From conducting to inspiring:A qualitative research on servant leadership in the Corporate Service of Rijkswaterstaat

Conclusion The research shows that the perception and interpretation of servant leadership at the CS is very diverse. Directors, department heads and employees interpret and define servant leadership in different ways. Directors interpret servant leadership as individual characteristics, namely: motivation to serve, modesty, and stewardship. Department heads interpret servant leadership as activities, namely: empowerment and giving responsibility and to a lesser extent as individual characteristics, namely stewardship. Employees interpret servant leadership as activities, namely: giving responsibility, empowering and enabling and to a lesser extent as individual characteristics, namely motivation to serve. The research shows that the way in which servant leadership is fleshed out at the CS depends on a number of elements: character and/or role perception, organizational culture, time and contextual circumstances. Character The visibility of servant leadership depends on the character of leaders. Within the context in which managers work, they make a conscious choice to use their character traits to a greater or lesser extent. Role perception The way in which managers exercise servant leadership depends on their role perception. The leader’s character traits and inner qualities serve his role, which can be different in the outside world (where interests lie differently than within the organization). Organizational culture Promoting servant leadership requires attention from the organizational culture within the CS. More specifically, the study showed that the current hierarchical organizational culture contrasts with the desired adhocracy culture. Time and contextual circumstances The aspects of time and context influence the way in which servant leadership is fleshed out at the CS. Due to the reorganization, the tasks and the change task of RWS, which were accompanied by the introduction of servant leadership and process-oriented working, experienced directors, department heads and employees were under enormous time pressure, as observed during the research period. This leaves little time to invest in employees. The extent to which directors, department heads and employees exercise servant leadership also depends on the context in which they work. In conclusion, the research shows that servant leadership within the CS is shaped in various ways. The above elements: character and/or role perception, organizational culture, time and contextual circumstances (see § 7.2) play an important role in this. This dissertation offers more insight into how servant leadership is fleshed out within the CS and helps directors, department heads and employees who want to take servant leadership further. By going back to the original values and investing in the organizational culture, in which the dialogue on all three layers, awareness, storytelling and reflection are central, servant leadership can be given shape in an unambiguous way and be anchored optimally. A strong link between RWS’s past and servant leadership helps the organization to make servant leadership more explicit and in its further development into one of the best and most sustainable SSO in the public sector.