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Servant, situational, and team leadership styles
in nonprofit organizations
by
René Cintrón
and
Kayetrenia Nichols
MS#7/06-03
René Cintrón
21435 Hunt Dr.
Abita Springs, La 70420
985-630-1809
[email protected]
Kayetrenia Nichols
Tampa Bay, Fl 33607
813-361-4935
[email protected]
Cintrón & Nichols - Servant, situational, and team leadership styles ii
Abstract
In this review of the current literature, leadership styles utilized in the nonprofit
industry are examined based on servant, situational, and team leadership models. In the
servant leadership model, the focus is placed on the followers and their accomplishments,
behaviors, and attitudes. The competence and commitment levels of the followers guide
the leadership styles in the situational model. In the team leadership model, the leader
assumes that every member of the team has leadership potential. Each style of leadership
is discussed as it relates to charitable nonprofit organizations, and best practices are
identified.
Cintrón & Nichols - Servant, situational, and team leadership styles iii
Table of Contents
Introduction
1
Purpose of the Paper
2
Literature Review
2
Servant Leadership Model
2
Servant Leadership in Nonprofits
3
Situational Leadership Model
5
Situational Leadership in Nonprofits
6
Team Leadership Model
6
Team Leadership in Nonprofits
8
Conclusions
9
Reference List
12
Cintrón & Nichols - Servant, situational, and team leadership styles 1
Introduction
Nonprofit organizations are often operated as profit-earning businesses with a few
modifications, and in some sectors are competing with for-profit companies (Drucker,
1989). While a large portion of a nonprofit organization’s budget has historically
consisted of funding from donations and grants, today, nonprofit organizations are more
self-subsistent. They rely more on self-made income such as charging market price for
services, and often create and operate alternate businesses to generate funds (Dees, 1998).
During the past decade, they have also learned proper business recording and reporting,
such as annual reports, balance sheets, and cash flow statements (Johnston, 2002).
Advancing to the role of a manager in a nonprofit organization today requires
more than knowledge of the service programs being offered by the organization. There
are many leadership skills and traits a person should have to become a quality manager
and to succeed in the globalized world of business (Gregersen, Morrison, & Black, 1998).
These leaders must possess such characteristics as creativity, innovativeness, flexibility,
high ethical standards, energy, prioritization skills, commitment, dedication, goal
orientation, empathy, and an extroverted personality.
A leader is a visionary who has the end goal in mind and can see the big picture.
A leader is a motivator of his/her followers. A leader can visualize change and progress
as well as the creation process (Northouse, 2004).
Leaders exist in all industries of business, including nonprofit organizations, with
a variety of leadership styles a leader can utilize (Cox, 2001). Leaders develop an
individual leadership style that they feel comfortable with based on their personality.
Some leaders may choose a certain leadership style based on the culture of their
Cintrón & Nichols - Servant, situational, and team leadership styles 2
organization (Northouse, 2004). A manager should provide leadership and direction to
management levels according to the organization’s goals, mission, and vision.
Three types of leadership models which are common used are servant, team, and
situational. The servant leadership model places the needs of the followers first
(Northouse, 2004). Leaders using the situational model will decide on a style of
leadership closely related to the present situation (Blanchard, Zigarmi, & Nelson, 1993).
The team leadership style is tasked with managing and coordinating a team, often using
consensus to make decisions (Aranda, Aranda, & Colon, 1998).
Purpose of the Paper
The purpose of this paper is to describe the utilization of servant, situational, and
team leadership models in nonprofit settings, specifically charitable nonprofit
organizations. Best practices of each of these leadership styles within the nonprofit
sector will be identified and discussed.
