The Antecedents And Characteristics Of Academic Servant Leadership: A Case Study In A Faith-Based University In Indonesia

Abstract

This study explores the practice of academic servant leadership in a faith-based university in Indonesia. The exploration is intended to understand the origin of academic servant leadership and the characteristics of an academic servant leader. This research has posed two research questions: how do the academic leaders understand the meaning of their servant leadership? and what are the characteristics of an academic servant leader? The second research question is also intended to create a classification of academic servant leader’s characteristics. In this research, case study is chosen as the methodology since it is able to explain the academic servant leadership phenomena from the leaders’ perspective in their context. The case study methodology employs semi-structured interview s as the data collection method. Thirty higher educational leaders were questioned in a semi-structured interview in order to get their views on their academic leadership. These leaders are positioned at three different levels: departmental, decanal and presidential. The triangulation of data gathered from interviewing leaders at three different levels has ensured the trustworthiness of the research. The qualitative data analysis shows that servant leadership stems from the servant’s heart which obtained through a spiritual transformation. This personal experience has been identified as the antecedents of servant leadership. Besides that, this research have found ten characteristics of an academic servant leader categorised into four groups: intrinsic, extrinsic, relational and transformational. These findings are important for the leadership development of the case campus and the enrichment of the concept of higher educational leadership. Key words: Academic leadership, Servant Leadership, Servant heart, Spiritual transformation, Servant leader’s characteristics *Doctoral Researcher under the School of Education of University of Birmingham funded by the Directorate General of Higher Education of Indonesia.