Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice, Seventh Edition: Instructor Resource
Chapter 10 – Servant Leadership
Discussion Questions and Exercises
1. In what ways is servant leadership a paradox? Is servant leadership more of a trait or a
behavior?
2. Have you known people who, by nature, are servants?
3. How might a servant leader’s gender or ethnicity influence how he or she is perceived by
followers?
5. Is it always possible to build consensus in groups? If not, what is a servant leader to do?
6. Some of the measures used to assess servant leadership have a spiritual dimension to
them (covenantal relationship, transcendental spirituality). How are spirituality and ethical
behavior related?
7. In your mind, are there any risks associated with servant leadership?
9. Why is healing a central characteristic of a servant leader? Can you think of any examples
where a leader was equipped to help a follower overcome a problem? How does helping
someone become whole, in turn heal the servant leader?
10. How does servant leadership foster self-actualization in followers?
11. What is the distinction between persuasion and influence?
13. Is it possible to practice servant leadership in a computer-mediated environment (e.g., in a
virtual team)?