Literature Review
Servant Leadership Model
The servant leadership model places its focus on the followers and their
accomplishment, behavior, and attitude. Servant leadership is said to be about virtue
rather than skills. The servant leaders encompass seven virtues: love, humility,
unselfishness, vision, trust, empowerment, and service (Nahavandi, 2000). A servant
leader exists to serve the followers. Their fulfillment arises from having that as a
principal goal. The servant leader expresses humility and credits others when credit is
due. Few managers are comfortable with the openness and willingness to share success
and face challenges required of being a servant leader (Kiechel, 1992). Servant leaders
Cintrón & Nichols - Servant, situational, and team leadership styles 3
are regular people that have attained stature not through their individual
accomplishments, but through those collective accomplishments made by themselves and
their followers together. A servant leader is effective at bringing people together and
bringing out the leader in each of the followers as well as their best performance
(Smolenyak & Majumdar, 1992).
Servant leaders serve others in order to boost their self-worth and dignity. This
model of leadership requires a change in the attitude of the leader. Egos have to be let go
and the belief that people perform at their best in an environment of freedom and
empowerment has to be seriously adopted (Melrose, 1996). It is a long-term
transformation to adapt to a servant leadership model, which can be time consuming.
The servant leader traits and qualities are not developed overnight and are in continuous
development. For instance, listening, empathy, awareness, persuasion, foresight, and
stewardship are some of the traits that the leader may need to develop to become a
successful servant leader (Spears, 1998).
Servant Leadership in Nonprofits
Being a good person is simply not enough to be an excellent leader in nonprofit
organizations. The quality of stewardship within a servant leader is more often seen in
charitable organizations. Nonprofit leaders must be conscientious and effective stewards
of their organization and the public’s trust. The public entrusts them to do what is right
for the organization and the community (Carroll, 2005).
Trust is not acquired by benevolence alone. It grows from a well-managed and
cost-effective program that produces measurable results (Carroll, 2005). Nonprofit
leaders serve the public, community, and their organization without very much financial
Cintrón & Nichols - Servant, situational, and team leadership styles 4
return. Nonprofit leaders must be particularly alert and attentive to their organization’s
surroundings. They must be in tune to what the organization is doing and most
importantly the perception of their clients and the community (George, 1993).
An example of servant leadership can be seen in the case of Millard Fuller,
founder of Habitat for Humanity International, who possesses servant leadership
characteristics as he displays his humility and love to promote his vision of simple,
decent, and affordable housing. As a nonprofit leader, he has converted his vision into a
reality (Zinkosky, 2005). Fuller has created a worldwide movement that has carried on
for 30 years. He has the ability to empower community leaders to carry on his vision of
eliminating substandard housing (Walker, 2003; Habitat for Humanity, 2001).
The servant leadership model in Habitat for Humanity has a religious and spiritual
motivation style. Millar Fuller combined Christian faith with the desire to serve follows
the servant leadership model (Walker, 2003; Habitat for Humanity, 2001). Millard
Fuller’s Christian mannered stewardship of the organization would be the most noted trait
of his servant leadership. His concentration and focus on the mission that give attention
to those in need of affordable housing was driven by his reaffirmation of Christ
(Zinkosky, 2005).
Religious motives and institutions, which are common to servant leaders, have
historically been fundamental in the establishment and development of nonprofit
chartable organizations. This organizational background provides the servant leadership
style that is prevalent among nonprofit leaders and has built the philanthropic character of
the nonprofit sector (Butlet & Herman, 1999).
Cintrón & Nichols - Servant, situational, and team leadership styles 5
Situational Leadership Model
Various situations call for the leader to adapt his/her leadership style (Blanchard,
Zigarmi, & Nelson, 1993). Successful leaders adapt through recognition that there is no
one best leadership style to use for all situations. The key factor to being successful at
adaptation is to know when to use a particular style of leadership.
The situational leadership model consists of four leadership styles: directing,
coaching, supporting, and delegating. Situational leaders have an instinctive ability to
discern when it is best to lead by consensus and when it is necessary to make decisions
independently based on the current situation, time, and people involved (How situational
leadership fits, 1996). The amount of guidance given by the leader, the depth of
relationship support the leader provides, and the degree of preparedness of the follower
must be identified by the leader (Lowell, 2003).
There are two other factors that the situational leader should consider when
deciding on a leadership style: degree of difficulty of the task and the employee’s
developmental level. The developmental level gauges the employee’s competence and
commitment to perform a particular task with little to no supervision (Blanchard, 1991).
