TITLE:
Servant Leadership Style: A Key to Effective Good Governance and Sustainable Public Service Delivery in Africa
AUTHORS:
Strinivasan Soondrasan Pillay, Eustache Tanzala Kikasu
KEYWORDS:
Servant Leadership Style, Public Administration, Public Policy, Good Governance, and Sustainable Public Service Delivery
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Political Science,
Vol.14 No.1,
January
22,
2024
ABSTRACT: This paper reviewed and examined works of literature on leaderships styles, with a focus on servant leadership
that reflects to be a key approach to enforcing and
executing effective public administration, good governance, achie- vable policies, and sustainable public service delivery in Africa. Ethical leadership, service orientation, sustainable development, accountability,
transparency, prioritizing the needs and well-being of others, etc., are among several key components of the main frame of servant leadership
that can engender effective good governance and sustainable public service delivery
in Africa. It’s significant to recognise that Africa still remains poor and fragile
in terms of strengthening public administration, good governance, implementing public
policies and ensuring sustainable public service delivery. It’s also unimaginable
to observe the best practice of servant leadership style in a poor and fragile public
administration and public policy environment. Africa is a diverse continent with
a wide range of cultures, traditions, and social norms, so the effectiveness of
servant leadership can vary from one country to another. While Servant leadership
can be mirrored as a valuable approach for effective good governance and sustainable
public service delivery in developed countries, most African countries are facing several challenges when endeavouring to practice or implement
servant leadership style. Until today, many African citizens are experiencing a lifetime
history of authoritarian leadership style, where leaders are exerting a strong control
and authority over their inhabitants. Unfortunately, servant leadership,
with its emphasis on collaboration and empowerment of citizens,
most often clashes with authoritarian and traditional norms, making it difficult
for emerging democratic leaders to adopt and practice efficiently this approach. As the
authoritarian leadership and traditions influence strongly political and socio-eco- nomic governance in Africa, emerging democratic leaders with limited resources
including financial and human resources are facing challenges to implement servant
leadership style and to address the basic needs of their followers. This paper suggests
an approach or tools that could reinforce the confidence of emerging democratic
leaders to workout efficiently and effectively servant leadership style in the continent.