Being first introduced to chapter ten of the Norhtouse text, I was unsure why we were being given a theory that sounded so negative. When we think of leaders, we do not see them as being servants, but once reading more into this theory, we see that this approach is far from being a negative view on leaders, and more so one that we hope to implement into our own leadership practices. Looking more in depth on this theory we see how it puts a focus on leadership from the point of view of the leader and their behaviors and uses those to show how they put their followers first, and serve for the greater good of the organization, community, and society as a whole (Northouse, 2016, p. 225). Coca-Cola and their former CEO Muhtar Kent are a perfect example of how we can use The Model of Servant Leadership in order to see how a leader puts their followers first and support their personal development in order to lead more effectively and efficiently with outcomes that not only benefit the leader and the organization, but also society. It is examples likes these that will also aid us as future leaders and allow us to see the positive impact servant leadership could have on our leadership practices in the future.
Under The Model of Servant Leadership we see three main components; antecedent conditions, servant leader behaviors, and leadership outcomes (Northouse, 2016, p. 230). The first component; the antecedent stage is the input stage in this input-process-output model and it is here where we see three factors likely to influence the leadership process. The first condition to have an impact on servant leadership is context and culture. By looking at the organization context and culture in which the leader is leading, we can get insight on the norms within the organization and how servant leadership is carried out (Northouse, 2016, p.231).
The second component influencing servant leadership is the leader’s attributes. Every leader is unique and brings their own traits and ideas to the table when put into leadership positions. Traits such as moral development, emotional intelligence, and self-determinedness all factor into and interact with the leader’s ability to engage in servant leadership (Northouse, 2016, p. 232). Muhtar Kent, for example brought to the table attributes such as determination to succeed, sociability, and passion of developing his followers. His servant leadership can best be owed to his passion of developing his followers. Coca-Cola offers developmental opportunities for their associates such as Coca-Cola University, which is a learning program for high performers. Kent also implemented a great deal of performance management and developmental systems in which managers and associates can regularly discuss development, movement, and succession plans (Coca-Cola Company, 2018). This is a perfect example of how Kent’s attributes are used to his advantage within his servant leadership.
Not only are the leader’s looked at within antecedent conditions, but so are followers. Follower receptivity is the third component that influences servant leadership and it is this factor in which we see how the followers view this form of leadership. By looking at follower’s desire for servant leadership, gives insight on whether or not they are willing to work with servant leaders (Northouse, 2016, p. 232). When followers desire servant leadership, there has been a positive impact on performance and organizational citizenship behavior (Northouse, 2016, p. 232). Being tuned into your follower’s thoughts is important as a leader, especially if you strive to be attentive to their concerns and nurture them. This shows them that you are putting them first and aim to lead in ways that serve the greater good of the followers and organization as a whole.
The middle component of The Model of Servant Leadership is servant leader behaviors. These behaviors are at the core of this process and each behavior has a unique contribution to servant leadership. There are seven of these behaviors within the model but I will only be focusing on three in which we see CEO Muhtar Kent fostering during his time with Coca-Cola. The three behaviors I will focus on are helping followers grow and succeed, behaving ethically, and creating value for the community.
Helping followers grow and succeed include knowing ones follower’s professional or personal goals and helping them to accomplish those goals (Northouse, 2016, p. 234). Servant leaders make their follower’s career development a priority by providing them with support and mentoring them along the way. At Coca-Cola, it is clear that they make their followers their first priority and we see how dedicated they are to growing their followers through an array of developmental programs. “The success of The Coca-Cola Company depends on every employee in the organization. Ultimately in our business, it is people who make the magic happen-with consumers, customers, our bottling partners, and the communities in which we work” (Coca-Cola Company, 2018). Coca-Cola emphasizes how important their employees are by providing many opportunities for them to grow and develop. Their wide range of assessment and development forums and functional development are perfect examples of how Coca-Cola puts their employees first. These programs set into place make sure that followers are given the job knowledge, skills, and competencies they need within their department or functional area (Coca-Cola Company, 2018). Kent being so tuned into offering his employees a wide range of development programs and growth opportunities goes to show how focused in his is on helping his followers grow and succeed. It is behaviors like this that allow how to be the effective servant leader that he is.
The second behavior we see Kent exhibiting in his servant leadership is behaving ethically. This means that he makes decisions based on strong ethical standards, including being open, honest, and fair with followers (Northouse, 2016, p. 235). Coca-Cola highlights their dedication to being an ethical organization on their website and emphasizes that “All of our Company and majority-owned subsidiary associates are required to read, understand and adhere to the Code’s precepts” (Coca-Cola Company, 2018). Their anti-corruption compliance program ensures that all business throughout the organization is conducted in a fair, ethical, and legal manner (Coca-Cola Company, 2018). Being that Kent makes sure to behave in an ethical manner contributed greatly to his success as a servant leader and also shows his dedication to doing the right thing in the right way.