Situational leadership concentrates on the task and relationship behavior of the
leader and follower. Task behavior involves the specifics of the task, such as to who the
task is assigned to, what needs to be done, how and when it should be done. Relationship
behavior creates more of a conversation about the task between the leader and the
follower(s) (Nahavandi, 2000). Situational leaders adjust their style based on the
competence and commitment of their followers.
Cintrón & Nichols - Servant, situational, and team leadership styles 6
Situational Leadership in Nonprofits
Situational leaders in nonprofits utilize empowerment and motivation to increase
employee and volunteer loyalty. A loyal employee or volunteer member will go above
and beyond the minimum necessary by doing more than he or she was asked to
accomplish. This empowering and motivating environment also builds the confidence of
the employees and volunteers (Lauer, 1994).
A crucial mission of social entrepreneurs measures the success of their endeavors.
This mission or goal is their intended social impact (Dees, 2003). Wendy Kopp’s
mission in 1989 was to develop a national teaching corps that would recruit college
graduates to teach in public schools in low-income areas (The Schwab Foundation for
Social Entrepreneurship, 2006b). Her organization, Teach for America, addresses
education inequities that children of the United States face. Kopp noticed the education
situation in America’s schools and decided to act upon it. The leadership style created
for the success of her organization is that of a situational model.
Teach for America demonstrates an example of situational leadership theory.
Situational leadership does not place emphasis on the personal qualities as much as it
does the needs of the follower. These needs are the skills and knowledge the follower
has to develop. The competence and commitment levels of the follower guide the styles
of situational leadership the leader may use (Rutherford, 1992).
Team Leadership Model
Team leadership model hypothesizes that every individual on the team has
leadership potential. In this model, the quality of the organization is enhanced through
employee participation. The leader motivates people within the team to work towards a
Cintrón & Nichols - Servant, situational, and team leadership styles 7
common goal while maintaining the best interests of the organization, the team, and the
people it serves as a focal point when making decisions (Northouse, 2004).
The team leadership model can only be successfully implemented when supported
by senior management. Leaders that utilize this model have knowledge in the methods of
gaining team member commitment and participation. The leaders apply statistical tools
and provide solutions to various organizational issues. However, team leaders must have
the skills to handle possible lack of participation, disagreement, criticism, and any
disruptive behavior on the part of the team members (Isgar, Ranney, & Grinnell, 1994).
To empower the team members, leaders often have to move from an autocratic
mode of leadership to a more democratic style. A democratic leader involves the team in
decision-making, problem solving, and task assessment. Team leaders hold the team
together by organizing meetings and maintaining an emphasis on the identified goals.
Leaders also keep the team focused with the use of various tools such as workflow and
flip charts. These tools assist the team members in maintaining the course of the tasks
and goals (Dew, 1995).
Often team leaders find themselves managing a diverse group of people with a
wide variety of backgrounds, values, languages, styles, training, and commitment. With
the use of new technologies, team leaders may be leading a group that is geographically
dispersed (Parker, 2003). It can become difficult to create a harmonious diverse team
considering the multicultural differences. Realizing the potentials and possible downfalls
of the multicultural team is just the start. The selection of team members and the
assignment of tasks play a huge part in this harmony (Aranda, Aranda, & Colon, 1998).
Cintrón & Nichols - Servant, situational, and team leadership styles 8
The team leader should be prepared to accept the responsibility of leading a culturally
diverse team
Team Leadership in Nonprofits
Nonprofit leaders know that charitable organizations succeed not because of one
person alone, but through the efforts of many. Nonprofit charitable organizations rely
heavily on volunteers due to the lack of funding available for paid staff. These volunteers
are included in the team leadership model. Nonprofit leaders conduct team meetings at
various hours to include volunteers who have other obligations (George, 1993).
Michael Brown and Alan Khazei, founders of City Year, use their team leadership
style in the operation of their civic service oriented organization. The mission of City
Year is to demonstrate the power of service as a method of enhancing the community.
