INFLUENCE OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP ON EMPLOYEE JOB PERFORMANCE: A PATHWAY TO ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE

Abstract

In today’s rapidly evolving and competitive business environment, leadership approaches that foster employee engagement, ethical decision-making, and sustainable performance are critical. Servant leadership has emerged as a transformative model that emphasizes humility, compassion, accountability, and altruism, creating inclusive and ethically grounded workplaces. Drawing on Social Exchange Theory and Ethical Leadership Theory, this conceptual paper explores the impact of servant leadership on employee job performance. A systematic review of recent literature (2020–2024) was conducted to synthesize theoretical and empirical insights linking servant leadership dimensions to task performance, contextual performance, and organizational citizenship behaviour. Findings reveal that servant leadership fosters trust-based leader–employee relationships, enhances psychological safety, and promotes ethical workplace climates, which collectively drive higher employee engagement and productivity. The study concludes that organizations can achieve long-term competitive advantage by integrating servant leadership principles into their leadership development strategies. Practical implications and future research directions are also discussed