The third behavior that Coca-Cola excels in greatly is in creating value for the community. Servant leaders who create value for the community are involved in local activities, and encourage their followers to also volunteer for community service (Northouse, 2016, p. 235). By creating this value for the community, servant leaders are able to link the purposes and goals of the organization with the broader purposes of the community. The values that Kent keys in on serve as a compass for the companies actions and describe how they behave in the world (Coca-Cola Company,2018). Passion, integrity, and collaboration are just a few of Coca-Cola’s key values that contribute to their behaviors. We see them letting these values shine in their efforts for enhancing the community such as promoting and supporting drop-out prevention programs, diversity initiatives, educational scholarships, and many more (Coca-Cola Company, 2018). As a global beverage company, Kent makes sure to commit his servant leadership “to improving the quality of life in the communities where we do business” (Coca-Cola Company, 2018), and it is behaviors like this that allow him to be the successful and effective leader that he is.
The last component of The Model of Servant Leadership is outcomes. Taking our focus off leadership behaviors, we can next examine how those behaviors come together in order to create outcomes. The outcomes of servant leadership are follower performance and growth, organizational performance, and societal impact (Northouse, 2016, p. 236). Greenleaf highlights in his work the importance of servant leadership and how the ultimate goal is to create healthy organizations that key in on individual growth, the strengthening of organizational performance, and in the end this will produce a positive impact on not only the organization and everyone within, but also society. Although we do not usually think in this way but taking a step back and really thinking about how an organization like Coca-Cola thrives on servant leadership, this not only has a positive impact on just the company, but it has an impact on their customers as well.
Follower performance and growth is the first way in which Coca-Cola’s servant leadership has a positive outcome. Being the first outcome underneath The Model of Servant Leadership, a leader knows they have reached this outcome when followers are able to realize their full capabilities and realize their human potential (Northouse, 2016, p. 236). We also see the results of this outcome with excellent follower performance because when followers feel nurtured by their leader, they will become more effective at accomplishing their jobs and fulfilling their job descriptions (Northouse, 2016, p. 236). At Coca-Cola, employees are given all the resources and behaviors provided by their leader in order to have strong performance and growth. By providing them with many developmental programs such as Coca-Cola University, and assessment and development forums, Kent is able to attribute his success in follower performance and growth to his behaviors and programs that he implements. Organizational performance is another area we see positive outcomes with successful servant leadership. When followers go beyond basic requirements of their duties and help the overall functioning of the organization, we see a positive correlation with team effectiveness and team potency (Northouse, 2016, p. 237).
The last outcome of servant leadership is the positive societal impact the organization as able to achieve. Although it is hard to truly measure the impact Coca-Cola has on society, we can see clearly that they provide many jobs in the communities and also help society through their projects such as in their efforts to protect the environment. In one of my management courses we looked at Coca-Cola and all the efforts they take in providing clean water and sanitation, protecting watersheds, and providing awareness programs to promote water conservation. These initiatives truly have a huge impact on society because they are going well beyond just being a beverage company; they are focusing on their employees and having a positive impact on the environment and society as a whole.
Putting together these three components; antecedent conditions, leader behaviors, and outcomes allows us to get a better idea of how servant leadership is able to become successful and attribute to a successful/effective workplace. Servant leaders like Muhtar Kent make it their priority to listen to their followers and develop strong long-term relationships which allows him to have a better understanding of employee’s abilities, needs, and goals (Northouse, 2016, p. 238). Not only is it up to leaders to behave in a way that promotes this relationship, but it is also important that followers in turn are receptive and open to this form of leadership. With positive efforts from both sides, come outcomes such as societal, follower, and organizational growth. Noting The Model of Servant Leadership and seeing how it is incorporated within a real-life organization allows us as students and future leaders to grasp ahold of these concepts and see how we could benefit from implementing them into our leadership experiences.
References
The Coca-Cola Company. (2018). Employee Engagement. Retrieved from https://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/employee-engagement
The Coca-Cola Company. (2018). Why work at the coca-cola company? Retrieved from https://www.coca-colacompany.com/careers/why-work-at-the-coca-cola-company
The Coca-Cola Company (2018). Ethical business conduct. Retrieved from https://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/ethical-business-conduct
Northouse, P. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc.
