish universities
Joanna Leontaris | 2015
Abstract
The primary purpose of this quantitative study was to (a) explore potential cross-generational differences in leadership style preferences depicted by the GLOBE (House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, & Gupta, 2004) project between Polish middle-level managers of 1996/1997 and Polish university employees of 2015, (b) compare the extent to which servant leadership was experienced by followers employed in the higher education sector in Poland and the United States, and (c) investigate the existence of a positive relationship between servant leadership and organizational commitment among Polish employees. The sample was comprised of 113 faculty and staff working at a Polish university located in southern Poland. The participants were on average about 35 years of age and mostly occupied non-leadership positions with women comprising 71.7% of the sample. The data were gathered via an online surveying process during the months of March and April 2015. The questionnaire utilized the following measures to assess the main variables: six leadership style scales designed by the GLOBE project, a parsimonious version of the Essential Servant Leadership Behaviors scale (Winston & Fields, 2015), and Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (Mowday, Steers, & Porter, 1982). Polish employees of 2015 preferred team-oriented and participative leadership modes to a lesser extent when compared against their counterparts from the GLOBE project. Polish employees of 2015 also exhibited less tolerance for autonomous leadership style than Polish middle-level managers of 1996/1997. Additionally, servant leadership was practiced more frequently among the contemporary employees in the United States than in Poland. Servant leadership appeared to positively impact organizational commitment among Polish employees when controlling for age, job tenure, and task-oriented leadership (β = .208, p < .05). These findings suggest that future leaders ought to be cognizant of the impact time; major political, social, and economic shifts; and cultural underpinnings may have on the cross-generational and cross-cultural perceptions of the effective and desired leadership practices. Finally, servant leadership may be considered a variable leadership style for Polish employees and by projecting a positive influence on organizational commitment, it may also positively contribute to reducing the extent of the brain drain Poland is currently experiencing.