Exploring Trust, Dialogue, and Empowerment in Servant Leadership Insights from Critical Pedagogy

Servant leadership with its roots in ancient history is not a new concept. It was Robert Greenleaf's (1970) work that revitalized the study of servant leadership. Hitherto, little progress has been made in conceptualizing and operationalizing the notion of servant leadership. A lack of a universally accepted model, a shortage of quantifiable research, and the absence of a comprehensive instrumentation have slowed the acceptance of servant leadership amongst scholars and practitioners. This paper intermingles the theories of servant leadership and critical pedagogy to uncover what lessons can be learnt when trying to empower followers and create a more equitable future for individuals. The paper posits that trust, a shared value between servant leadership and critical pedagogy, needs to be the foundation on which the quest for empowerment is built upon. Once mutual trust between leader and follower exists, dialogue can ensue. It is through dialogue that critical reflection and action are made possible and this ultimately leads to lives being empowered.