Service of followers as a leadership competency: a social exchange perspective

Purpose It is argued that while service requirements are pervasive in organisational contexts, when leading their followers, service has not typically been expected of leaders. The purpose of this paper is to propose how the service of followers should be constructed as a competency of leaders. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper, which evaluates and builds theory in the form of a framework of service as a leadership competency. This framework is based upon the application of social exchange and leadership-member exchange theories and the use of scholarly sources. Findings The paper defines service as a leadership competency and proposes that it has at least five requisite and interconnected attributes, namely, individualised consideration, compassion, a motivation to serve, humility and integrative thinking to resolve competing stakeholder interests for the greater good. It further argues that when leaders exercise this competency and its associated attributes, it creates social relations with followers, rather than economic ones. Research limitations/implications This conceptual paper contains no empirical data. Practical implications The paper develops service as a leadership competency and proposes that social dyadic relations between leader and follower may be advanced through its development. Originality/value The paper proposes five attributes which would differentiate service as a competency from other leader competencies. It also provides an explanation of the process through which competencies can realise relational outcomes.