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Institute
Leaders’ Psychological Costs and Benefits of Servant Leadership: A Conservation of Resources View
(2025)
Servant leadership is widely recognized for its positive effects on followers, but its impact on leaders' mental health remains understudied. This gap is crucial, as servant leadership might place significant demands on leaders' psychological resources, without sufficient social, psychological, or organizational rewards. Drawing on the Conservation of Resources Theory (COR), we investigate how and when servant leadership affects leaders' mental health, viewing its role not only as resource-depleting but also as resource-generating for leaders, depending on the organizational context. Two cross-sectional studies were conducted using leader self-assessments (N = 101; N = 170). Study 1 focused on the relationship between servant leadership, experienced meaningfulness, emotional exhaustion, and flourishing, emphasizing the resource-generating potential of servant leadership. Study 2, examined the moderating effect of the distributive justice climate (DJC) on the link between servant leadership and emotional exhaustion, exploring the possibility of resource depletion under conditions of low organizational fairness. Results. In Study 1, servant leadership was found to mitigate emotional exhaustion by enhancing experienced meaningfulness at work. Moreover, it fostered leaders' flourishing through the same mechanism, suggesting that servant leadership can be a source of leaders’ well-being. Study 2 demonstrated that DJC moderates the servant leadership–emotional exhaustion relationship. Specifically, when DJC is low, servant leaders are more susceptible to emotional exhaustion, indicating that unfair organizational climates can exacerbate the resource-depleting aspects of servant leadership. Servant leadership has the potential to both reduce and exacerbate emotional exhaustion in leaders. While it generates psychological resources like experienced meaningfulness, which enhances well-being, its effectiveness is influenced by the organizational context. In unjust environments, servant leadership's emotional demands may lead to resource depletion. These findings are in line with COR and highlight the complex impact of servant leadership on the well-being of leaders. Limitations remain to issues of causality.
Ethische Führung, Arbeitsplatzunsicherheit und soziale Dominanzorientierung: Eine Vignettenstudie
(2019)
Zusammenfassung:
Der letzte Beitrag des Themenhefts fasst die Debatte um Subjektivität, Intuition und Bauchgefühl als Entscheidungsgrundlagen in der Personalauswahl zusammen, wie sie ausgehend vom Schwerpunktartikel von Deters und Klopprogge (2025a) zur Diskussion gestellt wurde. Die Herausgeber reflektieren die Kernaussagen der Autoren, die eine Balance zwischen objektiver Diagnostik und subjektiver Intuition fordern und eine deutliche Diskrepanz zwischen wissenschaftlicher Theorie und unternehmerischer Praxis wahrnehmen. Die Rezeption im Themenheft zeigt ein breites Spektrum von Positionen: Während Intuition teils als wertvoller Impuls in komplexen Entscheidungsprozessen gesehen wird, warnen Kritiker vor ihrer Anfälligkeit für Biases. Die Herausgeber plädieren für integrative Verfahren und diagnostische Zugänge, die subjektive und objektive Ansätze verbinden, und betonen die Notwendigkeit eines differenzierten, praxisnahen Dialogs zwischen Wissenschaft und Praxis, um fundierte und zugleich flexible Entscheidungsprozesse zu gestalten.
We argue that effective leadership development should be evidence-based, i.e. that it combines the best available scientific evidence with
research in the specific organizational context. To illustrate our proposition, we report findings from a case study in a multinational organization. The goal was to examine which rater source in the company’s 360 degree feedback would provide the most valid information about leadership competencies. Therefore, we explored relationships between 360 degree ratings and assessment center (AC) ratings of the same leadership competencies (N=151). It was predicted that AC ratings show higher overlap with 360 degree ratings for behaviors that specific rating
sources can more easily observe in the ratees’ work life. Results showed that peers were the most accurate observers of leadership competencies in 360 degree assessments, compared to managers and subordinates. This corroborates our argument for an evidence-based instead of an
intuitive handling of 360 degree feedback results. Practical implications and avenues for future research are discussed.