The majority of this mission is accomplished through the work of their youth corps
programs. These corps teams work throughout communities, performing various social
service activities. (The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, 2006a).
Another example of team leadership in nonprofit organizations can be seen in
Americorps*NCCC. As a part of the Corporation of National Community Service’s
Americorps program, NCCC works locally or nationally as teams doing various
community projects. Each team is assigned a team leader from within the group. Team
leaders are rotated according to the current project (Corporation of National Community
Service, 2006).
The different points of views from the team members may create difficulty in
determining the final objective of the team and the milestones involved in the project,
thus the involvement of the team leader. For this reason, the team leader should closely
Cintrón & Nichols - Servant, situational, and team leadership styles 9
guide the group and define the overall goals (Aranda, Aranda, & Colon, 1998). A leader
using a team style should be aware of all the benefits and drawbacks of such utilization.
Conclusions
For-profit businesses can learn from nonprofits in many aspects of their
organizational leadership style. A major aspect involves attracting and mobilizing
volunteers. In the for-profit business, the volunteer workforce is the paid staff (Johnston,
2002).
In earlier years, not much was being asked of volunteers because they were not
being paid. A recent shift in nonprofit organizations changed the attitude of how to treat
volunteers. Now, volunteers are treated as unpaid professionals with responsibilities and
accountabilities to the organization (Drucker, 1989).
Whether in a nonprofit or for-profit organization, leaders have certain traits and
characteristics. The three leadership styles reviewed give organizational leaders the
options to explore their organization for the best fitting model.
Servant leadership theory is the principal model used by Habitat for Humanity’s
founder Millard Fuller, however, there are other styles used at times. For example, team
leadership can be utilized while physically building the houses. There is a primary
leadership style and secondary styles used by leaders. The same can be viewed in the
examination of the other two organizations.
The use of a theoretical model also varies in the Teach for America case. The
main leadership style is the situational model. However, servant leadership is observed in
Teach for America as the level of care for education is placed above self in order to offer
a year of service to teaching in the most needed schools (Blanchard, Zigarmi, & Nelson,
Cintrón & Nichols - Servant, situational, and team leadership styles 10
1993). Team leadership is also seen during the groups’ training periods as the members
are trained as teams.
City Year and Americorps*NCCC’s primary style of leadership is that of a team.
However, the other styles may be observed here as well. With the same reason as to why
servant leadership may be present in Teach for America, servant leadership may be seen
in these two organizations.
While all three styles of leadership examined here can be observed within the
organizations discussed, some styles have better fit in particular organizational settings
than others. In the nonprofit sector, using a servant leadership style would be effective
the majority of the time, yet the other two models can be used for specific purposes.
Team leadership can be used in the nonprofit sector when the need for unity of the group
is necessary. This would the ideal situation for committees.
All three styles can be mixed and matched within the industry, depending on what
the leader would see as the best fit. The decision of which style to use in each industry
depends on the leader, follower(s), and tasks. Different leaders would have different
perspectives and comfort levels with the style they choose. A leader should learn and
practice those skills needed to be a successful leader. Individual leaders who have the
skills and qualities necessary to succeed are better equipped to execute the styles of
leadership discussed. Some of these qualities and skills are not learned overnight, and
may require long-term or even continuous adaptation. To become a successful leader one
should utilize the best suiting style to everyone in every situation.
While organizations may have a primary style of leadership, this is not the
inclusive selection or style. The leadership technique and characteristic of the leader
Cintrón & Nichols - Servant, situational, and team leadership styles 11
varies as the various experiences change. The leader must know to adapt and adjust their
leadership style according to the current events of the organization. As the organization
evolves through its growth stages, it calls for the use of different leadership styles.
Since many other leadership styles exist that have not been examined in this
analysis, further analysis of those styles should be conducted using other leadership
models. A similar literature review can be performed utilizing varied styles in a different
industries and settings. In addition, further investigations could be accomplished
surrounding this topic by examining one organization’s use of all three or other
leadership models.
.
Cintrón & Nichols - Servant, situational, and team leadership styles 12
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