Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to reveal the degree to which the principles of servant leadership motivate nonpaid volunteers to serve on the governing boards of nonprofit, philanthropic organizations in the United States. Methodology: The subjects in this study were thirty-three nonpaid volunteer members of the boards of directors of fourteen nonprofit, philanthropic organizations located in ten states and the District of Columbia. The aggregate number of volunteer years represented by the thirty-three participants in this study was 771 total years. The total number of years on boards represented by the participants was 269. The critical incident technique was the format for the interview questions. Interviews were conducted over the telephone. The data were categorized and analyzed to determine the frequency with which each participant used one or more of the ten principles of servant leadership as identified by Robert Greenleaf and Larry C. Spears. Key Findings: The actions described by the thirty-three volunteer board members were found to be congruent with the ten principles of servant leadership. Each one of the thirty-three participants interviewed cited incidents that represented actions consistent with one or more of the ten principles of servant leadership while they were board members. The board members described a total of 855 incidents of high satisfaction and a total of 740 incidents of high dissatisfaction for a total of 1595 incidents that were congruent with the ten principles of servant leadership. The board members cited incidents that included the principles of commitment to growth and building community more often than any of the other principles of servant leadership. Conclusions: The thirty-three board members included in this study provided data, which demonstrated congruency with the ten principles of servant leadership. The incidents of satisfaction described positive use of the principles of servant leadership. The incidents of dissatisfaction described negative use, or perceived lack of use, of the principles of servant leadership. The ten principles of servant leadership may be used as a tool for recruitment, retention, and assessment of volunteer leaders. Recommendations: Future studies should continue to examine the relationship(s) between the ten principles of servant leadership and nonprofit, philanthropic volunteer board leadership and volunteerism. The research may be expanded to include the private sector.