Sogenannte „dunkle Persönlichkeitseigenschaften“ begünstigen zwar den Aufstieg in verantwortungsvolle Positionen, sind aber kaum mit der Effektivität als Führungskraft verbunden. Vielmehr besteht ein positiver Zusammenhang mit destruktivem Führungsverhalten. Die Herausforderung besteht also darin, solche Eigenschaften frühzeitig zu erkennen und ggf. zu intervenieren, um destruktiver Führung vorzubeugen. Bis dato fehlen geeignete Screening-Verfahren, um erste Hinweise auf subklinische Persönlichkeitszüge wie etwa narzisstische, machiavellistische oder psychopathische Tendenzen im Arbeitskontext zu erhalten. Im Folgenden werden die psychometrischen Gütekriterien und Einsatzmöglichkeiten eines Kurztests zur dunklen Triade vorgestellt, der dazu gedacht ist, im Kontext der Management-Diagnostik und Führungskräfteentwicklung die Aufmerksamkeit auf ebensolche Risikofaktoren zu lenken und so ggf. eine tiefergehende Auseinandersetzung anzustoßen. Das Verfahren basiert auf Untersuchungen mit 1.858 Fach- und Führungskräften deutscher Unternehmen.
Purpose
Although courage has generally been understood as a powerful virtue, research to establish it as a psychological construct is in its infancy. We examined courage in organizations against the backdrop of positive psychology with a design in the Grounded Theory tradition that connects Positive Organizational Behavior and Positive Organizational Scholarship.
Method
The sample consists of organizations that define courage in their mission statement and organizations without such a definition. It includes employees and executives, exploring workplace courage on the macro as well as the micro level. Eleven organizations and 23 participants contributed to the interview study.
Results
Applying Glaser's theoretical coding, specifically the C-family, we propose that courage arises from a decisional conflict in three major domains: the self, social interaction, and performance. It is located on a continuum between apathy and foolhardiness and can take on reactive, proactive, or autonomous forms. Whether and to what extent courage manifests, is a dynamic process contingent upon organizational structure, culture, and communication climate as well as individual cognitiveaffective personality systems.
Limitations
The model depicts the complexity of the phenomenon, rather than details of its individual components. It goes beyond pre-defined categories and prevailing definitions.
Implications
Modern organizations are characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA).
Courage is crucial in such an environment and can be systematically fostered across the whole human
resource management cycle.
Value
The study advances theory building on courage in the workplace and highlights its potential to be
measured, developed and managed for more effective work performance.
Purpose
Although the systemic approach to the leadership concept seems to fit well into our modern complex and dynamic work environment, only little research has been conducted to define and assess systemic leadership. In this study we therefore developed and assessed criterion validity of the
multidimensional systemic leadership inventory (SLI, Sülzenbrück & Externbrink, 2017).
Methodology
We conducted two cross-sectional survey among managers and employees of various organizations (N = 143 and N = 150).
Results
We found a robust five-factor structure of the SLI, comprising systemic thinking, self-knowledge, solution-oriented communication, creating meaning and delegation. Regarding criterion validity, a significant positive correlation of systemic leadership was found with affective commitment, while a significant negative correlation with emotional strain in occupational contexts occurred. These overall positive outcomes for employees were not undermined by negative personality traits of the employee (Machiavellianism), while strong growth need strength further enhanced positive effects on affective commitment.
Limitations
Since all variables were measured as self-reports, common method variance could limit our findings.
Practical Implications
Systemic leadership is a very promising new approach for leaders to ensure committed and less strained employees.
Value
Systemic leadership, especially in terms of a leaders’ understanding of organizational and private systems influencing work behaviour of all members of an organization, is a promising novel leadership model suitable to address challenges of complex and dynamic work environments.
Purpose
So far, there are several approaches of measuring the Dark Triad traits, but still all of them are
personality questionnaires with at least questionable usability for applied contexts such as Human
Resource Management.
The purpose of the study is the development of a structured interview with the aim of measuring the Dark Triad in a rather qualitative way that increases social validity for the respondents.
Design/Methodology/Approach/Intervention
In the present study, 15 executives from the telecommunications industry were interviewed on their personal evaluation of management success and derailment. Afterwards, their personality traits of the Dark Triad were measured with the help of the Short Dark Triad Scale. Subsequently, the data from qualitative and quantitative research were examined for correlations using the mixed-method approach.
Results
The results of the mixed-method approach showed a statistically significant correlation between the Short Dark Triad Scale and the ratings for narcissism, Machiavellianism and subclinical psychopathy in the Dark Triad interview.
Limitations
Replicating the results in a bigger sample and a deeper investigation of the criterion-related validity as well as an integration of multiple raters can provide more confidence in our results.
Research/Practical Implications
Structured interviews allow the measurement of personality traits in a more convenient way especially in personnel selection and development processes. Identifying subclinical traits in leadership candidates can, e.g. prevent management derailment.
Originality/Value
The present study advances the measurement methods of the Dark Triad.

